2016 Art+Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-thon at SLU

Art+Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-thon

Friday, March 4, 2016, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Newell Center for Arts Technology

Noble Center Room 108

St. Lawrence University (Canton, NY)

we can edit

In conjunction with International Women’s Day, St. Lawrence University will be one of 125 locations around the globe to host a 2016 Art+Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-thon. Last year, over 1,500 participants at more than 75 events created nearly 400 new pages and made significant improvements to 500 articles on Wikipedia. Since the group’s founding in 2014, edit-a-thon focus areas include female artists, works of art by women, social reformers, activists, and feminists.  The SLU edit-a-thon also encourages contributions about women across the arts in music, theater performance, and elsewhere.

According to the organizers, “Art+Feminism is a rhizomatic campaign to improve coverage of women and the arts on Wikipedia, and to encourage female editorship. Wikimedia Foundation found that less than 10% of its contributors identify as female. While the reasons for the gender gap are up for debate, the practical effect of this disparity is not. Content is skewed by the lack of female participation. This represents an alarming absence in an increasingly important repository of shared knowledge. We invite people of all gender identities and expressions, particularly transgender, cisgender, and gender nonconforming women, to address this absence by organizing in-person, communal updating of Wikipedia’s entries on art and feminism.”

Participants in the Wikipedia edit-a-thon will learn how to edit existing articles and/or create new pages, as well as gain an understanding of core Wikipedia fundamentals, including “neutrality, notability, and citation.” All members of the North Country community are welcome, and previous experience is not required.  Knowledgeable editors will be on hand to provide support.

Co-organized by Catherine Tedford, Director of the Richard F. Brush Art Gallery, and Leila Walker, Assistant Director of the “Crossing Boundaries” Mellon Humanities Grant, with assistance from Renee McGarry, senior instructional designer for Sotheby’s Institute of Art. Co-sponsored by St. Lawrence University’s Richard F. Brush Art Gallery, “Crossing Boundaries” Mellon Humanities Grant, Newell Center for Arts Technology, and Libraries and Information Technology. Light refreshments will be provided. Seating is limited; to register please contact Catherine at [email protected] (315 229-5174) or Leila at [email protected] (315 229-5486).

Additional resources:

Evans, Siân. ACRLog. Why GLAM Wiki: Wikipedia and Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums. December 15, 2015; accessed February 4, 2016.

Hamlin, Amy K. Art History Teaching Resources. Art History, Feminism, and Wikipedia. December 11, 2015; accessed February 4, 2016.

Thom, Alexandra and Saisha Grayson-Knoth. Art History Teaching Resources. Making History: Wikipedia Editing as Pedagogical and Public Intervention. March 7, 2014; accessed February 4, 2016.