Support Birdy Magazine — Keep Print Undead.

Print is not nostalgia for us.

It's resistance, preservation and proof that art can still exist outside of algorithm-driven feeds and paywalls.

We live in a world where screens follow us everywhere, where algorithms decide what we see, and where AI is increasingly summarizing, flattening and automating creative thought. In this world, a magazine that exists on paper — one that you can feel, flip through and physically consume — isn't just a nice thing to have.

It's a radical act.

Birdy has been that act for nearly 13 years.

Who We Are

Birdy is an independent, artist-owned print magazine. Since 2013, we've published 148 free monthly issues without ever missing a month, showcasing thousands of artists, writers and creatives across disciplines and around the world. Working across print, radio, music, animation and experimental media, we document the art and culture of our time.

We've never been behind a paywall. We've never been driven by an algorithm. Every issue has been built by hand, with limited funding, and more heart than we can measure.

We started with a dream of connecting innovative artists, writers and misfits to an audience, and introducing an audience to inspiration. What we ended up with was way more than we could have ever dreamed. But what we didn’t expect was the overwhelming inspiration by you: our artists, writers and contributors fiercely pushing boundaries; our subscribers and readership fighting for a voice in the dark. We are all Birdy!

What We’ve Built

Since 2013, Birdy has:

Over the course of Birdy’s existence, we have given over a $1 million in free issues to the public; payment to artists, writers, designers, photographers, musicians, comedians and creatives; donated ad and editorial space for non-profits, community organizations, independent artists inside our pages; and contributed thousands of hours to community events, activations, speaking engagements, workshops and collaborative projects as partners, organizers and volunteers.

This has only been possible through years of collaboration, commitment from our core house writers and artists, countless hours of underpaid and free work from the founders, and our belief in the importance of independent art and analog culture.

Why Now

It’s no secret that the current economy is putting pressure on small businesses and creative work alike. For print publications like Birdy, that pressure is felt directly through advertising support. Advertising has historically helped sustain print, but it is often the first thing to disappear when businesses are forced to cut back.

Combined with rising paper and production costs, distribution expenses, and the ongoing labor of running an independent publication, we have reached a point we can no longer sustain alone.

But here's what makes this moment feel especially urgent: at the exact time that creativity is being automated and homogenized online, spaces that celebrate real human artists — on paper, in your hands, free of charge — matter more than ever. Birdy is one of those spaces. And we refuse to let it disappear quietly.

We are still printing. We are still publishing. But without support, we won't be able to continue.

What Your Support Does

Every contribution goes directly toward helping to:

This support isn't about expansion. It's about continuity — making sure that next month's issue exists, and the one after that.

What Comes Next

Beyond keeping Birdy in print, we are in the planning stages of something new.

We are cultivating a larger Birdy ecosystem off the page and into the worlds of film, music, animation, analog artifacts, a lifestyle line, and the world’s first audiozine. More platforms > to amplify more creatives > to more people > throughout more communities.

Getting there requires something we also haven’t had enough of — space. Space to step back from the grind to maintain operations and step forward into building what comes next.

So your support doesn't just keep Birdy alive. It gives us that space to grow into something greater than our current existence, to release more creativity into the world.

Why This Matters

If Birdy has ever crossed your path, if you’ve read an issue, discovered an artist through it, been published in our pages, framed a page to hang on your wall, used our issues for collage or art projects, or felt connected to any piece of work, we consider you part of this story already, and part of the reason we’ve made it this far.

Birdy has grown into something that now reaches tens of thousands of people. It has outgrown what a few people can carry alone. This is the point where participation becomes support. A vote that human-made, artist-driven, screen-free creative culture still has a place in the world.

A Note From the Founders

Birdy is the work of artist duo Jonny DeStefano and Krysti Joméi, who work across print, radio, music, animation and video graffiti along with their dedicated crew of creatives who are currently volunteering their time, art and efforts. Together, they operate as analog preservationists and sonic architects, keeping print undead and treating art as a form of resistance.

We’ve always believed this work should exist in the world, and now more than ever. It’s been our lifelong mission to create a space for all people to express themselves and to find their own artist within. But it won’t continue without help.

Print is still here. Print is undead. But it doesn’t stay here on its own. We need your help to keep Birdy soaring.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for standing with us.

- Krysti Joméi & Jonny DeStefano

Founders of Birdy Magazine

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Disclaimer: No raffles, sweepstakes, giveaways, or returns on investment are offered in exchange for any donations made to this GoFundMe.