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Art+Feminism Philippines

Overview & Mission

Art+Feminism Philippines is a grassroots digital activism and community archiving initiative led by the Wiki Advocates Philippines User Group. Since its launch in 2020, the campaign has expanded from a small core of four advocates to a network of 30+ dedicated community volunteers. By merging local cultural preservation, language revitalization, and digital literacy, the campaign works to empower individuals and close the gender and representation gap on the internet. The group focuses heavily on highlighting the voices of women, the LGBTQ+ community, and other marginalized populations in the Global South.

Deep Roots in the Global Art+Feminism Initiative

The connection between the local Philippine organizers and the global Art+Feminism movement is a story of organic growth, shared values, and mutual support:

A Chance Beginning (2020): The founders of the Wiki Advocates Philippines User Group first crossed paths with the global Art+Feminism movement on Meta-Wiki in 2020. Anthony Diaz, a writer and advocate of women's rights, started running local edit-a-thons from scratch with no prior communication lines to the global organization, fueled strictly by passion. A year later, Diaz officially stepped into the role of Art+Feminism Network Organizer for the Philippines.
Global Mentorship & Grantmaking: The global A+F community was instrumental in shaping the user group's early strategy. By participating in global A+F Community Hours, local organizers received guidance on how to navigate Meta-Wiki, write successful funding proposals, and design creative campaigns that went far beyond basic Wikipedia editing.
The Celebration Fund (2023): To mark the 10th anniversary of the global Art+Feminism campaign, the global Celebration Fund Committee invited Wiki Advocates Philippines to document their unique methodology. the user group produced an openly licensed campaign newsletter to share their "Do-It-Yourself and Do-It-With-Others" model with the world.
Direct Campaign Alignment (2025): For the 2025 campaign cycle, global Art+Feminism posed the core question: What would a truly feminist internet look like? Wiki Advocates Philippines directly answered this call by launching three major local initiatives designed to make the digital space safer and more representative:

Digital Literacy & Wellbeing: Training high school students at Juan F. Triviño Memorial High School to navigate online spaces safely and stand against cyberbullying.
Highlighting Women in Cultural Heritage: Documenting the traditional craft and economic independence of the Capalonga Women Bamboo Weavers in Camarines Norte.
Honoring Domestic Labor: Hosting the month-long "Cooking ng Ina Mo" cooking fest to celebrate housewives as crucial curators of local culinary heritage.

Key Local Programs & Structural Milestones

Through the continuous support of the global Art+Feminism, the Art+Feminism Philippines has turned international goals into deep, localized community actions:

The #SheSaid Quote Drive: WAP leverages the global #SheSaid campaign to improve the visibility of notable Filipinas (from historical figures like Gabriela Silang to modern artists) on Wikiquote. These edit-a-thons successfully graduated the Central Bikol and Tagalog Wikiquote projects out of their incubator status into fully independent language domains in January 2023.
Bridging the Digital Divide (Catanduanes Outreach): In May 2022, with the financial backing of global Art+Feminism, WAP organized an outreach to Bislig Elementary School on the remote Catanduanes Island. They installed an offline open-access learning portal using Kiwix devices equipped with offline Wikipedia and WikiFundi, giving over 200 students and teachers with zero internet connectivity their very first taste of digital editing.
Intersectional Activism (Earth Day 2022): Blending environmental awareness with feminist organizing, WAP hosted a hybrid Coffee Painting Workshop. Guided by local artists, 21 young female community volunteers learned to use coffee as an eco-friendly art medium while discussing environmental vulnerabilities.
Grassroots Leadership Development: A cornerstone of the Wiki Advocates Philippines and Art+Feminism relationship is turning participants into organizers. Young volunteers began as student editors have grown to manage campaigns, lead language preservation efforts, and represent local advocacy on global stages.

Gallery

Another group photo with the Wiki Advocates PH members
Outdoor editing utilizing the Kiwix device
Napoleon Arcilla III, School Head of Bislig Elem. School receives the Kiwix Device
Teachers and Wiki volunteers at Bislig Elementary School during the Wiki Advocates PH Outreach Activity

📸 View Photos in Wikimedia Commons

News

Art+Feminism Network Organizers at ESEAP Conference 2026, June 13, 2026

On May 2026, Network Organizers Anthony Diaz and Jessie Mi, headed to Kaohsiung, Taiwan, for the ESEAP Conference 2026 to share about a major turning point for the Art+Feminism Movement. For years, our focus has been on editing Wikipedia articles; we introduced a shift that we feel is critical for the future: co-creating a Feminist Data Commons. As Network Organizers for Art+Feminism, they have spent years working alongside a global community to fill gaps on Wikipedia related to gender, feminism, and the arts. But as the internet evolves and as search engines, algorithms, and AI increasingly rely on structured backend data, our strategy has had to evolve too. Read more here.

Art+Feminism in the Philippines 2025: Documenting the Capalonga Women Bamboo Weavers, June 7, 2025

A group of women in Capalonga are preserving their cultural heritage through the art of bamboo weaving through the Kapalong Handicrafts Home Decor and Furniture. The Capalonga Women Bamboo Weavers are skilled artisans who have been passing down their knowledge and techniques to women in the community who are interested in learning the art, creating beautiful and functional handicrafts that showcase their community’s rich traditions. Last March 8, 2025, the Wiki Advocates Philippines User Group traveled to Sitio Lumok, Brgy. Camagsaan, Capalonga, Camarines Norte, to witness how these women transform thin bamboo strips into amazing handicrafts and hear about their personal stories about struggles and triumphs being in the women’s workforce. Through the efforts of Mr. Abner Aler, we were introduced to this group of Capalonga women and were granted permission to document their work. Read more here.

Hope Amidst Typhoon Kristine: Wiki Advocates PH Relief Efforts, November 4, 2024

As a means of responding to this disaster, Wiki Advocates Philippines initiated a two-day donation drive to provide food packs and bottled water to stranded passengers. Together with our community members, our learning hub prepared meals and donations during the two-day donation drive. We may not have been able to reach other flooded areas, such as Camaligan, Gainza, Milaor, and the Rinconada area, but we hoped that we had inspired others to make the same efforts. Read more here.

Hatch-A-Wiki Project of the Wiki Advocates Philippines, August 29, 2022

Hatch-A-Wiki Project started from the idea of getting the Central Bikol Wiktionary its own space last 2019. Back then, it was thirteen years on incubator status. Imelda, a co-founder of Wiki Advocates Philippines, has become interested in that one stagnating project in Wikimedia Incubator. Later, she will be coining the term “Hatch-A-Wiki” for all the projects the group plans to work on in the incubator. MaroBos, a long-time volunteer, pioneered the project in June 2021. The word hatch is equivalent to the Central Bikol word “Himsa,” or that certain period the egg shells crack, and later on, the newly-hatched chick will see the first light of this world. That is how the group foresees every incubator project on local languages will do in the long run. Read more here.

Art+Feminism in the Philippines, June 28, 2022

When I was looking for initiatives to run as a first-time community organizer in the Philippines, I stumbled across the Art+Feminism campaign by chance. Although I had previously participated in the WikiGap Challenge and was well aware of the gender gap issues in Wikimedia projects, my understanding of Feminism was not the same as what I have learned after three years of running the campaign; let me share these beautiful stories with you in a few highlights. Read more here.

Resources

Art+Feminism 2025 Kick-Off Event Presentation