We can only do this together

May 12, 2023

We started Hyperallergic in the fall of 2009 to create a new independent space for quality writing on art and culture. Hrag and I hoped it could become a sustainable digital-native platform. Our goals were to pay writers fairly, contribute to the art community, and reach new readers beyond the elitist art world structures that already existed.

Hyperallergic was the first online publication created with the specific goal of paying writers and continuing to increase that amount over time. In the early days, we started at $15/post, which was what we could afford back then. Today, primarily due to member support, we are able to offer contributors $250–$500.

We put all of our energy into building a talented community of writers with strong opinions and journalistic ethics. We’ve published hundreds of writers and are proud that many have gone on to write for The New York Times, The New Yorker, New York Magazine, LA Times, The Nation, and more. Others have published books expanding on articles originally run with us.

We’ve also worked hard on creating partnerships with arts organizations and schools. Our community of sponsors helps support us financially while providing useful information to our readers and allowing us to promote upcoming events, exhibitions and other initiatives that we believe are a natural fit for Hyperallergic.

But the most important piece of all of this is our readership. Without you, nothing we do matters.

We have always appreciated your shares, likes, comments, and emails. Now, we feel even more connected to readers who appreciate what we do and want to see us keep at it by supporting us directly as members.

Over the years, as other art publications have shut down, sold to corporations, pivoted to market-friendly reports, or downsized through layoffs, we’ve been able to grow, professionalize, and improve the quality of our reporting. Don’t let others tell you art criticism and journalism are in trouble. It’s not an easy road for sure, but we’re only getting started.

As the era of news on social media fades, we rely more than ever on our email newsletters to reach you. And though we now send emails to over 200,000 subscribers and reach more than 1 million readers each month on our website, only a small percentage of this audience is currently supporting us as members.

We need your help to change that.

If you appreciate Hyperallergic and want to see us continue long into the future, please consider becoming a member today.

As a member, you’ll be helping this arts publication not only survive, but continue to grow and thrive. You’ll not only be supporting our mission to publish quality independent art writing, but you’ll also have a direct impact on our future, our staff, and our contributors.

Your membership will help us:

Join us!