An art exhibit and concert series creating beauty from the ashes of an arson fire.
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Listen to my interview about The Burned Piano Project with Dave Miller on Oregon Public Broadcasting's Think Out Loud radio show here! |
The Burned Piano Project:
Creating Music Amidst the Noise of Hate
In spring 2022, the Portland home of a Jewish family was destroyed by arson in the middle of the night. Their cherished grand piano, passed down through three generations, was damaged beyond repair. The family could not bear to see the piano tossed into a dumpster along with most of their belongings; instead, they reached out into the local community, hoping to find someone who could make creative reuse of some of the treasured piano's parts.
When they found me, we embarked on what eventually became a two-year artistic journey to reimagine "Grandma Bess' piano" as multiple works of fine art and one completely new art instrument, The Glass Piano. These efforts that culminated in a landmark, three-month public art exhibition and concert series at The Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education in downtown Portland, Oregon.
View the OJMCHE's Burned Piano Project page here.
This marked my first experience as an exhibition curator and the first time that one of my art instruments (The Glass Piano) and an art installation (As Many As There Are Seeds in a Pomegranate (Harp Altar)) were displayed in a museum exhibition.
The Burned Piano Project: Creating Music Amidst the Noise of Hate began with one family's experience of antisemitism and reminds us of the larger context of rising hate crimes in Portland and the United States today. This remarkable exhibition celebrates the immense potential of the arts to promote healing, build empathy, and grow understanding. It provides a powerful model of how a community can face destruction, waste, and hate with creativity, art, and love.
Major funding for this exhibition was provided by The Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education, the Oregon Arts Commission (OAC), the Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC), the Zera Foundation, and Advantis Credit Union.
When they found me, we embarked on what eventually became a two-year artistic journey to reimagine "Grandma Bess' piano" as multiple works of fine art and one completely new art instrument, The Glass Piano. These efforts that culminated in a landmark, three-month public art exhibition and concert series at The Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education in downtown Portland, Oregon.
View the OJMCHE's Burned Piano Project page here.
This marked my first experience as an exhibition curator and the first time that one of my art instruments (The Glass Piano) and an art installation (As Many As There Are Seeds in a Pomegranate (Harp Altar)) were displayed in a museum exhibition.
The Burned Piano Project: Creating Music Amidst the Noise of Hate began with one family's experience of antisemitism and reminds us of the larger context of rising hate crimes in Portland and the United States today. This remarkable exhibition celebrates the immense potential of the arts to promote healing, build empathy, and grow understanding. It provides a powerful model of how a community can face destruction, waste, and hate with creativity, art, and love.
Major funding for this exhibition was provided by The Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education, the Oregon Arts Commission (OAC), the Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC), the Zera Foundation, and Advantis Credit Union.
The Burned Piano after the arson fire.
The Glass Piano, created by Jennifer Wright.
A one-of-a-kind art instrument, The Glass Piano is built from part of the action of Bess' Steinway grand piano, a gold- and silver-leafed wood body, metal legs, acrylic "wings", and borosilicate glass rods as the sounding mechanisms.
For inquiries about bringing The Glass Piano to your community or institution for a residency or concert series,
please contact me at jenniferawright(at)yahoo.com
please contact me at jenniferawright(at)yahoo.com
Coming soon: the video documentary of The Burned Piano Project!
Page in progress!
Keep your eye on this page as the history, development, and archive of this remarkable project are gradually built out.
Keep your eye on this page as the history, development, and archive of this remarkable project are gradually built out.