gal-dem announces closure

The publishers of gal-dem made the following statement:

“As a platform dedicated to centring people of colour from marginalised genders, we have collectively created and grown as a community since 2015, however gal-dem continuing to operate as a business is unfortunately no longer feasible.

“The hard decision to close the business has come from difficulties we’ve faced in stabilising our position both financially and structurally. Keeping a small, independent media company that is reliant on partnerships afloat over the last three years has been increasingly challenging. Through a global pandemic, brand budget reductions and economic downturn, we have worked tirelessly to reconfigure how we operate and keep gal-dem going through it all. And while we’re passionate about our membership model, it’s been difficult to sustain the level of growth needed here to support our work in the long term.

“There was always a delicate balance to strike in marrying our values, rooted in our beginnings as a volunteer-led organisation, with profitability that was needed to sustain and reinvest in the business, all while delivering ground-breaking creative work that served our community with an organisational structure that works. It’s a balance we committed to navigating carefully and responsibly, and while we’re incredibly proud of the projects that we created, it also came with its own set of challenges.

“There have been so many wonderful, impactful moments that we can’t even begin to express our gratitude for. The support we have received since the very beginning has truly been overwhelming in the best way.

“We want to wholeheartedly thank everyone who has been a part of this journey with us - whether you have been a reader from the beginning, a party-goer from our early days, or a more recent member. It meant so much for gal-dem to exist in the world, to tell the stories that mattered to us and our lived experiences, and to do it with authenticity, care, and heart. We thank our team for doing that work so brilliantly.

“We are so proud of what we have been able to achieve with our cherished community of staff, advisors, freelancers, readers, followers and listeners. While this chapter is ending, we hope that the spirit of what gal-dem proved possible over eight years will live on with you all. gal-dem to us, has been so much more than a magazine.

“As we say goodbye, we would like to highlight other organisations and publishers doing important work in this space – please support, follow and pitch to them to keep the spirit of underrepresented storytelling and independent media alive.”