Photo of Jen Bekman by Zach Klein.
Jen Bekman Founder, Jen Bekman Projects
Jen Bekman is a gallerist, entrepreneur and writer. A native New Yorker—she attended Stuyvesant High School and Hunter College—Jen opened her eponymous gallery on Manhattan’s Lower East Side in 2003 and founded Jen Bekman Projects in 2007.
She began her career directing community and editorial efforts for groundbreaking internet companies such as New York Online, Electric Minds and Netscape. Jen went on to oversee interactive programming efforts at Disney/GO Networks in San Francisco. In 2000, she moved back to New York City and continued her internet career as the Chief Creative Officer at an AOL-funded streaming video company and then later at Meetup, where she was the VP of User Development.
When she opened Jen Bekman Gallery, Jen’s internet experience, integral to her PR and marketing strategy, and her fresh perspective on the art world helped the gallery quickly establish itself as an exciting, unique space with a critically acclaimed program, focusing on emerging artists and innovative group shows. The gallery would later become the flagship of Jen Bekman Projects, a network of ventures with the mission of bringing the value and joy of collecting art to a dramatically wider audience than has ever been possible. JBP also includes 20x200, an e-commerce site offering curated, affordable limited-edition prints, and the critically acclaimed international photo competition Hey, Hot Shot! which discovers, recognizes and promotes photographers at all stages of their careers.
In January of 2007, American Photo named Jen an Innovator of the Year. In 2008, the Griffin Museum of Photography honored her with the Rising Star Award. In April 2010, she was named one of Fast Company’s Most Influential Women in Technology. In October 2010, Jen and 20x200 were profiled by American Express OPEN forum: Small Business Rules.
Jen frequently makes public appearances, participating in panels and portfolio reviews and leading seminars. She has spoken at SXSW, Web 2.0 Expo, the AIGA annual conference and reviewed portfolios at Review Santa Fe, Parsons, The New York Foundation for the Arts, PhotoExpo and the Minnesota Center for Photography. She juried the 30th Anniversary Memberʼs Exhibition for the Photographic Resource Center at Boston University and has participated in the Mentors Program at the School of Visual Arts for several years. She served on the advisory board for 25 for 25: The AOL Grant Program, in which twenty-five $25,000 grants were awarded to artists, journalists and creative minds.
The founding editor of the design blog Unbeige and this blog, Personism, Jen maintains an active presence on both Twitter and Tumblr.
Articles by Jen Bekman
photo-eye Booklist (Fall 2007) Minnesota to Paris — a conversation with Alec Soth about Paris Minnesota, his edition of Magnum Photos' Fashion Magazine.
photo-eye Booklist (Summer 2007) Where We Live — a review of the Getty exhibition and its accompanying catalog.
GOOD magazine (Issue #3 May/June 2007) Stimuli: Jen Bekman on Art — an article about art collecting and the Internet.
Contact Info
To contact Jen, email person AT personism DOT com.
Please note: unsolicited artists' submissions are regrettably not accepted, reviewed or acknowledged. Photographers may have their work considered for the gallery itself or 20x200 by entering the competition, Hey, Hot Shot!. Artists working in other media may submit their images to 20x200, following the submission guidelines on the site. Additionally, Jen reviews photography portfolios at several major events each year and jurys competitions and exhibitions for other institutions on a regular basis.
Hi Jen,
I thought you might like an advance review copy of Five Flights Up. It is a collection of the best articles from Toni Schlesinger's Shelter column in the Village Voice. If you are interested, just say the word and I will send one along via UPS.
All Best,
Russell
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Russell Fernandez
Marketing Manager
Princeton Architectural Press
37 East 7th Street
New York, New York 10003
212-995-9620 ext. 212
www.papress.com
Posted by: Russell Fernandez | 04/06/2006 at 08:00 PM
Keep going, Jen!
Posted by: Laura Lamp | 01/12/2011 at 10:32 PM
Hey Jen
Don't know if yas remember me' from Hunter, but glad to see ya going strong.
Lama John Heaviside
Posted by: John Heaviside | 02/06/2011 at 10:16 AM
Love your writing and ambition. It is wonderfully refreshing amidst the usual over burdened, wordy, academic based art writing. True, you are not an "art writer" or critic in the usual sense, but you are a gallerist who comments on the art you love. I came upon you via Greg Lindquist, who I met at Golden Artist Colors ( We both use their paints, and I work for them as a tech consultant ), when he was visiting and presenting. You have several prints of his paintings I saw on 20x200.
Also love the quote by Bruce Nauman about the relationship of beauty and a sense of completeness in art, you used in speaking about Bill Armstrong's photo prints.
And....finally, love the name/title and sub title of this blog.
Scott Bennett
Posted by: Scott Bennett | 03/01/2011 at 08:52 AM