Born: 1970
Based in Malmö SWE | Copenhagen DK

Current work: WHERE ARE THE LESBIANS?
An Investigation into Lesbian/Queer Public Life in Post-Pandemic Europe

For the past two years, I have traveled across Europe to experience firsthand what it takes to find lesbian communities in different cities. I called it The Lesbian Tour Europe and documented the journey on Instagram and on my website. The community on Instagram grew from 195 followers to over 25,000, and my website had more than 53,000 unique visitors last year. I am currently finishing a book about the experience.

I am an independent journalist with over two decades of experience in the Swedish and Danish press. My background includes serving as Chief Editor for the street magazine Aluma, Local Editor for Hem & Hyra, and Image Editor for Politiken’s travel guide series Turen Går Til. As a freelance journalist, I have spent years covering social issues for a wide array of publications in Sweden.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Current work: WHERE ARE THE LESBIANS?
An Investigation into Lesbian/Queer Public Life in Post-Pandemic Europe.

• Local Editor | Hem & Hyra, Helsingborg
  2006 – 2023

  • Hem & Hyra is the award-winning magazine of the Swedish Union of Tenants, one of Sweden’s largest and most influential member organizations. It focuses on issues critical to renters such as housing rights, policy, and living conditions. The platform delivers in-depth articles, news, and consumer advice, serving as a key voice for tenants in Sweden.

  • Managed three local editions from concept to completion.

  • Produced a wide range of content including breaking news, in-depth reportage, and comprehensive investigations.

  • Responsible for daily web publishing, social media dissemination, photography, video production, freelance management, and budget oversight.

• Image Editor | Politiken Publishing House, Copenhagen 2015 – 2016

  • Sourced and curated all imagery for seven guidebooks in the acclaimed Turen Går Til(The Trip Goes To) series, Scandinavia's largest travel guide collection.

  • Managed visual content for books covering diverse global destinations, each approximately 170 pages.

• Freelance Journalist | Malmö 2005 – 2006

  • Specialized in long-form reportage on housing issues and social topics.

  • Contributed to publications such as Socionomen, Röda Korsets tidning (Red Cross Magazine), Mana, Aluma (Street Paper), Donationsrådet (The Donation Council), Bang, Vägverket (Swedish Road Administration).

• Chief Editor | Aluma Street Magazine, Malmö 2004 – 2005

  • Led all editorial content from start to finish.

  • Wrote feature reportage, authored editorials, managed freelance contributors, and maintained daily contact with the magazine's vendors.

• Project Writer | Malmö Stad 2003
  Compiled the 2002 Environmental Report and the city's first-ever Welfare Report.

DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKING Director 2020 – 2021

• Doris‍ An independent short film, 2021, about a street-smart cat navigating humans and city life. Screened at Kino/Folkets Bio | Arthouse Cinema, Lund.

• Tomten bor i Ekeby(Santa Lives in Ekeby) | Hem & Hyra, 2021: A portrait of a man whose life changed after growing a Santa-like beard.

• Livet efter sprutan (Life After the Shot) | Hem & Hyra, 2021: A short film follow-up featuring three participants from the pandemic series, documenting life after the vaccine.

• Röster från isoleringen(Voices from Isolation) | Hem & Hyra, 2020: An audio-visual documentary series in ten parts, combining still photography with recorded voices of seniors during the pandemic. The project was actively launched and distributed across various Facebook groups to maximize reach. Fun fact: I also composed the intro music.

PHOTO ESSAY

• I hjärtat är vi alla grannar (In Our Hearts, We Are All Neighbors) | Hem & Hyra, 2019
  I started this side project as an experiment on Hem & Hyra’s social media platforms. I wanted to see if I could translate the oral history method used by Ales Adamovich, Daniil Granin, and Svetlana Alexievich into a Swedish housing context. I called it "Människor i hyresrätt" (Humans in Rentals). Little did I know when I started that the housing situation was a great symbol of life. I later renamed the project "I hjärtat är vi alla grannar"
  (In Our Hearts, We Are All Neighbors).
  
