Sing for Hope, a non-profit arts group, has decided to take over Luke Jerram's piano project that it sponsored last year without his involvement this year, according to an article in today's edition of The New York Times by James Barron.

"The artist, Luke Jerram, said his idea of putting a batch of pianos outdoors and letting anyone play them had spread to more than 20 cities. But he said the arts group that oversaw last year's installation in New York - and is overseeing this year's - had told him, 'We don't want you to come.' 'I'm just flabbergasted and dismayed,' he said," according to the article.

Mr. Jerram, the article continued, "was on hand last summer when 60 upright pianos did a two-week residency on street corners and in parks."

"For this year's encore," the article continued, "60 uprights will hit the streets for two weeks starting June 18, and they will be joined by 28 grands."

Sing for Hope, the group behind the project in New York, is calling this year's installation "Sing for Hope's Pop-Up Pianos," the article said, adding that "Last year, the project used the name Mr. Jerram uses, 'Play Me, I'm Yours.'"

"They said it's going to be very different, but all they've done, really, is change the title," Mr. Jerram said, adding that "I tried to persuade them this is my art project, this is what I do to make a living. For an arts organization that's there, supposedly, to support artists, to run off with the project, it's really disappointing."

The article said that "Mr. Jerram said there were some discordant notes last year. 'There was a clash of personalities, perhaps,' he said. 'There were problems we had in terms of communications whilst I was in New York, but it's no excuse for running off with an artist's idea like this. In the advertising industry, you see artists' ideas run off with, but for an arts organization to do that?'"

"When asked if Sing for Hope had parted ways with Mr. Jerram, Camille Zamora, a co-founder of the organization, said it was not working with him 'as our project has a different focus in Year 2.' She said that Sing for Hope had credited him on its Web site, 'but we are now in the camp of many other cities' that had done street piano installations on their own. She mentioned four other cities, including Denver, whose Your Keys to the City installation began on May 25."

The article said that "she said Sing for Hope was following a 'more New York-centric; approach involving professional artists who had volunteered to decorate the pianos and community organizations that will receive them as donations when 'Sing for Hope's Pop-Up Pianos' ends on July 2.

More than 60 professional artists are painting the instruments, among them the designers Isaac Mizrahi and Diane von Furstenberg and the crochet artist Olek. The grand pianos will be in indoor public spaces, the uprights outdoors. As was the case last year, volunteers will unlock them in the morning and lock them at night and cover them in case of rain.

One commenter on the article, "Bemused," wrote "How ironic that the pianos are arriving in NYC at the same time that the NYPD is beating up musicians in Columbus Park in Chinatown and ticketing musicians for making music in Central Park."

Christopher Stansfield of New York commented that the "Play Me I'm Yours" installation last year was "brilliant," but added that he would have "second thoughts about supporting an installation that refuses to acknowledge its creator. This is pretty shoddy behavior, in my opinion."

Sing for Hope issued a statement June 10, 2011 that said that its "Pop-Up Pianos was inspired by a project created last year with Luke Jerram's paid and contracted involvement."

"This year," the statement continued, "the project has evolved to encompass even more artists while celebrating their work individually and recognizing them for their volunteerism that has helped to bring art and music to our NYC parks before they are donated to local organizations. The Pop-Up Pianos (pianos.singforhope.org) website was designed to have the capability to credit the 88 individual artists, something that was not in line with Luke's vision. Last year, we mutually agreed it was best to part ways."