University Libraries to host its annual Art + Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-thon

Ohio University Libraries is pleased to announce its annual Wikipedia Edit-a-thon that will be occurring on Wednesday, March 29 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. The event will take place in person in room 251 on the second floor of Alden Library and light refreshments will be served.

Art + Feminism (A+F) is a worldwide campaign and serves as an opportunity to improve Wikipedia’s coverage of feminism in the arts as well as women and nonbinary artists. Another goal of the event is to increase and diversify the number of women and nonbinary editors. Training and support will be provided, so all skill levels of Wikipedians are welcome and encouraged to attend. 

March is Women’s History Month, and although the contributions of women in the arts should be recognized and highlighted all year round, March is also a good time for those at OHIO and across the world to come together to work on closing the gender gap in content editing and creation. 

Greta Suiter, manuscripts archivist, wrote in an email that holding the event in March does have some significance that aligns with the objectives of the Art + Feminism event.

“By hosting Art + Feminism events during Women’s History Month, the goal is to engage more women (cis, transgender and nonbinary) in becoming editors, and empower them to add content relevant to their lives or that better represents the diversity of human experience,” Suiter wrote.

Michele Jennings, art librarian, also made a similar point to Suiter about how it is important for women and nonbinary people to be able to exist in spaces that are typically dominated by men and to tell their stories.

“Like so many areas, the work of women and nonbinary artists is not even remotely covered to the extent that it should be in Wikipedia and other educational resources,” Jennings wrote in an email. “A+F has pointed out that Wikipedia’s last census of its editors shows that they were overwhelmingly white, male and based in Western countries. As they say, ‘if we don’t tell our stories, who else will?’”

Jennings hopes that participants will have a better understanding of how Wikipedia and other sources of information get created and edited, but she also hopes that participants feel empowered by the work that they do.

“They (the participants) are the editors, they are working to make Wikipedia a better place, and that has tangible results,” Jennings wrote. “What Wikipedia and the broader information landscape gets is better and more information about artists and creators who have gone underrecognized, and that’s powerful.”

Suiter finds edit-a-thons fun and thoroughly enjoys attending them, as well as she thinks they are informative and always inspires her to do more once they are finished. Although they may seem overwhelming at first, Suiter mentioned that the events are a great way to learn something new.

“Editing Wikipedia can feel daunting or like you don’t really belong in that space, [but] events such as edit-a-thons with themes like Art + Feminism can introduce people to the mechanics of editing, and encourage them to be bold and learn to navigate the world of Wikipedia,” Suiter wrote. “I hope people are inspired to think critically about their sources when they use Wikipedia and to know that if they see something they want to change or add to articles they can do that.”

For more information about the event, please contact Greta Suiter or Michele Jennings. To request accessibility accommodations, contact Jen Harvey, Library events coordinator, at harveyj1@ohio.edu.