Around January 2024 I had an idea that was not like all the others, it went somewhere.

In college I studied comparative literature. I didn’t have any plans for what to do with it except work, think, and write in print. I looked around at my friends, writers, poets, designers, photographers, performers, artists, and wondered:

If we were to all work together on something, what would it be?

It was clear it would be a magazine.

I created Gab as a way to see my friends more, to document what we talked about; but also to meet new people and explore the arts communities in Chicago on my own terms. Not just talk about what was happening in my city, but prop it up, give it the light it deserved.

Writing is a way to contextualize your own life. You don’t realize you’re a part of something until you claim it. We may very well be living in the type of creative era that we grew up reading and grieving over, believing it to have been over for a long time, or that it only exists for people of a certain pay grade or zip code.

This project has taught me that it is not over and it’s never too late to get involved.

I serve as the Editor and Chief and Creative Director of Gab Magazine.

I collect and edit submissions, seek out communities of artists in Chicago that I find interesting, interview them, write the profiles on them, organize and produce the photoshoots and style spreads, guide the team of designers and bring the project to print. I handle all marketing, social media and distribution.

So far we have two issues published, the first of which has sold out twice. The most recent issue of Gab, the Coming of Age Issue, released on June 14th and is available at thegabmag.com.

Product photos by Gabi Barerra