Tēnā koutou katoa. Nau mai, haere mai ki bad apple.
Welcome everyone to the juiciest new little website in Aotearoa, bad apple. I know it’s been a while coming and I’m so appreciative of the continued patience and support from our community.
bad apple was conceived towards the end of 2021, with queer folks tired of misrepresentation and bigotry in other media. Called into action by our founder Mari, a community came together on Discord with the intention to carve out our own space on the web. A radically and unapologetically queer space where the most silenced voices in our Aotearoa have the opportunity to be platformed first and foremost.
We’ve had ups and downs but that’s all part of the ride when trying to assemble queer creatives. Dozens of volunteers have poured time into bad apple, writing, designing, coding, editing and everything in between. It’s a project I hope takes off, people get behind, and can continue for a long time in the future. For now, I’m just ecstatic to finally be able to share the hard work of so many with you all.
Before you get into the tasty content we’re rolling out this week, I would like to thank all involved in nurturing bad apple from a tiny seed to what you see today.
Thanks to the wonderful Discord community we have built, the social media followers for sticking it out, and all the editors, artists and developers for sharing your skills.
Thanks to Emma Barnes and Chris Tse for their advice and support to an out-of-his-depth editor.
Thanks to all our contributors who have gone out on a limb for us and submitted work:
J. Wiremu Kane, Sidney Gig-Jan Wong, Sarita Das, harold coutts, Kat Rowan, Ted Greensmith-West, Cadence Chung, Cileme Venkateswar, Chelsea Adams, Laura Vincent, Katalaina Polata’ivao, Erin Ramsay, Natasha Hope-Johnstone, Sylvan Spring, Kyra Lawler, El Spurlock, Blaise Clotworthy, Greta Yeoman, Kayla Allison, Eamonn Tee, Elliot Weir, Jordan Cherian
Thanks to the bad apple Editorial Board. I’m so proud of what we have achieved and can’t wait to see how this year develops for us:
Sloane, Iris, Sidney, Maddie, Cameron, Lucy, Simon, Soph and Kate.
Thanks to our web wizard and the main reason you can actually look upon bad apple as a website: kī anthony. You’re forever a legend.
Finally, I’d like to especially thank our Creative Director, Sloane, and Tech Lead, Iris. We’ve made it folks. I questioned whether we could pull it together at times but we stuck it out and brought the dream to life. Time for a quick breath before we get right back to it. I have the utmost gratitude to you both for the tenacity to keep going, with me nagging you at every step.
That’s it, future leaders of the world, bad apple is all yours. Treat it kindly and explore at your discretion. Share on social media, share in your community, and share with those you love and those you hate! Kia ora.
Damien Levi,
bad apple Lead Editor
damien@badapple.gay
Featured photo courtesy of author.
