Wikipedia edit event will create accurate representations of people in arts, activism – MLive.com

ANN ARBOR, MI -- The Stamps Gallery at the University of Michigan is hosting the Ann Arbor Art + Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-thon.

Attendees of this kid-friendly event from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 22, at 201 S. Division St. in Ann Arbor, will edit pages to improve representation on Wikipedia of transgender and non-binary women, along with people of color in arts and activism.

The Edit-a-thon is a part of the Stamps Gallery Feminist Futures: Art, Design & Activism Series, which launched last fall and focuses on the connection with feminism in art, scholarship, design and politics.

The Wikipedia Edit-a-thon seeks artists of all generations to properly reflect who they are and acknowledge their accomplishments.

It is recognizing that we are living in a digital world and most of the information that we take in is coming to us through the internet, said Srimoyee Mitra, director of the Stamps Gallery. There are major biases on the internet.

Editing Wikipedia pages to reflect accuracy has become a global campaign. Wikipedia even has a page dedicated on how to run an Edit-a-thon.

Wikipedia is what we feed it, said Mitra. We have the capacity to change that.

Detroit-based artist, educator and community organizer Diana Nucera, known as Mother Cyborg, will DJ and have a conversation at the event. She is a former director of the Allied Media Projects and has worked on accessible education in technology.

She will be talking about digital technology justice who has access to certain kinds of technologies, said Anne Cong-Huyen, digital scholarship strategist at UM Libraries. And specifically in Detroit, the issues related to broadband internet connection, poverty, access to information and some of the work she has done.

In addition, there will be free lunch, refreshments and giveaways with cake at the end of the event. Organizers advise to bring your own devices for editing, but some laptops will be available for usage.

With the Stamps Gallery organizing the event, other co-sponsors involved are the Center for the Education of Women+ Frances and Sydney Lewis Visiting Leaders Fund, The Institute for Research on Women & Gender and UM Libraries.

We do a lot of supporting of Wikipedia editing in classes, said Cong-Huyen. We help faculty members design Wikipedia editing assignments. We want to make sure our students, faculty and community members know how to evaluate the information thats coming at them.

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Wikipedia edit event will create accurate representations of people in arts, activism - MLive.com

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