Summit County’s Newest Public Art Piano at Trailside Park Designed by Anna Leigh Moore
The latest Summit County art piano has just been completed! Artist Anna Leigh Moore has just finished work on the latest addition to the Summit County Art Pianos For All piano managed by the Summit County Public Art Advisory Board, a Schilling & Sons Cabinet Grand piano located at Trailside Park!
As a lover of local Utah plants, Anna’s design incorporates an assortment of native plants against a backdrop of vivid blue. “When I first moved to Utah, I remember being fascinated with it’s plant life”, says Moore, “coming from the East, I couldn’t understand how delicate wildflowers could grow next to the sharp needles of a cacti. The novelty of these new plant species made me excited to get a field guide and start learning their names and personalities. Now, these plants feel like old friends I visit on each hike.”
Anna explains in her letter of intent for this project that she wanted her design to highlight this action of zooming in on the wildlife that surrounds us to focus on the beauty in our community. Like a musical orchestra, these plants harmonize our fragile high desert and alpine ecosystem, she explains. The piano’s Trailside location is integral to the design, encouraging community members to notice the biodiversity in their backyard— further educating Parkites about the value of our open spaces. Just as the Art Pianos for All project makes art and music accessible to everyone, Anna’s design celebrates our incredible access to this unique ecosystem. Her design features a variety of flowers and plants native to the Utah area including sego lily, wasatch penstemon, avalanche lily, balsamroot, wild mint, globemallow, indian paintbrush, prickly pear, sage, rabbitbrush, sunflower, lupine and fireweed.
Anna also wanted to incorporate community engagement into her design. As she designed the piano, she launched a campaign on her social media account that combined fun facts about the flora of Park City with colorful watercolor illustrations. Take a look here. She also created a fun, scavenger hunt brochure that details the different plants included in the painting to continue engagement of passersby well after the painting is complete. She has installed a small pamphlet box on the side of the piano with plant identification cards for folks to take with them on their hike and learn about the native wildlife.
“Overall, my goal for this piece is to have members of the public stop... Notice... And then take that presence into nature, making their experience so much richer,” explains Moore.
The playable piano is available for anyone to play and is one of seven Art Pianos for All managed by the Summit County Public Art Advisory Board. The program seeks to bring back the piano as a centerpiece of music, community, art and fun in Summit County, UT. They take donated pianos and make them colorful, engaging and available for anyone to play. Artist decorated pianos are placed in public areas to be played and enjoyed by all. The other pianos are located at the Kamas Valley Branch Summit County Library (Artist Michel Calles) Kimball Junction Transit Center (Artist Kylie Millward), in the lobby of the South Summit Aquatic Center in Kamas (Artist Sonny Luca), outside the entrance to the Summit County Library on Ute Blvd. (Artist Renee Mox Hall), the front lobby of Coalville City Hall (Artist Camille Vernon), at Newpark Resort & Hotel (Artist Nathan Florence), and at Ledges Event Center (Artist Sally Neilson).
Come see the newest art piano designed by Anna Leigh More located at Trailside Park 5715 Trailside Drive.