Grants:Project/Rapid/The Heritage Lab/Art+Feminism 2020/Report

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Report accepted
This report for a Rapid Grant approved in FY 2017-18 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/The Heritage Lab/Art+Feminism 2020.
  • 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[edit]

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

So while we met our goals, it wasn't the ideal execution of the project. However, we are encouraged by the response and attendees from 2021 turned co-organizers in 2022, so it seems like a big win!

We had planned for a series of in-person editathons and that plan was largely disturbed due to COVID-19 lockdowns. In 2021, when we tried to host editathons again, it was again amidst a lot of restrictions and rules (limiting to 10-15 people attendance in closed spaces), and the public sentiment was not as favourable towards physical events. The online format restricted how museums / galleries share resources - as many are not comfortable with sharing their resources / photocopies of reference material online. This is why, our knowledge partner Marg Archives could not support us and we had to rely on books available online. This is not much of an attraction for our community, for who, being able to access restricted library resources at museums / galleries is a huge draw to the event.

Outcome[edit]

Please report on your original project targets. Please be sure to review and provide metrics required for Rapid Grants.


Target outcome Achieved outcome Explanation
04 events 04 events
70-80 participants 74 participants
at least 50 new editors 69 new editors
60 articles to be created or improved 176 articles edited; 16 new articles created


Learning[edit]

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?

On the brighter side, hosting events online meant we could keep the editing on for longer than a one-day event. This meant, that only those really serious about editing and contributing carried on independently.

The format also encouraged some museums to share their resources (catalogues etc) online. Perhaps the best part has been to see the response towards women artists, also covered in the mainstream media. Some participants who did not edit, shared illustrations of women artists with us, under a CC BY SA license.

  • What did not work so well?

The online format really posed a problem; it is very difficult to host an event longer than 1-hour and sustain people's energies - so while many attended the training sessions, not everyone carried on independently which was a loss as we couldn't gain their contribution.

  • What would you do differently next time?

We'd of course prefer to work with our museum / gallery partners for in-person events; however, if it is ever planned online, it might be a better idea to make our giveaway - or the "prize" for most-contributions - a rather substantial one; the editathon would then have a 'contest' feel to it.

We also realise that in the online climate, our academic partnerships worked better, so we'd go that route if we have to host it online.

Finances[edit]

Grant funds spent[edit]

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

Our total expenditure was $416


The breakdown is as follows:

Food & Beverage: $153.24 (for 3 events; 4th one was supported by the Museum) / $565

Prizes: $240.21 / $240

Transport: $16.57 (for a Volunteer in Mumbai to organise resources for the editathon) / $490

Banner / Standee: 0 / $21.1

Misc. / Contingency: $6 (towards couriers) / $131

Remaining funds[edit]

Do you have any remaining grant funds?

We have $1031.19 remaining funds. This is calculated at the @70.77 exchange rate, i.e 72,977 INR.

I would like to request permission for this to be used for another project proposal 'Wiki Loves Museums' - a photo contest (proposal submitted).

Anything else[edit]

Anything else you want to share about your project?