Why subscribe to the w-report?
When you subscribe to w-report you are getting the freshest and most plugged-in news and opinions from the world of travel and culture. You are drawing from the know-how and knowledge of two always-on-the-move journalists and their farflung network of travel and art insiders. For 25 years Gisela Williams and Antje Wewer have been exploring the far corners of the world, searching out the most extraordinary people and places for some of the world’s top publications.
They will go the extra mile, literally: Williams has traveled to remote monasteries in Korea with the American chef David Chang to eat Buddhist temple food; taken boats, planes and automobiles to Francis Mallmann’s tiny private island in Patagonia; explored Chiang Mai’s art scene with Rirkrit Tiravanija; and made a pilgrimage to a remote village on the Indonesian island of Flores to view multi-colored volcanic lakes and an art installation from the Swiss artist Not Vital.
Wewer has traveled to Colomé, Argentina to talk about light and volcanos with the artist James Turell, slept in King Charle’s remote guesthouse in Transylvania, and journeyed to Fogo Island Inn to experience its architecture first hand and meet Zita Cobb, the visionary behind the Inn and Fogo Island Arts, the residency-based contemporary art venue for artists, filmmakers, writers, musicians, curators, designers, and thinkers from around the world.
Starting in July 2023 the w-ladies will be launching first a monthly and then, in September, a bi-weekly newsletter, much of it exclusive to subscribers, that they promise will serve up incredibly juicy, exceptional travel content with a spicy side of contemporary culture. In addition, for subscribers, they will connect you to creatives from various fields in a number of cities, answer individual travel questions and in some case help you to customize your trip.
w-report manifesto
We had heard about each other before we met. Antje was for me the It girl about (Berlin) town, always in the middle of every cool party and opening. According to Antje, I was the writer who often popped up when she’d do a Google search on a place she was about to travel to, like Tbilisi, Georgia. When we finally connected in person, my congenial American side was somewhat intimidated by Antje, who never hesitates to serve up her honest, sharp opinion without attempting to sugar coat it, but always with a sense of humor and a bright smile. This trait of hers is now something I really value, especially when we are comparing notes about a hotel or restaurant. She never hesitates to tell it like she sees it.
A few years ago, we chatted briefly at a dinner and exchanged a few emails but we finally connected properly in Morocco at an annual travel conference called Pure. We were hiking with a group to a remote village in the Atlas Mountains to understand the impact of an NGO that supports the housing and education of young Moroccan women. The heartfelt conversation we had on that walk sparked a bond. From that moment on we were friends and colleagues rather than competitors, bonded by our mutual love of travel and culture and the urge to search out and follow clues that lead to unexpected treasures and visionaries that have yet been discovered or written about. We are as much detectives, as we are writers.
Over the 25 years we have been writing about travel and culture, I for publications like the New York Times T Magazine and Travel + Leisure, and Antje for magazines like SALON, The Weekender, Merian and SZ-Magazin, we have learned that websites can be deceptive and in general, it’s best not to believe anything (or anyone) until you see and experience it in person. Although we don’t agree all the time and have various individual interests, we absolutely do have the same high standards and tastes that are not dictated by mainstream opinion or press rates. We are old school media. That means we believe in well researched, unique content that is fact checked and not compromised.
“She never hesitates to tell it like she sees it. “
Gisela about Antje
Between the two of us we’ve been to most countries in the world –usually multiple times—and we are insatiably curious. We are as interested in culture, art and design, urban planning and community as we are in hotels and food. I love adventure and to push people out of their comfort zone; Antje loves to find comfort zones in unexpected places.
We decided to launch w-report because we realized that we were both being asked by so many people where and how to travel, we might as well share our intel together in one place. Not all the extensive research we do and exceptional treasures we dig up on our travels ends up in the final version of our stories, so we were also excited about the idea of having a place to share all those unexposed finds.
“I always want to go where she has just been.“
Antje about Gisela
There are plenty of endless city guides out there, good and bad. You won’t be finding them in w-report. We believe when it comes to newsletters that less is more. We want to distill a featured destination down to the best of the best, a handful of magical finds, special contacts and worthwhile new openings that can open perspectives and doors and make one’s trip sing.
