From Our Co-Founders:
Spring 2025
We spend a lot of time thinking about the connective power of the arts, and about how that connectivity drives deliverables across a range of sectors, from public health to diplomacy to transportation to education to urban development and beyond. In the lead-up to last summer’s Paris Games, SFH partnered with Yunus Sport Hubs to bring Sing for Hope Pianos to Les Canaux and infuse music into UNESCO’s “Change the Game” Sport Conference. Experiencing how these shared musical connections resonated long after the games were over, we were reminded of the power of the right kinds of creative arts interventions.
This year’s Super Bowl, hosted by the great city of New Orleans, averaged a record 127.7 million US viewers across television and streaming platforms. It also created opportunities for a special iteration of Sing for Hope Pianos New Orleans 2025—our fourth annual initiative to date in the Big Easy. We were overjoyed to collaborate once again with our Sing for Hope board member and champion Jon Batiste, and again to focus on elevating a stellar cohort of brilliant young Louisiana artists.
When Jon’s team called us in January to discuss partnering on activations around the big game in his hometown, it was an immediate yes from us. Jon’s concentration would be on New Orleans’ 9th Ward, and his anthem performance would feature a special Yamaha piano painted by NYTimes best-selling author and creative supernova Suleika Jaouad, who also happens to be Jon’s cherished wife and our dear friend. (By the way, if you haven’t yet gotten your copy of Suleika’s The Book of Alchemy, you can purchase it here and thank us later!) Today, Suleika’s beautiful piano lives on at the New Orleans Museum of Art, its luminous butterflies symbolizing resilience and renewal in a city that embodies both. It will be played by New Orleans residents and visitors for years to come, as will its colorful siblings across the city—all the wildly colorful Sing for Hope Pianos brought to life by Nola artists and our partner, Jon’s dear high school friend, the renowned BMike, at his StudioBE in the Bywater historic district.
To quote the Associated Press, “Batiste, alongside Sing for Hope, led New Orleans artists in creating hand-painted pianos, scattered throughout the 9th Ward as an open invitation to the festival. After the event, these vibrant instruments will find permanent homes in schools and community centers, keeping the music alive long after the final note… Jon said, ‘The greatest thing we can do is serve and not take. It’s a holistic view. Yes, I’m honored to sing at the Super Bowl. I also want to leave something that impacts the community, my hometown.’”
This ethos of service + impact informs all Sing for Hope Pianos in all their stages, from artist sketches to creation to park placements to permanent homes in schools, hospitals, and community centers. When the next crop of citywide SFH Pianos hit the streets in NYC on June 9, won’t you join us and add to the harmony?
Heartfelt thanks to all who shared their music in NOLA this year, to our community partners who keep the music going year-round, and to the far-reaching creative consortium who helped make it all a reality, including our dear Suleika and Jon, Honorable Mayor Cantrell, Gerrit Meier, Jonathan Azu, Chris Gero, Dom Keska / Kamp Grizzly, Peter O’Reilly, and He Gets Us, among many gentle geniuses.
Learn more about the Sing for Hope Pianos’ fourth year in New Orleans and find bios, artist statements, and a map of locations here. Enjoy 700+ Sing for Hope Pianos in our interactive online gallery and global map here.
