Gibson Guitar Announces Austin GuitarTown Project

To Take Place Wednesday, April 12, 11 a.m. at City Hall Giant Gibson Guitar Sculptures to Exhibit Throughout City for Charity

Austin, TX, April 6, 2006 – Gibson Guitar will announce on Wednesday, April 12, the launch of Austin GuitarTown, a public arts project that will feature up to fifty (50) 10-foot-tall fiberglass Gibson guitars painted by visual artists and celebrities along with several showcase Gibson Les Paul guitars. The project launches with a special announcement hosted by the Honorable Mayor Will Wynn and musical legend Ray Benson on Wednesday, April 12, at 11:00 a.m. at City Hall Pavilion (301 W. Second Street, Austin, TX). Mayor Wynn and Benson will serve as co-chairs of the Austin GuitarTown project and will unveil an exclusive 10-foot Little Texas guitar sculpture featuring the Lone Star State’s flag; the sculpture is on loan by Gibson Guitar as part of the project’s kick-off.

All guitar sculptures will be artistically designed by locally acclaimed visual artists and placed for several months in front of landmarks and businesses throughout Austin. Various corporations will be asked to serve as sponsors of the project, which will serve as an artistic reminder and display of Austin’s great musical heritage. Celebrities will be paired with each visual artist.

An official call for artists will be announced in late April, giving local and regional artists a chance to submit designs to be considered for official sculptures. Each design will be reviewed and selected by the distinguished members of the Austin GuitarTown steering committee. The sculptures, once completed, will be placed throughout the city and later auctioned off for charity at a final Auction Gala event.

The Austin GuitarTown committee includes: honorary chairman, Henry Juszkiewicz (chairman and CEO/Gibson Guitar Corp.); honorary committee: music icons Ray Benson and Willie Nelson, along with Texas football legend, Coach Darrel Royal, and the Honorable Will Wynn; steering committee members: Wendy Anderson (Austin Film Society), Clifford Antone (Antone’s Record Company), Susan Antone (Antone’s Nightclub/American Youthworks), Becky Arreaga (Mercury Mambo), Ed Bailey (KRLU), Jim Bulter (City of Austin Economic Growth & Redevelopment Service Office), Howard W. Carey (Capitol Sports & Entertainment), Chris Collins (KUT), Dana Friis-Hansen (Austin Museum of Art), Theresa Jenkins (The Recording Academy, Texas Chapter), Katherine Jones (Milkshake Media LP), Rose Reyes (Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau), Ronne Rock (KXAN/NBC Austin*KNVA/Austin’s WB*KXAM/NBC Hill Country), Robin Shivers (R.R.S. Management, Inc.), Kerry Tate (TateAustin), Tracy Walker (Clear Channel Radio) and Mark Strama (Texas state representative).

The GuitarTown project will be administered through the Gibson Foundation, a division of the Gibson Guitar Corp., which is dedicated to improving the quality of life through its support of the arts, education, health and welfare, and environmental causes.

For more information, please call (512) 692-4191 or visit www.austinguitartown.com

Media Contacts:
Caroline Galloway, (440) 338-3469, caroline.galloway@gibson.com
Kim Dettwiller (615) 321-4073, kimdet@comcast.net