It's a one of a kind venue for Miami's beloved duo Raffa and Rainer.
Raffa Harris singing her folk song. Rainer Davies strumming his guitar, their pianist tickling the ivories in the heart of Miami's Design District on an inner city corner of 40th Street and North Miami Ave.
"I think its fun, its different," Raffa said.
Raffa and Rainer are one of eight performers participating in "Pop-Up Piano Miami's" premiere at Art Basel. Isabella Acker, 23, is the founder of "The Black Key Group," a marketing company that manages local artists. She and her partner launched this public art project in South Florida after seeing a similar display in New York City last year.
"We want people to really get involved. People to start looking around, 'What are they doing?'" Acker said.
Beginning Thursday, a total of 10 pianos donated by Steinway will be popping up at public locations all around Miami including Brickell, downtown, and South Beach. There will be scheduled performances at each location at noon and 5 p.m. through Sunday.
The mission is to bring awareness and an appreciation for Miami's music scene, which Rainer calls a challenging task.
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"Miami is so lovely and has so much to compete with, whereas, in other cities, it's cold and miserable and everyone is a little happier to cuddle inside and listen to people sing a song," Rainer said.
If the street corner is their stage, this piano is GG's Canvas.
Gabriel Gimenez better known as GG is a local pop artist. Known around town for his murals including the one right behind him. He's among the group of local artists tapped to transform the instrument into a work of art.
"I wanted to make ti a stronger version of what it already was. I added some pipes," Gimenez said.
GG used bright red and green to paint the piano and other intimidating features to create what he calls a "badass" look. And it has people on the street taking a double look.
For a schedule click here.
