Gibson Guitar Sponsored Austin GuitarTown Auction Raises $589,000

Press release
Source: Gibson Guitar

Gibson Guitar, the world’s premier musical instrument maker and leader in music technology, announced that the highly anticipated Austin GuitarTown Auction Gala raised over $589,000.00 for four Austin area charities, The Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM); The Austin Museum of Art (AMOA); American Youth works; and the Austin Children's Museum.

“This project has been an enormous blessing to the city of Austin. We can’t thank Gibson Guitar enough for the impact that this project has made on our community,” said the Honorable Will Wynn.

The Austin GuitarTown Auction Gala, delivered by the AT&T Austin’s Marathon and RunTex, was held tonight at GSD&M’s Idea City representing the culmination of the fantastic year-long public arts project that has graced the city streets of Austin with ten foot tall Gibson Guitar sculptures and showcase (regular size) art guitars since November 20, 2006.

Auction highlights include Reflections of Austin by Shanny Lott and Striking Texas Gold by Diane Sonnenberg both being sold for $55,000.00 each. In addition to the auction gala event, people from around the world, such as New York, Denver, Mexico, France and London, bid live via online and on television through eBay and Auction Network.

Austin’s own Chez-Zee dished up a fabulous assortment of culinary delights to a VIP crowd of 500. In the crowd were Austin notables such as: Legendary Texas songwriter Ray Wylie Hubbard, who was the event emcee, as well as project co-chair, The Honorable Mayor Will Wynn. Pre-auction entertainment, The Gourds, entertained guests with some great Texas music and encouraged all to bid high and bid often on the works of art. The live and on-line auction was hosted by world famous Juliens Auctions, known around the world for their widely popular entertainment memorabilia auctions (www.juliensauctions.com).

In addition to the auction gala, money is being raised through the sale of a vibrant Austin GuitarTown collector’s art book. The limited edition book features exquisite images of the entire collection of Gibson Guitar sculptures and showcase guitars as well as profiles of the participating visual artists along with the musicians and celebrities who supported this hugely successful project. From Dwight Yoakam and ZZ Top to Alejandro Escovedo and Marcia Ball, the book is a memoir of the exhibit which has been recognized worldwide.

While quantities last, the book can be purchased by visiting Waterloo Records and Video, Wild About Music, Austin Museum of Art, Austin Children’s Museum, and the Austin Visitors Center. The retail price of the book is $25 plus tax. This collector’s item is the perfect holiday gift or a unique corporate gift giving option. Once the books are sold out they will not be reprinted.

The GuitarTown Project, presented by Gibson Guitar, was a public arts project that featured 35 ten foot tall fiberglass Gibson guitars and thirty showcase (regular size) guitars. The project united the Austin art, music and business communities in raising money for four local charitable organizations. The Austin GuitarTown project is administered by the Gibson Foundation (www.gibsonfoundation.org), the philanthropic arm of Gibson Guitar Corp., which is dedicated to improving the quality of life through its support of the arts, education, health & welfare and environmental causes.

For more information, please visit www.austinguitartown.com.

About Gibson
Gibson is known worldwide for producing classic models in every major style of fretted instrument, including acoustic and electric guitars, mandolins, and banjos. Gibson’s HD.6X-PRO Digital Guitar represents the biggest advance in electric guitar design in over 70 years. Founded in 1894 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and headquartered in Nashville since 1984, Gibson Guitar Corp.’s family of brands now includes Epiphone, Dobro, Maestro, Kramer, Steinberger, Tobias, Echoplex, Electar, Flatiron, Gibson Baldwin Music Education, Slingerland, Valley Arts, Maestro, Oberheim, Sunshine Piano, Take Anywhere Technology, Baldwin, J&C Fischer, Chickering, Hamilton, and Wurlitzer. Visit Gibson’s website at www.gibson.com.

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