'Pianos for Peace' promote unity through the arts

ASHLAND, Ore. — Rogue Valley residents are celebrating the "Peace Through Music" concert series this week, hosted by Anima Mundi Productions. A group gathered at the Thalden Pavillion on Wednesday afternoon to celebrate the festival with a launch ceremony.

As a part of the event, parents, children, and even the animals can enjoy the sound of music in Ashland.

"Kids with mothers, professionals, people who knew how to play the piano but then forgot came and got inspired," Anima Mundi Productions co-founder Tiziana Della Rovere said.

The nonprofit has placed two "Pianos For Peace" for the public to enjoy, one in Lithia Park and another at the intersection of Pioneer St. and E. Main St.

"We have a team of professional artists and a team of student artists that have worked for months to paint two pianos," executive director Ethan Gans-Morse said. "We're launching what we're calling Pianos For Peace Oregon with a concert and a whole ceremony."

The week-long festival will feature free events, from presentations to interviews to performances.

"Our message to share with our community is that through the arts, we can make real meaningful change in the world," Gans-Morse said. "We invite people to come out to our concerts to experience how we can go through communal healing together, right there in the concert hall and come out changed through the arts."

The display of art doesn't stop at music. It is also on the piano itself, painted by a group of Phoenix High School students.

"It was fantastic because the students came through so magnificently," Della Rovere said. "They were so great, created a beautiful painting."

The goal of the organization is to spread the message of peace through the arts.

"This expression using the visuals, bringing together the community in the celebration, is really one of the foundations of having a peaceful society," Della Rovere said.

The organization said both pianos will remain in Ashland until Oct. 7th. After that, one piano will be placed at the Phoenix Civic Center and the other at the Armadillo Technical Institute, both in Phoenix, Oregon.