From the beginning of the 1990s, Izabel Lam has been answering a need for innovation in the restaurant and hotel tabletop market. Izabel’s designs are being used by celebrated chefs, fine dining restaurants and luxury hotels all over the world for their presentation of innovative cuisine and amenities. We continue to write about the hospitality industry and, in particular, how the tabletop product producers are an incredibly benevolent community and here’s another great example.
Izabel Lam has lent her artistic talents to the hospitality tabletop world for since the early 1990’s. Her creations grace the tables of top chefs and restaurateurs around the globe.
And now, earlier this summer, Izabel Lam has lent her masterful touch to a musical endeavor – the 88 Pianos Project – a New York City project organized by Sing For Hope.
Sponsored by yogurt company Chobani, the 88 Pianos Project consisted of pianos painted by 88 artists, that were placed all over the 5 boroughs of New York City. These pianos were placed in accessible locations so that everyone who had the urge would have access to play.
The piano created by Izabel – “Opus The Octopus” – has been located on the 65th Street Transverse in Central Park, near the Dairy. While Izabel Lam’s piano has the advantage of being under a covered walkway, which protects it from the weather, many of the pianos are not as protected from the weather. So, each piano, no matter how exposed, has a volunteer team of “piano buddies” who make sure to cover it with tarps when rain comes and who check to see that the pianos stay, more or less, in tune.
TabletopJournal continues to be amazed by the generosity and acts of kindness from those in our industry. Far too often, the hectic pace of our industry means that these kinds acts go virtually unoticed within the hospitality community.
The contributions that Izabel Lam and the other artists made to give equal access to music for all to the people of New York City is more than impressive and another great example of this industry’s generous commitment to making our world a better place. As the author of the New York Times article said, “That people of all skill levels feel free to sit down and play emboldens you. Sloppy results do not matter. So I tried out this and that, including some Chopin. It was amazing how many pedestrians walking along 40th Street stopped to listen to the people who played.”
To learn more about the 88 Pianos Project from Sing for Hope, here is an article recently run by the New York Times newspaper:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/07/arts/music/the-sing-for-hope-pianos-project.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
To learn more the music that Izabel Lam creates for chefs and restaurant tabletops around the world, go here: http://www.izabellamdinnerware.com/
The Sing for Hope vision of ART FOR ALL is informed by their belief that the arts have unique power to uplift and unite individuals and communities. Their outreach programs in NYC’s under-resourced schools and healthcare facilities demonstrate this every day, and the Sing for Hope Pianos are a summertime celebration that bring this to every corner of New York City. If you are one of the millions of New Yorkers who have played the outdoor pianos in Times Square, Brooklyn Bridge Park, and other parks and public spaces in the summertime, you know why Sing for Hope Pianos are NYC’s most beloved public art project. Ongoing support for Sing for Hope is provided by Sing for Hope’s Founders’ Circle including The Arnhold Foundation in honor of Sissy Arnhold, The Anna-Maria & Stephen Kellen Family Foundation, and Ann Ziff. For more information, please visit singforhope.org
