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 premieres and screenings, live music and art receptions and tours. Gen Art's offices are located in New York City and Los Angeles. Previous offices have included San Francisco, Miami and Chicago.

On February 21, 2011, Gen Art announced it would return with the 16th Annual Gen Art Film Festival in New York City. 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.

Gen Art began 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.

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