 Logo of the Smithsonian Institution. | |
| When and Where | |
|---|---|
| When: | September 2015 |
| Where: | United States (multiple cities) Parallel campaign in Asia |
| A national edit-a-thon for cultural presence, to expand Asian American topics on Wikipedia. | |
WikiAPA 2015: Wikipedia ♥ Asian Pacific American Art
The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center invites you to attend the 2nd annual Wikipedia APA, an editathon for cultural presence, which will be held during the month of September 2015.
We are thrilled to invite you to Wikipedia APA, an editing event for improving and increasing the presence of cultural, historic, and artistic information on Wikipedia pertaining to Asian Pacific American ("APA") experiences. The second Wikipedia editathon dedicated to APA content, this project will occur as physical events during September 2015 in New York City, Washington DC, and Los Angeles, as well as remotely, with participants taking part from all throughout the world.
(Parallel to this campaign, a number of Wikimedia Asia Project countries are participating in editathons covering national heritage topics, including as an extension of the photo contest Wiki Loves Mounuments.)
While there is a respectable amount of information currently in the encyclopedia for commonly-known APA topics such as the Chinese Exclusion Act, the Japanese American Internment, and the Model Minority Myth, less information exists online about communities and experiences that have been historically marginalized. As presence on resources like Wikipedia becomes not only a tool for learning, but also a signal of cultural significance, the time is right for us to advocate for a more complete APA narrative.
With the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center’s recent exhibitions, the Museum of Modern Art's exhibition Yoko Ono: One Woman Show, 1960–1971, and SAAM's exhibition The Artistic Journey of Yasuo Kuniyoshi, we are underlining a commitment to explore stories that have traditionally been left untold—particularly around Americans whose identities include South Asian, Southeast Asian, Pacific Islander, multi-heritage, women, and LGBTQ. Incidentally, these vital APA narratives are dispersed and incomplete on Wikipedia.
Let’s change that.