  I interviewed 25 people without any preconceived notions. From these conversations, I wrote short first-person texts based on the quotes I felt the most in my gut, accompanied by a portrait. It improved our social media engagement.
  
  Besides being used on Facebook and Instagram, the series was later published in the magazine. The story made the cover, marking the first time since the magazine launched in 2007 that a local editor’s photography was featured on the front page. I also turned the project into an exhibition at Landskrona Museum. This gut method has since been the blueprint of how I work.

EXHIBITIONS, PUBLICATIONS & MERITS

• Grant Recipient: 26,000 SEK from Publicistklubben to visit the lesbian community in Hebden Bridge, United Kingdom, 2025.

• Exhibition and Artist Talk: From The Gut on lesbian life in Europe,
  Gåsebäck Filmfestival, Helsingborg, August 2024.

• Pop-up Shop: Ran a month-long pop-up shop selling Art Posters at Arsenik, Malmö, 2023.

• Chairman of the Board, Agnes Hus Housing Cooperative (2023–2026).

• Grant Recipient: 24,000 SEK from the Swedish Union of Journalists to participate in a Marketing course at Berghs School of Communication, Stockholm, 2021.

• Exhibition: Art Posters by Gry Ellebjerg, AB Småland (Lifestyle Shop), Malmö | 2021

• Founder: Art Posters by Gry Ellebjerg (Webshop) | 2020-2024

• Photography Exhibition: I hjärtat är vi alla grannar (In Our Hearts We Are All Neighbors) at Landskrona Museum | 2019

• Contributing Writer: Anthology #jagärhär (#IAmHere), 2018. Featured with the text "The Journey to Banana Flower Spaceship" alongside ABBA-Björn Ulvaeus, Susanna Alakoski and Alex Schulman. The organisation mobilizes against online hate to foster a respectful digital environment.

• Grant Recipient: 35,000 SEK from the Olle Engkvist-priset från Stockholms Byggnadsförening to do research in Salt Lake City, USA, about the state's successful model for ending chronic homelessness | 2015.

• Contributing Writer: Anthology Kvinnan, kärleken och romanen (Woman, Love, and the Novel) 2001. My Master’s thesis in Comparative Literature was adapted and published in this collection. It focuses on Sophie Sager, who in 1848 became the first woman in Sweden to successfully prosecute her own attempted rape and assault case.

EDUCATION & CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

• Social Media Strategy: Certified in Influencer Marketing from Berghs School of Communication, 2021, Stockholm. Focusing on platform dynamics and campaign planning.

• Vesterbro Creative Writing School | Copenhagen, Denmark 2017

  • Studied with acclaimed authors Christina Hesselholdt, Peter-Bang Fors, and Anders Abildgaard.

• Master of Arts in Comparative Literature | University of Gothenburg 2003

• Folk High School Teacher Degree (Media & Communication) | Linköping University | 2002

• Journalism Program | Kalix Folkhögskola 1996 – 1997

• One-Year Photography Program | Vestbirk Højskole, Denmark 1992 – 1993

• Creative Writing Course | Nordens Folkhögskola, Biskops-Arnö 1990 – 1991

SKILLS & EXPERTISE

• Journalism: Investigative Research, In-depth Interviewing, Long-Form Narrative Writing, Short-Form News, Feature Articles, Editing, Ethical Reporting, Finding Unique Angles.

• Digital Growth & Community Building: Where are the lesbians?
  Through trial and error, I figure out what people want to read. I went from 195 followers in April 2024 to over 25,000 by December 2025. I use the platform as an engine to drive traffic, which led to 53,000+ unique visitors on my website last year—a site I launched from scratch in July 2024.

• Photography & Visual Arts: Documentary Photography, Portraiture, Art Poster Design.

• Editorial Management: From idea to writing, photography, and final editing. Budget Oversight, Freelance Coordination, Daily Web Publishing, Social Media Strategy.

• Technical Proficiencies: WordPress, Google Analytics, InDesign, Photoshop, Premiere Pro.

• Languages: Native Swedish and a professional understanding of Danish and Norwegian. I now work and publish exclusively in English for a global audience.