Art and Feminism (stylized asArt+Feminism), which began in 2014 as an annual worldwideedit-a-thon to add content toWikipedia aboutwomen artists, is today a registered501(c)(3) organization.[1] The project has been described as "a massive multinational effort to correct a persistent bias in Wikipedia, which is disproportionately written by and about men".[2][3]
In 2014, Art+Feminism's inaugural campaign attracted 600 volunteers at 30 events.[3][2] The following year, a total of 1,300 volunteers attended 70 events that took place across 17 countries, on four continents. Since then more than 20,000 people have taken part in over 1,500 events. This has led to the creation or improvement of over 100,000 Wikipedia articles.[3][4] In January 2025, Art+Feminism announced its 2025–2026 campaign, centered on imagining what a "truly feminist internet" could look like.[5] The success of Art+Feminism comes from the collective efforts of individuals from various backgrounds such as scholars, Wikipedians, and librarians. These individuals play major roles in pushing their efforts, as society's further growing interest in gender equality within the technological sector. The importance of addressing issues relating closely to gender also aligns closely with the goals of Art+Feminism.[6]
One reason for establishing the Art+Feminism project included responding to negative media coverage about Wikipedia's cataloging system.[8][9] The project continues to fill content gaps in Wikipedia and increase the number of female contributors.[10][11] Only about 17 percent of biographies on Wikipedia are about women and only about 15 percent of Wikipedia editors are female.[12] Efforts are being made to advocate and better the representation of not onlycisgender women but there is also a push to include the voices oftransgender andnon-binary identifying individuals. There is also an emphasis to specifically fill content gaps on topics on the arts and feminism.[13] Kira Wisniewski was appointed Art+Feminism's executive director in 2020.[14]
Outside the United States, the 2015 event received media coverage at locations including Australia,[15] Canada,[16] Cambodia,[17] India,[18] New Zealand,[19] and Scotland.[20] Events continuously grow and take place in countries in various continents all over the world.[21] Inside the United States, the event received media coverage at the flagship location in New York,[22] and also in California,[23][24] Kansas,[25] Pennsylvania,[26] Texas,[27] and West Virginia.[28]
"Art+Feminismedit-a-thon Taiwan 2017" by Wikimedia Taiwan
Annually, many academic institutions in the United States hold Art+Feminismedit-a-thon events, pushing to encourage more women to edit on Wikipedia. These edit-a-thon events take place as collective workshops where students are encouraged to meet up together to edit in a collective space, whether in person or through virtual chatrooms.[29] Some of these institutions that participate in the Art+Feminism movement includeSouthern Methodist University,[30]Ohio University,[31]Yale University[32]University of Nevada,[33] andCornell University.[34]
Various forms of events are open to being held by anybody, which can includeedit-a-thons, panels/conversations, and meet ups. These organized events can be held in virtual or in-person formats to encourage accessibility of engagement. Each event has its regulated guidelines stated by the organization.[35] Events typically concentrate annually in March, which isWomen's History Month,[36] but their campaign lasts year-round.[37]
In 2020, due to concerns from theCOVID-19 pandemic, the event was held virtually, via theZoomvideo conferencing app.[38] In 2021, the Art+Feminism campaign was again made virtual due to COVID-19 concerns.[39]
Although the project is global, director Kira Wisniewski lives inBaltimore and personally organizes events and collaborations with cultural organizations in that area.[40]
Content contributed by participants in the editing events is tracked in a coordinating forum on Wikipedia.[41]
In March 2017, Abigail Cain wrote onArtsy and spoke about how this impactful and powerful initiative helps to incentivize women to come together to become editors and improve articles. Cain also notes how Art+Feminism has globally grown as a whole and that Art+Feminism events are being organized by large museums and art organizations.[43]
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