Kris LeBlanc is painting a piano box for downtown Fredericton
Philip Drost | CBC News | Posted: June 19, 2015 6:47 PM | Last Updated: June 19, 2015
Fredericton artist is using his paint brush to bring some colour to the downtown
A Fredericton artist is working on an art project that will bring some sweet sounds to the capital city's downtown.
Kris LeBlanc is painting a piano box, which will be put outside city hall for anyone to play.
The box will be fitted with a keyboard and speakers, so anyone walking by who wants to tickle the ivories, whether they want to play Beethoven or Bieber, will be welcome to do so.
LeBlanc has been selected to work on the project so far.
"I'm really humbled by this project. It's an honour to have work down by city hall, especially this project. I'm definitely very inspired by it and humbled at the same time," said LeBlanc.
The idea came from Mayor Brad Woodside, who saw a similar project in another city.
He just sat and listened to a stranger play the piano. He said he wants the same thing to happen in Fredericton, so he brought up the idea of a piano box project.
"If you're walking down the street and you hear a little music being played, that's a good thing," said Woodside.
"It gives people an opportunity to give back to the community while at the same time getting their audience and entertaining people."
The piano box was built by Jamie Atkinson, a carpenter for Theatre New Brunswick. Then LeBlanc took over and he was given $2,000 to paint the box.
LeBlanc started painting at the beginning of June and hopes to have it done by the end of the month.
The project came with a bit of a learning curve for LeBlanc.
"It was difficult at first. I didn't really know what to use for paint because it is going to be outside," he said.
"It took a little bit of research and digging around to see what would work best. I've basically figured it out and I'm very happy with the colour of the exterior. It's coming along really nice. I'm really happy with it."
LeBlanc is giving the piano a Fredericton feel, in hopes that tourists visiting the capital city might want to seek out the buildings he painted.
The final project will likely be done mid-July and then people of any talent level can come by and play.