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Christopher's Story Overcoming the challenge of autism to find a job where his talents shine .... MORE |
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May 25, 2007 (Cleveland, Ohio) United Way of Greater Cleveland's GuitarManiaŽ was welcomed back to the city of rock and roll in a kickoff event at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Friday, May 25. This is the third installment of GuitarMania to rock Cleveland. GuitarMania is a nationally recognized public art project that first launched in Cleveland in 2002 and reprised in 2004. Oversize FenderŽ StratocasterŽ guitars are creatively transformed into works of art by local artists and national celebrities and displayed on Cleveland city streets and at the Rock Hall for residents and visitors to enjoy from May 25 through October 2007. GuitarMania is a unique partnership that brings together the business, art and nonprofit communities for a worthwhile cause. GuitarMania SuperSponsors Eaton Corporation and KeyBank are joined by project sponsors Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, Clear Channel, Cleveland Magazine, cleveland.com, Continental Airlines, The Plain Dealer, Sherwin-Williams and Turner Construction in supporting this event. Plus some 70 corporations, organizations and individuals sponsored the guitars. Each guitar sponsor selected from more than one hundred designs submitted by local artists who then painted, sculpted or decorated the 9-foot-tall guitars. Celebrity artists were also recruited to paint and decorate guitars, including Doors guitarist Robby Krieger, NASCAR drivers Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Michael Waltrip, NASCAR artist Sam Bass and renowned Beatles artist Shannon. Addressing the crowd gathered on One Key Plaza in front of the Rock Hall next to a colorful forest of giant, artistically decorated guitars, Henry L. Meyer III, KeyCorp Chairman and CEO and United Way Board Chairman, said, "It is truly impressive to see these beautiful guitars and how sponsors tied in their individual messages into these works of art." All of the guitars are on display at the Rock Hall from May 25 to 28, and then will be moved to individual locations throughout the city's streets during the summer until Labor Day, when they will be returned to the Rock Hall for the last six weeks of display before the gala auction on Saturday, October 20. "GuitarMania and the Rock Hall are connected to the flavor of our city and I am pleased to be a part of this project," said the Honorable Frank Jackson, Mayor of the City of Cleveland and Honorary Co-Chair of GuitarMania. "It adds beautiful art to our city streets for local residents and tourists to enjoy. In fact, it attracts tourists to our city to see the guitars." Martin Sweeney, Cleveland City Council President thanked GuitarMania SuperSponsors Eaton Corporation and KeyBank for their commitment to the City of Cleveland. And Joe Cimperman, Cleveland City Councilman, encouraged the audience to attend the GuitarMania auction on October 20. He said, "It will be your one and only opportunity to buy one of these beautiful works of art." Jason Farrell attended the Kickoff on behalf of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. Fender has supported GuitarMania since 2001. Hector Vega, a well-known Cleveland artist serving on GuitarMania's Advisory Board, Co-Chair of the Artistic Review Jury and participating GuitarMania artist himself, said, "I am grateful to all the artists who submitted designs to GuitarMania. It is an indication of how vital and active the Cleveland art community is. We can be very proud of it." The previous two GuitarMania events raised more than $1.6 million, benefiting United Way of Greater Cleveland and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum's education programs. For more information about GuitarMania, please contact Matt McManus at 216-436-2122 or mmcmanus@uws.org or Michelle Battle at 216-436-2121 or mbattle@uws.org. General information about GuitarMania can be found at GuitarMania's Web site cleveland.com/guitarmania. |
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