2019 Press Release
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Technology meets art on Friday, March 29, when a Penn State wikistorming event, the 2019 Art + Feminism Wikipedia edit-a-thon, invites the public to drop by for exciting presentations throughout the day, to encourage the editors, and participate in (re)shaping knowledge on Wikipedia. The fifth annual daylong event is part of a worldwide event of numerous satellite edit-a-thons scheduled to take place in March at universities and museums across the country and internationally, including locations in Amsterdam, Paris, Moscow, Brussels, and Berlin.
Penn State’s edit-a-thon, sponsored by the University Libraries, the College of Arts & Architecture, School of Visual Arts, and the Graduate Art Education Association (GAEdA), begins at 10:00 a.m. in the Mann Assembly Room, Penn State University Libraries on the University Park campus. Interested participants are welcome regardless of level of technology knowledge or experience.
Karen Keifer-Boyd, professor of art education and women’s, gender & sexuality studies, is coordinating the Penn State Art+Feminism edit-a-thon, which she calls an “empowering” effort. She has been involved in similar collective efforts to edit Wikipedia entries. “We would like the public to join us in person or from afar via Zoom video conferencing for the presentations on the half-hour throughout the day, and by adding articles and information about artists, feminist curatorial practices, feminist art pedagogy, and other topics absent from Wikipedia,” she said.
Kimberly Henrikson (1988 alumna with a BA in Art History) states: “I strongly believe in supporting efforts to increase the visibility of women and gender non-binary artists. Because Wikipedia often acts as an initial resource for reference (rightly or wrongly) about artists, providing educational opportunities like these which expand the technical skills and knowledge needed to contribute to the online content is invaluable for improving the coverage of traditionally unrepresented or underrepresented communities.” she said.
Dr. Keifer-Boyd was encouraged by alumni to bring the annual Art+Feminism wikistorming event to Penn State, after coordinating the first one at Penn State in 2014. She said: “I was hooked and have coordinated the annual event each year since, joined by many others who believe in the work. I love to witness participants beam with accomplishment as they make their first edits in (re)shaping knowledge. Each year participation has grown with people participating both in person at the all day event and from afar, particularly from the other Penn State campuses but, also, alumni.”
Ilayda Altuntas, Ph.D. candidate in art education in the School of Visual Arts, who joined the edit-a-thon last year, returns as a presenter and facilitator to add feminist artists who work with soundscapes and sound art. She states: “It was empowering to contribute to the editing and learn to reshape Wikipedia. Gathering in a space filled with scholars to combat Wikipedia’s gender gap and coverage of women in the arts was a highly empowering experience.” The March 29 event includes lunch, funded by Graduate Arts Education Association (GAEdA).
Keywords: Pam Longobardi, relationship between art, science, and the environment.
Question: After reviewing the videos from 2019, the Spring prior to the pandemic, how have the topics and issues changed and what needs to be changed on the Wikipedia pages worked on in 2019, and still need more coverage?