VH1 Save The Music Celebrates 20th Anniversary with Campaign That Partners Top Musicians and Artists to Create One-of-a-Kind Guitars
It was announced today that VH1 Save The Music Foundation is partnering with the Gibson Foundation for a charitable project that pairs top musicians and visual artists to create customized Gibson guitars to raise awareness and funds for music education. Kicking off in New York on June 8th, the campaign includes multiple events that will showcase the guitars culminating with a charity auction to benefit the charity presented by Julien’s Auctions, the world record breaking auction house to the stars in October. The announcement was made by VH1 Save The Music Foundation executive director Henry Donahue.
Coinciding with VH1 Save The Music Foundation’s 20th Anniversary year, the project brings together 20 visual artists that each had the opportunity to customize a classic Gibson guitar model based on a creative design inspired by one of 20 renowned musicians. Participants include musicians Chris Stapleton, Rick Nielsen, Joe Perry, Miley Cyrus, Gary Clark Jr., Wayne Kramer, Juanes, and visual artists D*Face, Dabs Myla, ThankYouX, LolaBlu, Hudson Marquez and Sage Vaughn (full list of participants below). The guitars will be exhibited as part of the Art at Viacom initiative. The guitar auction is scheduled for October 2017 at Julien’s Auctions Los Angeles as part of their Icons & Idols: Rock and Roll sale.
“It’s incredibly important to keep music in the schools as well as all the arts,” said Joe Perry, lead guitarist of Aerosmith. “Kids need to be exposed to music as early as possible. As in all the arts it creates an outlet for their creativity. Having Music in school helped me find my calling.”
“For VH1 Save The Music’s 20th Anniversary, we created a project with Gibson that celebrates the impact we’ve had in over 2,000 schools since 1997, combining music, creativity and the power of those to change childrens’ lives,” said Henry Donahue, Executive Director of VH1 Save The Music Foundation. “We’ve brought together twenty inspiring musical artists with twenty innovative visual artists to create twenty unique Gibson Les Pauls. We’re incredibly grateful to the musicians, artists, and Gibson artisans who’ve collaborated to make these works of art.”
“Gibson Brands is delighted to partner with VH1 Save The Music Foundation benefitting music education in America’s public schools,” stated Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman/CEO of Gibson Brands. “We believe that every child should have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument and we’re committed to supporting the Arts as part of a well-rounded curriculum.”
Musicians participating include:
Billy Duffy , Gary Clark, Jr., Mark Ronson, Miley Cyrus, Nile Rodgers, Shawn Mendes, Slash, The Roots, Wyclef Jean and more!