Exciting Opportunity For Youth Artists To Customize Epiphone Guitars With Original Artwork! Dogwood Arts is proud to announce the 2026 Epiphone Guitar Design Contest. The contest is open to all high school and middle school students living in East Tennessee. Several guitar designs created by youth artists will be selected for implementation and exhibition. The art guitars will be displayed at the Dogwood Arts Gallery in Knoxville, TN, and at Dollywood’s HeartSong Lodge & Resort. The guitars will be auctioned to benefit Dogwood Arts’ youth art programs.
Winning designers will each receive $50 for art supplies and complimentary tickets to Dollywood; additional cash prizes will be awarded to select artists at the exhibition reception.
- Students create a unique design on the guitar template attached to this form (also available online).
- Students give the template and application form back to their art educator/guardian
- Application Deadline: Art educators/guardians send the guitar designs and completed applications to Dogwood Arts by January 30, 2026.
- Applications can be submitted online at https://guitardesign2025.paperform.co with photos of the work or mailed directly to:
-Dogwood Arts
ATTN: Raina Nief
123 W. Jackson Avenue
Knoxville, TN 37902 - Notification Date: Winning designs will be selected and notifications sent out by February 13, 2026
- Epiphone guitars will be delivered to art educators by the end of February
- The Art Guitars need to be completed and returned to Dogwood Arts by Friday, April 17th, 2026.
- Dogwood Arts will coordinate retrieving guitars from art educators. Guitars can be dropped off at the Dogwood Arts Office at 123 W. Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902 - Online Auction: will be live from May 1 - June 22, 2026
- Guitar Display: Guitars will be displayed in the Dogwood Arts Gallery (Knoxville), May 1 - May 30, 2025
- An exhibition reception and awards ceremony will take place on Friday, May 2nd at the Dogwood Arts Gallery from 5-8 PM (Awards at 6 PM)
- Select guitars will also be on display at Dollywood's HeartSong Resort June 2nd - 22nd, 2026 - Auction will conclude on June 22nd, 2026
