Grants:Project/Rapid/Jewish Museum/Second Annual Edit-a-thon/Report

Report accepted

This report for a Rapid Grant approved in FY 2018-19 has been reviewed and accepted by the Wikimedia Foundation.

To read the approved grant submission describing the plan for this project, please visit Grants:Project/Rapid/Jewish Museum/Second Annual Edit-a-thon.
You may still comment on this report on its discussion page, or visit the discussion page to read the discussion about this report.
You are welcome to Email rapidgrants at wikimedia dot org at any time if you have questions or concerns about this report.

Goals

Did you meet your goals? Are you happy with how the project went?

The Jewish Museum successfully hosted its second Wikipedia Edit-a-thon on Sunday, March 3, 2019.

Overall, the Edit-a-thon was a success: 2 new articles were created and 36 existing articles were updated, with a total of 145 edits overall. With 60 people in attendance, a total of 10,100 words were added to Wikipedia articles on women artists. Through this event we were able to bring awareness to the Jewish Museum, its collection, and exhibition history, specifically highlighting women artists who do not have a strong presence on Wikipedia.

Outcome

Please report on your original project targets.

Target outcome	Achieved outcome	Explanation
Number of events: 1	Number of events: 1
Number of participants: 100	Number of participants: 60	We had hoped that the final day of Martha Rosler: Irrespective would draw 100 participants, however we still achieved more participants than last year's event.
Number of new editors: 30	Number of new editors: 15	Some people who attended the event were already experienced editors.
Number of articles created or improved: 150	Number of articles created or improved: 38	With such a high number of new editors at the event, it took more time to edit articles.
Number of repeat participants (for projects that include a series of events): N/A	Number of repeat participants (for projects that include a series of events): N/A

Learning

Projects do not always go according to plan. Sharing what you learned can help you and others plan similar projects in the future. Help the movement learn from your experience by answering the following questions

What worked well?

After last year’s event, the Museum decided to extend the hours of the Edit-a-thon, lengthening the training and editing time from two to four hours.

The event was scheduled to coincide with the final day of the exhibition Martha Rosler: Irrespective and began with a gallery walkthrough. The tour was led by exhibition catalogue and type designers Miko McGinty and Rebecca Sylvers, and the Museum’s Leon Levy Assistant Curator Shira Backer. This was a meaningful way to set the stage for the day’s activities and opened up a conversation about the representation of women artists in museums, in publishing, and on Wikipedia. It was inspiring to have programming focused on the career of pioneering feminist artist Martha Rosler, while also dedicating time to editing Wikipedia pages on women artists in the Museum’s collection who are underrepresented online.

Following a Wikipedia training presentation led by Carlos Acevedo, the Museum’s Digital Asset Manager, program attendees were encouraged to edit Wikipedia articles on their own. This year we had about 60 participants, an increase from last year, including some who edited remotely off-site. For the first time, we also offered prizes to incentivize editing our event. The person with the most edits was a remote editor, meaning that our presence as an organization and our promotion of this event extended our reach to editors who did not physically attend the event at the Museum. We are thrilled to be able to expand the Jewish Museum’s presence on Wikipedia through this Edit-a-thon.

What did not work so well?

Many attendees were first-time editors, however as others were more experienced, it was a challenge to engage everyone during the training session. Some people wanted to start editing right away while others needed more training and help getting started.

What do we plan to do differently?

Next year we plan to refine this aspect of the training portion of the event and have training on hand for people that need it while allowing more experienced editors to jump right in and get to work.

Finances

Grant funds spent

Please describe how much grant money you spent for approved expenses, and tell us what you spent it on.

Wikipedia Edit-A-Thon 3/3/19			1,560.81
Reception Costs	Food	819.00
Miscellaneous	Photographer/ Other Miscellaneous items	454.44
Book Shop items	Prizes for Winners	230.53
Local Transport	Transportation for Speakers/ Photographer	56.84

Remaining funds

Do you have any remaining grant funds?

Training Session during the Jewish Museum's Edit-a-thon, March 3, 2019. The Jewish Museum, New York, NY. Photo by Sara Wass Photography.

No, we do not have remaining funds left.

Anything else

Training and Editing Session, March 3, 2019. The Jewish Museum, New York, NY. Photo by Sara Wass Photography

Editors collaborate during the Jewish Museum's Edit-a-thon, March 3, 2019. The Jewish Museum, New York, NY. Photo by Sara Wass Photography

Anything else you want to share about your project?

Editors work together during the Jewish Museum's Edit-a-thon, March 3, 2019. The Jewish Museum, New York, NY. Photo by Sara Wass Photography.

Links to social media posts sharing photos from the Edit-a-thon on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.