Submitted Photo An antique Whitney Kimball upright piano was donated and will be painted for the Piano Project.

Prairie Village Museum is working in partnership with Rugby Chamber of Commerce and Village Arts to bring music and art to the community.

The Piano Project was inspired by the colorful pianos that can be seen on 16th Street in Denver, Colorado.

“Steve Dockter came up with the idea for the project,” said Annie Risovi, Prairie Village Museum receptionist. “He is on the Prairie Museum Board and they were looking at cleaning out some of their old pianos but they didn’t want to just throw them in the dump. Dockter had the idea to paint them up, put them around town and just give them one last bit of life.”

The museum contacted Rugby Chamber of Commerce and Village Arts in hopes to partner with them on this project.

“We got together and started brainstorming,” Risovi said. “We thought it would be a fun thing to do to get these pianos out in the community and feature some of our local artists as they help brighten up the town a bit.”

Most of the pianos were donated by the museum and a few pianos were donated by community members.

“We are hoping to get together 10 pianos. So far we have seven together,” Risovi said. “Our plan is to keep the pianos out all summer and once Crazy Days has passed, we will take them and dispose of them unless there is someone who is wanting to purchase one.”

The Piano Project will conclude with a People’s Choice Award. “Voting for People’s Choice will take place during Crazy Days on July 17,” Risovi said.

“The Rugby Chamber of Commerce will be awarding $500 to the winner of the People’s Choice award winner,” she said. “They will also be reimbursing artists up to $100 for their supplies.”

“We are still working out the details on where voting will be held but it will be announced at a later date,” Risovi said. Voting information will be available on the Prairie Village Museum’s social media page.