Art+Feminism 2025 in Uganda
Introduction
[edit]Art+Feminism Uganda 2025: Bridging Digital Gaps Through Feminist Advocacy and Open Knowledge
Art+Feminism Uganda 2025 is a feminist-led initiative inspired by the global Art+Feminism campaign and aligned with the #VisibleWikiWomen 2025 theme: “Our Bodies, Our Rights, Our Knowledge.” This theme calls for the visibility of women and gender-diverse people whose bodies, rights, and knowledge have been marginalised or erased from online spaces.
In Uganda, the digital representation of women—especially those in politics and creative sectors—remains disproportionately low. This project seeks to address that gap by documenting and amplifying the presence of Ugandan women on Wikimedia platforms. It recognises copyright as a feminist and social justice issue, empowering creators to share their work while protecting their rights in an ethical manner.
As Uganda approaches its national elections, the initiative will focus on increasing the visibility of women in politics and feminist creatives on Wikimedia Commons, Wikipedia, and Wikidata, while educating participants on Uganda’s copyright framework and Wikimedia’s licensing policies.
Objectives
[edit]- Educate feminist artists and creatives on copyright law and Creative Commons licensing.
- Document and preserve feminist art and political imagery on Wikimedia Commons.
- Increase visibility of Ugandan women in politics and creative sectors on Wikipedia and Wikidata.
- Build capacity among photographers and artists to contribute to open knowledge platforms.
Key Activities
[edit]Copyright & Creative Commons Workshop
[edit]- Audience: Feminist artists, educators, human rights lawyers, CSO actors, academics.
- Topics Covered:
- Overview of the Copyright and Neighboring Rights Act of 2006 in Uganda.
- Understanding Creative Commons licenses and how they apply to Wikimedia Commons.
- Wikimedia copyright policies and best practices for uploading media.
- Facilitators: Legal experts, Wikimedia copyright trainers, Creative Commons Uganda.
- Outcome: Participants understand how to legally share and protect their work online.
Photographer Training & Documentation
[edit]- Train 3 female and 2 male photographers on Creative Commons licensing, ethical documentation, metadata standards, and copyright.
- Tasked with capturing 50 images of:
- Women in politics
- Feminist creatives and artists
- Upload images to Wikimedia Commons under appropriate licenses, contributing to the #VisibleWikiWomen 2025 campaign.
Categories:
Feminist Artist Collaboration
[edit]- Select 5 feminist artists to collaborate with photographers.
- Train them on:
- Introduction to Wikidata and its role in structured data.
- Creating and linking Wikidata items to images and articles.
- Collaboration: Artists will with photographers to co-develop metadata and narratives for documented content, ensuring that feminist knowledge is visible, contextualised, and preserved.
Wikipedia for Visibility
[edit]- Focus: Enhancing and adding images uploaded on Wikimedia commons to created Wikipedia articles about:
- Ugandan women in politics ahead of Uganda’s upcoming elections.
- Feminist creatives and cultural contributors.
- Create 20 Wikipedia articles to support increased visibility and representation of Ugandan women in politics, feminist creatives and artists amplifying the voices and bodies of women whose stories deserve to be known.
Outputs
[edit]- 1 workshop on copyright and Creative Commons licensing.
- 1 video highlighting workshop on copyright and creative commons licensing.
- 50 images of women in politics and feminist creatives uploaded to Wikimedia Commons and added on Wikidata items or Wikipedia pages.
- 5 trained feminist artists contributing to Wikidata
- 20 quality Wikidata items created
- 20 improved and newly created Wikipedia articles on Ugandan women leaders and creatives.
Outcomes
[edit]- Increased awareness of copyright as a tool for feminist advocacy and digital inclusion
- Enhanced visibility of Ugandan women in politics and creative sectors on Wikimedia platforms
- Strengthened the capacity of feminist artists and photographers to contribute to open knowledge ecosystems
- Preservation of feminist art and political documentation in digital spaces
- Contribution to the #VisibleWikiWomen 2025 global campaign, amplifying the visibility of women’s bodies, rights, and knowledge online
Partners
[edit]- Wikimedia Community User Group Uganda
- Whose Knowledge?
- Victoria University
- Femme Forte
- Artivism
- Art+Feminism Global Campaign
- Creative Commons Uganda
- Uganda Human Rights Network
- Feminist artists and photographers
Suggested Timelines
[edit]
Activity[edit] |
Date[edit] |
Status |
| Project Launch & Planning | 11 October 2025 | Ongoing |
| Photographer Training | 18 October 2025 (3:00pm EAT) | Done |
| Documentation & Uploads | October 2025 -January 2026 | Ongoing |
| Copyright & Creative Commons Workshop | February 2026 | |
| Feminist Artist Wikidata Training | 8 November, 2025 | Done |
| Wikipedia Visibility Campaign (Ahead of elections) | November 2025- January 11,2026 | |
| Final Showcase & Reporting | February 2026 |
Important links for learning, recorded you tube and any relevant sites for the event
[edit]- Event Page (connects automatically to the dashboard): https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:EventDetails/2366
- Dashboard link: https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/Wikimedia_Community_User_Group_Uganda/Art_and_Feminism_2025_in_Uganda
- List of politicians and creatives: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kOMdIaiJhR07AY666jToyRMHiSmA9_Wudak9eJc2qDA/edit?usp=sharing
Project Team
[edit]- Sandra Aceng (Project curator and lead)
- Brian Baluku (Tech Support)
- Martin Kagweri (Communications)
- Imelda Alip (Communications)
- Julie Achom (Workshop Support)