About Us

gel (grassroots events london) is a new listings and ticketing site, providing a more equitable and transparent model for access to grassroots nightlife, arts and culture in london. we provide an alternative to the monopoly of corporate ticketing platforms, serving the needs of grassroots venues, artists and audiences.

what is grassroots culture? gel supports spaces and events which are: independent or follow a broadly DIY ethos; share a community and cultural focus; prioritise emerging artists and innovative, experimental programming, including multidisciplinary art forms; and prioritise safety and equity for their staff and audiences.

gel is an independent, not-for-profit cic (community interest company), and any surplus funds will be used to support local community and cultural projects.

gel provides users with full financial transparency, demonstrating exactly how booking fees are used and being open about any sources of external funding.

gel represents a wider collective of London’s grassroots music and arts scenes, including venue owners, promoters, curators, artists, performers, activists, staff, and audiences. we are all personally involved in one or more of these communities, and are committed to supporting them.

gel aims to provide a trusted and sustainable infrastructure that nurtures the social and cultural life of grassroots venues, promotes emerging artistic talent, and strengthens the bonds between grassroots artists, audiences and communities.

grassroots nightlife, arts and culture

gel supports London’s grassroots culture in all its forms. the mvt's definition of grassroots music venues is a useful resource for defining and understanding the value of grassroots cultural infrastructure. gel seeks to build on this by providing a ticketing and listings platform for grassroots culture more broadly, including nightlife, live music, performance, art, talks and workshops. we aim to strengthen connections and solidarities across the broad ecology of London’s grassroots spaces and events, nurturing and growing the communities that make grassroots culture possible.

many existing ticketing and listings platforms divide culture into distinct categories. our listings reflect the reality that in many cases, a grassroots nightclub will have more in common with a grassroots gig venue or art gallery than a corporate super-club. gel seeks to connect audiences across different grassroots cultural sectors, and responds to the specific needs of grassroots operators.

independence

gel supports venues which are independently owned and operated. we are not here to platform events related to entertainment conglomerates, large multi-venue operators, or those entangled with private equity and venture capital.

we recognise that the realities of independence can be complex within what is a challenging economic climate for the grassroots music and arts sector, but we remain committed to championing autonomy and DIY values as guiding principles of the grassroots cultural ecosystem.

community focus

gel supports spaces and events that are embedded within specific communities, and offer programming and activities that give back to these communities. we support spaces and events that demonstrate commitment to the needs of local artists and audiences, as well as a sensitivity to their relationships with their local area.

cultural focus

gel supports venues and events in which music, art and culture are the main focus, with food and beverage economies subsidiary to this. we prioritise operators who take risks with their programming, providing a platform for up-and-coming artists and innovative, experimental programming. by supporting a broad definition of grassroots culture, gel also makes room for multidisciplinary cultural forms that blur fixed definitions such as nightlife, performance or art.

safety and equity

gel supports venues that provide a safe, accessible and welcoming space for their audiences, irrespective of race, gender, sexuality, physical ability and class. we also support venues that platform marginalised and underrepresented artists, and provide fair and equitable treatment for other nightlife workers, including security and bar staff.

not-for-profit cic

gel is run on a not-for-profit basis, trading as grassroots nightlife futures cic. as a community interest company (cic), any surplus revenue is reinvested into the ongoing development of the platform, or donated to projects that benefit London’s grassroots cultural communities.

financial transparency

gel will provide users with full financial transparency, outlining exactly how booking fees are used. we will also be fully transparent about external funding sources and our broader organisational structure. gel will always remain independently-owned and not-for-profit.

collective

gel emerged out of a wider collective of London’s grassroots music and arts scenes, including venue owners, promoters, curators, artists, performers, activists, staff, architects and audiences. after a series of monthly meetings, it became clear that venues and events’ organisers lacked a ticketing and listings platform that was economical and sensitive to the needs of the grassroots sector – gel is our response to this. we remain closely connected to this collective as an advisory body, and are keen to receive feedback from users of our site.