The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA) and online art magazine East of Borneo are coordinating a massive Wikipedia edit-a-thon in an attempt to strengthen the online history of art in Southern California.
This is the third in a series of edit-a-thons, part of the East of Borneo “Unforgetting L.A.” campaign, and will focus on the 30 years since MOCA launched.
The event will be held at MOCA from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and will focus on Los Angeles art from the 1980s through 2000s.
Participants will need to have a Wikipedia account, a laptop computer and a power adapter. Those interested in attending are encouraged to bring materials to work from or share.
People new to editing Wikipedia are encouraged to attend, as training and reference materials will be provided.
Experienced Wikipedians are needed to volunteer to help those who are less experienced at using the popular user-edited online encyclopedia.
The group is currently building a worklist on their website and on Wikipedia that includes dozens of pages to be created. Suggestions include a wide range of artists, notable individuals, galleries and organizations, publications, architects and designers.
Past Unforgetting L.A. edit-a-thons have resulted in the creation of 17 pages for artists, architects, designers and exhibitions.
Wikipedia edit-a-thons have been leveraged for a wide variety of causes. The most notable recent example is the “Art +Feminism” edit-a-thon that drew over one hundred participants in New York City.
East of Borneo launched in October 2010 in an effort to document contemporary art and its history in Los Angeles. The magazine is published by the School of Art at the California Institute of the Art and is supported by grants from the Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts and the Getty Foundation.
Prospective participants are encouraged to RSVP to the event online. Information can be obtained by calling (213) 621-1745 or by emailing MOCA.