Gen Art

Gen Art is an arts and entertainment organization that showcases emerging fashion designers, filmmakers, musicians and visual artists. It has produced over 100 events annually, which included fashion shows, film screenings, live music and art receptions and tours. Gen Art's offices were located in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami and Chicago.[1]

On February 21, 2011, Gen Art announced it would return with the 16th Annual Gen Art Film Festival in New York City.[2] Gen Art has since then announced its "Fresh Faces in Fashion Show" during New York Fashion Week 2011, which will feature the designers Ann Yee, ace & jig, Sunghee Bang, Eighteenth, Jennifer Chun, William Okopo, Baron Wells, Collina Strada, Falconiere, Osborn, and Wool and the Gang.[3]

Contents

History

Gen Art was started as a non-profit company, called Generational Arts Limited, by Ian Gerard, Stefan Gerard and Melissa Neumann in 1993. At the same time a for-profit production arm of Gen Art, Generational Art Productions was also launched. Ian was attending New York University Law School at the time. Ian knew that many emerging visual artists from his college experience (Vassar) and elsewhere had difficulty showcasing their talents in the art galleries of New York City. He also noticed that there were a lot of young people with disposable income, who wanted to obtain art but could not afford to buy from the SoHo art galleries. The idea was to bring together these two groups together so they could both benefit.

Gen Art was launched from Ian's law school dorm room at New York University, using just a fax machine and a laptop. Ian's brother Stefan, who worked in publishing, and Melissa Neumann, a 23-year-old analyst at Lehman Brothers, joined the organization. Early on an advisory board of artists, gallery owners and dealers was formed to help establish some credibility within the art community. Then a fundraiser showcasing four emerging artists was organised. This was a success, with 500 people attending and a write up in the New York Times styles section.

The company expanded into fashion in 1995, on the advice of a young accessories designer who had attended one of the art exhibitions. A one night fashion show for emerging fashion designers was held using excess gallery space. A year later Gen Art hired a young film professional, Paul Gachot, to create and direct its first film festival. Around this time Gen Art began to expand, opening an office in Los Angeles in the summer of 1995 and San Francisco in 1996.

Upon graduation in late 1994 Ian started work at a corporate law firm. Stefan became the day to day CEO of the Company. Stefan quit the company in 1997 and Ian left his law job to work full-time at Gen Art, becoming the CEO. In 1998 Adam Walden was brought in and made the company president.

In the beginning of 2002 when a group of venture capitalists offered to invest in Gen Art, the bulk of the business was moved from the non-profit to the for-profit entity which then took over all responsibilities for corporate sponsorship and production of Gen Art's programming. While the deal fell through, Gen Art was able to leverage new national partnerships with Heineken and Chrysler to take the company national and Gen Art launched new offices in Miami and Chicago, and centralized the West Coast office oversight in New York.

From 2002 - 2009, Gen Art produced over 100 events in fashion, film, music and art showcasing over 1,000 emerging talent. Its Film Festival celebrated its 15th Anniversary in April 2010 and Fresh Faces in Fashion in September 2009.

In May 2010, Gen Art announced it was closing its doors after succumbing to the financial crisis. On February 21, 2011, Gen Art announced that it was returning with a new slate of programs and events after being acquired by publishing company Sandow Media.[4] Under this new umbrella, longtime Gen Art Senior Executives Elizabeth Shaffer and Jeffrey Abramson were named Co-Presidents.[5]

Founded by Adam I. Sandow in 2002, Sandow Media brands also include beauty publication NewBeauty; Worth (magazine); Luxe Interiors + Design; 944 luxe Magazine; and Interior Design, a publication serving the interior design industry.

Gen Art Film Festival

The Gen Art Film Festival was founded in 1996 to showcase the work of emerging American Independent filmmakers. The festivals theme is "7 Premieres. 7 Parties" and consists of just seven features and seven shorts. Each night a feature and short is paired, with an after party following the screening. The Festival Director is Jeffrey Abramson.

2010

The 2010 Gen Art Film Festival will take place April 7 through April 13 in New York City. According to Gen Art’s film festival website, www.genart.org/filmfestival, the films for this year will be announced the week of March 5. This is the 15th year of the Gen Art Film Festival.

2009

Feature/Short

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

1999

1998

1997

1996, First Year of Film Festival

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References

External links