Dogwood Arts, a non-profit institution in Knoxville since 1955, promotes and celebrates the art, culture, and natural beauty of East Tennessee. One of its annual youth program events is the Epiphone Guitar Design Contest, a partnership with Gibson Gives.

For the 2026 event, AXE HEAVEN® donated handcrafted Mini Guitar Replica Collectibles that closely matched the full-size guitars donated by Gibson. The real musical instruments were painted by the 20 young artists selected from 275 middle and high school student applicants.

Young Artists Rock!

The 20 incredibly beautiful hand-painted real guitars were recently auctioned to benefit the organization’s free youth program. It’s hard to believe those highly talent artists are so young!

Meaningful Keepsakes for Supporting the Arts

The mini guitars became keepsakes for the artists to take home, as a reminder of the meaningful investment of time, creativity, and care they put into their designs. They were SO excited! A few of the teachers were almost in tears when told the students get to keep the mini guitars.

The artists’ work (and the lucky auction winners) will ultimately help support arts opportunities for other young people in their local community. We truly believe in the arts and giving back to the community, especially when kids are involved.

Kudos to everyone associated with this Dogwood Arts annual fundraising project. Feel free to donate to support their worthy efforts.