On Wednesday, June 24, 2009, stars such as Zac Posen, Adrian Grenier, Nick Cannon, William H. Macy, and Adrien Brody will come out to show their support for 15 years of Gen Art, the nation’s leading organization dedicated to showcasing emerging talent, at the I (HEART) Gen Art: 15th Anniversary Benefit taking place at 7W, located at 7 West 34th Street in Manhattan.
Due to the deep recession and faced with drastically decreased corporate funding, Gen Art, in its first benefit in over a decade – is making a direct appeal to its consumer and industry supporters to come out and assist the organization in its time of need.
Alumni from all areas of Gen Art’s programming: film, fashion, music and art have headed the call and are coming together to show their support for the company that helped many of them get their first big breaks on their road to success.
The I (HEART) Gen Art Benefit will feature an exhibition of works by over 60 of today’s most exciting visual artists who have been a part of Gen Art’s artistic family. Artists range from emerging to established and include Louise Bourgeois, Ricky Powell/DAZE, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, Paul D. Miller aka DJ Spooky, Nick Zinner (of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs), Mattia Biagi and Christo & Jeanne Claude, with all works being available for sale and all proceeds going to benefit the Gen Art Foundation, a 501©(3) tax-exempt charity. Items from over 20 fashion houses will also be available including many Gen Art alums such as Milly, Peter Som and Rafe.
All of the event’s 9 co-chairs have worked with Gen Art over the past 15 years via the company’s platform of 100 annual events. Zac Posen and Rebecca Taylor each had their runway debuts at Gen Art’s Fresh Faces in Fashion shows. Many of the actors had early performances highlighted when their films’ premiered at the Gen Art Film Festival including Adrien Brody, who had three films premiere with Gen Art prior to his winning the Best Actor Academy Award in 2003. Adrien Grenier and Alan Cumming also had early career premieres, and Gen Art also presented Alan’s directorial debut.
“We are so appreciative to have the support from many of our most talented alumni in our time of need,” said Gen Art co-Founder/CEO Ian Gerard. “The I (HEART) Gen Art Benefit has provided us with an amazing opportunity to celebrate the past 15 years, and gives us hope in this critical time.”
The I (HEART) Gen Art Benefit will begin at 8:00pm with a private VIP pre-reception from 7:00 to 8:00pm where guests can enjoy an exclusive preview (and have first dibs on artwork) of the exhibition, open bar and hors d’ouvres.
The goal of the Benefit, and the national fundraising effort in connection with it, is to raise $250,000 for Gen Art. Gen Art is also seeking to raise an additional $500,000 through other means to insure the company will weather the 2009 downtown and return to stability and the prospect of another 15 years of helping the next generation of artistic talent.
The event is open to the public and tickets are available at: www.genart.org / 212-255-7300. VIP tickets are $150 and General Admission tickets are $90 (there is also a discount for Gen Art members). Elite tickets range from $500-$10,000 with all $500 and higher ticket purchasers receiving a limited edition print by artist Anne Faith Nicholls (who herself survived heart surgery and thus brings personal insight to her piece associated with the concept of I (HEART) Gen Art.)
All proceeds from the evening will benefit the Gen Art Foundation, a charity whose ongoing mission is to support undiscovered talent and to provide high profile platforms for such talent, as well as providing access to the arts and entertainment worlds for consumer enthusiasts as well as industry members.
For more information, visit: www.genart.org
