All 60 of the six-foot-tall Guitars for Hope created by national celebrities and area artists will be displayed together one last time before being auctioned to the highest bidders. The free exhibition is open to the public from July 1 through July 12 in WNED’s Horizon Gallery at 140 Lower Terrace in downtown Buffalo, Tel.: 716-845-7000. Hours are: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 10 am-2 pm; and Tuesday and Thursday at 6 pm-9 pm (closed July 4).  Free parking is available. 

Proceeds from Guitars for Hope benefit the Kelly for Kids Foundation, the Hunter’s Hope Foundation and WNED. The public art project celebrates music, art and hope in Western New York. It is modeled after national and international projects, such as the highly successful Herd About Buffalo.  The guitar molds were designed by C.F. Martin & Co., based on its Martin D-28 guitar, and built by Merlinworks of Etobicoke, Ontario.

Each guitar-themed sculpture has been on display at a cultural or community site throughout Western New York this spring. In addition to local and regional artists, the following celebrities created a work of art from the fiberglass guitar: Hall of Fame Quarterback Jim Kelly (also the project’s honorary chair); rock greats Bon Jovi, Meatloaf and Queen V; country music star Lee Ann Womack; NASCAR auto designer Sam Bass; Buffalo Philharmonic Music Director JoAnn Falletta; Meet the Press moderator Tim Russert; Entertainment Tonight’s Mark Steines; and the casts of King of Queens and Las Vegas.

The guitars can be purchased for $5,000 (celebrity/premium works) or $2,500 (regional artist pieces). Unsold guitars will be auctioned beginning June 23 online at www.guitarsforhope.org. Bids must be made in $50 increments for celebrity/premium guitars and in $25 increments for all others. A live, semiformal gala auction will take place on July 14 at 6 pm in the WNED studios. Tickets ($75 each or $125/couple) can be obtained by calling 716-845-7020. For more information or to place a bid online, visit www.guitarsforhope.org.

Guitars for Hope is made possible through the generosity of BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York, and New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Assembly Majority Leader Paul A. Tokasz. Other sponsors are C.F. Martin & Company, Kantor & Godwin, Banco, Lafayette High School, LoVullo Associates Inc., Hodgson Russ LLP, Capital Management Services Inc., Salvatore’s Italian Gardens Restaurant, Merlinworks, The Buffalo Bills, the Zemsky Family Foundation and 97Rock.

The Kelly for Kids Foundation is committed to providing funding and support to children's charities throughout Western New York. These charities operate for the benefit of disadvantaged and handicapped youths and focus on children's needs and issues.
 
Hunter’s Hope Foundation is dedicated to increasing public awareness of Krabbe Leukodystrophy, and to helping support research, new therapies and a cure for the inherited, fatal nervous system disease that affected Hunter Kelly, the son of Jim and Jill Kelly. He died on August 5 at age 8. The Foundation also is a leading advocate for national newborn screening.