UPDATE July 2026

We have been on the move over the last four months - Hilton Garden Inn, Southern Port Albany, National ANZAC Centre, Bunnings and Albany Plaza!

Great event during Folk’n’Shanty Festival in collaboration with Albany Entertainment Centre-Steinway Piano came into the foyer with more than 20 people having a play and entertaining passersby!

Where to next … popping up at a place near you on Wednesday 15 July!!!

UPDATE: March 2026

It's been an amazing journey to date (read about it below), but now we are facing unexpected further expenses. The piano will to move every 4-6 weeks between March & October 2026 to ensure it can be kept indoors overnight & kept out of the 'weather' during the day. We are grateful to the businesses who have already agreed to 'home' during this time & look forward to announcing each of these when the piano arrives there! We are still needing other venues/locations to come on board!

Hi, I'm Helen ... a passionate 'everyday' pianist, who would love our community of Albany, Western Australia, to experience music, joy and connection through Kinjarling Keys - Albany's Community Piano Project.

2025 saw a piano donated to our project - thanks to Rob Thomson from Denmark Pop Up Piano who led us to Peter Bailey. Peter then renovated it with a donation that funded the project's start.

Kinjarling Keys then headed off on her first journey to Albany Men's Shed where she was sanded back and a cradle was made for easy maneuvering! Mount Barker Express, who are shifting the piano where she needs to go, transported her to Kadadjiny Aboriginal Corporation. Here Kinjarling Keys is being painted by members of the Menang community, overseen by our artist, Sara Coyne, with the generous support of the Vancouver Arts Centre. The painting will feature the places around Albany/Kinjarling that the piano will visit in 2026.

2026 will see Kinjarling Keys on the Move and our piano will be launched at the end of January, 2026. During the year it will visit iconic locations in Albany, before returning to the Albany Town Square and Albany City Library where it will be stored overnight.

With the support of our auspicing association, the Albany International Folk'n'Shanty Festival, we were able to apply for a Community Development grant from The City of Albany which has partially funded this projected.

We are thrilled to have received further financial support from our community - Scott Leary MLA , Jess Beckerling MLC, Amity Rose Funerals, Premier Hotel Albany and Rustlers Steakhouse and Grill.

It's great to have the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation & Attractions - Albany, Albany's Historic Whaling Station, National ANZAC Centre, Albany Entertainment Centre, Albany Surf Life Saving Club, Creative Albany and professional pianists, Adam Cook, Eddy Jay and Adrian Kenyon - along with many local piano teachers - being involved with this project. It's wonderful to have Rob Douglas joining us to create a video of our journey to share our story!

Kinjarling Keys on the Move 2026' will ensure Albany's Community Piano will be accessible to our local community members and visitors to our city during the bicentennial celebrations: bringing the joy of playing & listening to the piano to iconic landmarks that would not generally be associated with a musical experience. Providing opportunities for pianists of different levels of proficiency, age, cultural background & gender to perform in a public space creates intergenerational, cultural and community connections - bringing us together in ways only music can!

As you can imagine, renovating a piano - including painting scenes from around our city; moving it professionally & safely throughout the year; regularly tuning it when it returns from 'outings'; covering it for protection from the elements; supporting some our professionals musicians to entertain us for special occasions AND ensuring we have public liability insurances - comes at a cost! Although we have had funding to cover most of our expenses so far, we now have to reach out to the community to help us!

We look forward to you being a part of this unique musical experience!