An edit-a-thon is an event where volunteers tackle a part of Wikipedia that needs improvement. Complete beginners are welcome; training and troubleshooting is provided. After Tuesday's presentation, allowing enough time for attendees to compile materials and photographs, Mike will run a daytime edit-a-thon at the Art Gallery on the topic of the 2023 Christchurch Art Gallery show Ink on Paper.
Library, Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, Montreal St. Meet at the reception desk and we'll be let into the library together.
Wikipedians from anywhere in the world are of course welcome to join in remotely. Please feel free to hashtag edits with #NZartists and add yourselves to the participants list below.
Bring a laptop if you have one. We will have one spare to loan if you don't have your own to bring.
Why Ink on Paper?
It featured New Zealand printmakers from the first half of the 20th Century, including women and Māori, who are not usually featured in the art history books
The exhibition has a beautiful hardcover catalogue with bios of all the artists; we'll be giving one away to the keenest participant
Many of the works in the show are in the public domain under US law, so can be uploaded into Wikimedia Commons and illustrate the artist's article. Christchurch Art Gallery have kindly supplied good-quality photos of the works for upload.
10.00: Meet and greet Introductions, name lanyards, and account creation if needed.
10.15: Wikipedia tutorial We'll learn how Wikipedia works and how to improve, create, and reference articles, and what resources the Christchurch Art Gallery has. Experienced editors present will be buddied up with any newcomers.
10.45: Editing Our goal is to improve Wikipedia's coverage of the artists in the table below. You can improve existing articles, add to Wikidata, or create stub articles for people missing from Wikipedia.
12.30: Lunch break in the cafe downstairs
13:15: Working through the afternoon, doing as much as we can.
Finishing up: Make sure you fill out an evaluation form and add your contributions to the list below.
If you're coming, try to create a Wikipedia accountbeforehand: don't wait until the day to do it! Here's a form you can use if you like. Creating an account makes editing much easier (here's more info on why you should). You'll need to pick a "handle" for your username; you could use your real name, but it's nice to have the option to be a bit anonymous if you want. Here's some advice on picking a username.
The more you prepare, the more you'll be able to get done. You may want to read up on avoiding common mistakes, but Wikipedia has a "don't bite the newbies" policy, and we'll be there to troubleshoot.
Ross, Gail Macdonald (2006). New Zealand Prints 1900-1950: An unseen heritage (PhD thesis). University of Canterbury. Retrieved 2024-05-18. <- excellent PhD thesis covering the history of print making in NZ, incredibly thorough
We will have a photographer present for an hour to take publicity photos. If you definitely don't want to be in a photo, just choose a red name lanyard; if you don't mind, pick a green one. No photos will be shared or uploaded without the subject's consent.