Galway is full of creativity, community and art. It is a place for self expression and exploration of new artistic mediums. A great example of Galway’s artistry is Ethereal magazine.
Ethereal magazine prides itself in being more than just a magazine, it is a community. It allows the young people of Ireland to come together and collaborate on creative projects, such as poetry, podcasts and magazines. I met with Elizabeth, the editor-in-chief, to talk about Ethereal and the importance that artistic outlets have for young creatives. Chatting to Elizabeth I wanted to pick her brains a little bit about where and why it all started.
“A multitude of reasons but mainly because I longed for an outlet that combined all my interests. I studied Social Sciences and I wanted to work for a magazine for my placement. They told me I should have chosen Journalism, so I asked the higher-ups of University of Galway if I could start my own magazine and they said; ‘absolutely, we love women in creativity.’ I always wanted to go to art school, so I guess I attempted to create my own version in which I could create freely and meet others who shared similar mindsets and visions.”
She continues; “I self-taught myself how to make a magazine, a few YouTube tutorials about the likes of Adobe softwares, and 9 months later, my friend and I are sitting on my roof writing poetry. People were climbing through our windows for photoshoots, dinner parties and book clubs, and a community began to emerge.”
The magazine is doing something different to most, and I felt it was important to understand what inspired it all to start.
Elizabeth explains; “I grew up reading magazines like Dazed, Rookie, ID and in recent years I have been inspired by independent magazines like Brick Magazine, Polysterzine, Sunstroke, All My friends and Nowhere.
When I first started the magazine it didn’t have a set agenda, but as time went on I noticed there was something that bound us all together; neurodivergence, queerness, feminism, it was some sort of beautiful gravitational pull and I wanted to keep on to this because it felt like a safe space for creation. While we do emphasise these facets, we are never limited by them.”
The magazine has been fortunate enough to have three issues, one digital and two print. The next issue, The Five Elements, is currently in production. The magazine is a take on the elements of the universe, exploring the themes of water, earth, fire, air and ether.
“We hosted an art exhibition last year. Eva O Donohoe wrote the most beautiful piece about the five elements: air, fire, water, earth and the fifth ether. As soon as I read it I knew that had to be the theme of our next issue.
So we spent the summer dialling young emerging Irish designers, models, artists and sent out an open call submissions. None of us have cars, studio space or fancy equipment so we took to the cliffs, woods, barns, bedrooms, beaches and public parks with a few rolls of film. It was a very self-made project, but I think that is what makes it so special. The magazine became a product of that, it is a collection of photography, poetry, art, writings + mixed media. Many of the central themes are the same - friendship, neurodivergence, queerness, girlhood: an exploration through the lens of the five elements.”
The magazine is only just getting started and the potential it has is huge. The ability to bring people together through art is an extremely important concept and it is great to see the art of print being revived. Without stressing the 24 year old out I asked Liz about the future of Ethereal;
“It depends on what day you ask me, I feel really passionate about what we attempt to do: to keep print alive, create a sense of community and act as an outlet. I feel like young people in Ireland, especially in the West of Ireland, deserve an all-encompassing platform for self-expression. I have been working voluntarily for Ethereal for nearly three years and running a nonprofit independent magazine is no utopia. It brings challenges on the daily both internally and externally. But I want to keep advocating for this space because it is really important to me so I won’t be dropping the quill anytime soon.”
If you want to explore the community of Ethereal, check out their website here and Instagram here. Take some time out of your day to explore the beautiful work of the young people of Ireland.
All photos courtesy of Ethereal Magazine
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