turning our gaze to the women who pass us by through intimate portraits, curated recommendations, and more

passerby is an online magazine and community that celebrates the women who pass us by.

Since 2015, passersby from all over the world have welcomed us into their homes, offering honest looks into their lives—the unconventional paths, mistakes, and small victories that define their day-to-day—as well as their book, film, and music libraries. Conceived by photographer and creative director Clémence Polès, passerby was born from her curiosity about the women she encountered all too briefly while people-watching. Wanting to hear from the people who sat beside her on the subway, from those who served her coffee or passed her on the sidewalk, she set out to broaden the scope of the people featured in typical media, asking the women she saw to speak with her.

Hundreds of conversations later, passerby has become a venue for diverse perspectives, a driver of creative exchange, and a home for a community of worldwide passersby. passerby pushes against traditional narratives of who is seen and what can be discussed, providing a rare space for reflection on an increasingly busy internet. 

free subscribers get…

  • Curated recommendations delivered to your inbox once a month, and an intimate introduction to a new passerby twice a month.

paid subscribers get…

  • Access to our private Discord channel

  • Monthly recommendations from our founder, Clémence Polès

  • Monthly book recommendations

  • Exclusive and additional passerby interviews and member spotlights

  • Exclusive weekly recommendations

  • Access to our archive

  • A chance to be interviewed for our member spotlight series (get in touch with us to be featured)

  • Advanced film screenings and access to members-only events in NYC and LA

partner subscribers get…

all of the above +

  • A passerby cap (Note: there may be additional shipping fees for international supporters)

  • Our wonder what they’re reading passerby bookmark

  • Exclusive discounts ranging between 15% and 40% from over 20 partners our community loves (brands include Mubi, Brooklyn Institute of Social Research, Verso Books, Cap Beauty, F.Miller, Maimoun, and more)

  • Exclusive recipes that have been handwritten by acclaimed chefs and food-industry figures in our community.

why become a paid or partner subscriber?

Whether you have been part of our community for years or just joined us, we are forever grateful for your time, but have reached a point where passerby is just not sustainable without support. We are determined to keep going, but we need your help.

That’s why we created the passerby club: a monthly subscription complete with exclusive content, gifts, community events, and more! Get additional interviews with women who pass us by and exclusive weekly recommendations (think articles on the pitfalls of research-based art, Chinese screamo performances, thoughts on the fraught relationship between girlhood and ballet shoes, and more) delivered directly to your inbox, receive discounts from over 20 passerby-favorite brands, gain access to our private Discord server, advance screening events, our full archive of monthly newsletters guest curated by authors, activists, editors, and other incredible women, and recipes from acclaimed chefs and food-industry figures in our community, plus participate in special guest speaker Q&As, among other offerings.

questions?

We’d love to have you be part of our club community — however, if you aren’t currently in a position to support us monetarily, please send a note to club@passerbymagazine.com and we will find a way for you to join regardless of financial hardship.

To talk about providing extended support or advertising on our platform, please be in touch with us at partnerships@passerbymagazine.

You can also make a tax-deductible donation via PayPal if you’d like to support passerby without membership.

Give a gift subscription

Subscribe to passerby

passerby is an online magazine and community that celebrates the women who pass us by. Since 2015, passersby from all over the world have welcomed us into their homes, offering an honest and intimate look into their lives.

People

Turning our gaze to the women who pass us by since 2015
Photographer + founder of passerby magazine