Gen Art, the 16 year old infamous backer for rising talents in fashion, film, and art has been unsuccessful in backing itself up, admittedly falling victim to to the Great Recession in a recent letter to the public posted on their website earlier this week.
Gen Art Closes Its Doors After 16 Great Years
It is with an extremely heavy heart that we are are posting this. After struggling for the past 18 months since the economic crisis, Gen Art has finally succumbed to the recession.
During this challenging time we did everything in our power to adjust our business to these new business realities by cutting costs and seeking out alternative funding solutions. However when a major, new, corporate partnership unexpectedly collapsed a few weeks ago, we found ourselves without sufficient resources or time to overcome this sudden and substantial loss of revenue. Their decision had the unintended effect of pushing Gen Art over the edge. We have now halted all operations, have let go all of our amazing staff, and shuttered the business that we hope was in some small way was as close to your heart - as it was ours.
We will be forever grateful for the support of so many individuals and corporate partners over the last 16 years who have believed in the vision and mission of this business. Whatever we have accomplished has been made possible through the hard work and dedication of the incredible Gen Art staff, interns and legions of volunteers who have given so much of themselves, their passion and their talents to the common causes of discovering and showcasing the new generation of talent.
It has been an incredible journey and experience.
We will always remember the good times and proudly think back on the opportunities created for so many emerging artists through the thousands of fashion shows, film screenings and festivals, live music performance, art fairs and competitions we have produced across the country since 1994.
We hope that where we have left off, others will step up to help fill the void.
Sincerely,
Ian & Stefan Gerard
Gen Art Founders
During this challenging time we did everything in our power to adjust our business to these new business realities by cutting costs and seeking out alternative funding solutions. However when a major, new, corporate partnership unexpectedly collapsed a few weeks ago, we found ourselves without sufficient resources or time to overcome this sudden and substantial loss of revenue. Their decision had the unintended effect of pushing Gen Art over the edge. We have now halted all operations, have let go all of our amazing staff, and shuttered the business that we hope was in some small way was as close to your heart - as it was ours.
We will be forever grateful for the support of so many individuals and corporate partners over the last 16 years who have believed in the vision and mission of this business. Whatever we have accomplished has been made possible through the hard work and dedication of the incredible Gen Art staff, interns and legions of volunteers who have given so much of themselves, their passion and their talents to the common causes of discovering and showcasing the new generation of talent.
It has been an incredible journey and experience.
We will always remember the good times and proudly think back on the opportunities created for so many emerging artists through the thousands of fashion shows, film screenings and festivals, live music performance, art fairs and competitions we have produced across the country since 1994.
We hope that where we have left off, others will step up to help fill the void.
Sincerely,
Ian & Stefan Gerard
Gen Art Founders
What's Next for Gen Art by Amp Energy: Filmed just last summer, July 2009
The company plummeted into heavy debt--having faced major sponsorship withdrawal of up to 70% just in 2008-2009 alone. Among some of the sponsors who took themselves out of the Gen Art deals are American Express, Acura, and Citibank. The talent sponsor in turn, had to close their San Francisco, Chicago and Miami offices last year. Forced to let go of about one third of its staff, Gen Art minimized its workforce to just 27 people, who were furthermore reduced to comply with a four-day work week according to BizBash. Finally at the end of the first quarter of 2010, $350,000 of its sponsorship money fell through and as from what you can see from their letter of resignation above, this became the end of the talent lover love story.
Zac Posen last year at Gen Art's 15th birthday.
Amongst the talent who grew out of Gen Art are Zac Posen, Phillip Lim, Vena Cava, Rebecca Taylor, and Rodarte.
Tanner Hall by Tatiana von Furstenberg, Winner of Gen Art's Film Festival 2010
Tanner Hall by Tatiana von Furstenberg, Winner of Gen Art's Film Festival 2010
