With 47 million articles in 229 different languages, Wikipedia is a well-established force for the democratisation of knowledge, and a key outreach tool, with one recent study showing that the encyclopedia shapes, as well as reflects, scientific thought. However, Wikipedia has a gender problem: the encyclopedia and its content is weighted toward men. In a 2011 survey, the Foundation found that only around 9% of contributors identified as female, and less than 1% as trans*. This imbalance in demographic leads to a content gap - as of 1 January 2018, just 17.37% of biographies on English Wikipedia were about women. It’s a form of systemic bias that both the Wikimedia Foundation and the Wikipedia community are working to fix.

This event marks the beginning of Glasgow Print Studio’s two year-long project, ‘Graphic Impact: Our Lives in Print’, which is funded by the William Grant Foundation. Glasgow Print Studio’s archive collection comprises prints and related material dating from the 1970s to the present day. We collect prints made by our members and by invited artists from Scotland and wider afield as well as supporting material and items relating to the history of the organisation, including exhibition posters and photographs.

The project focuses on the early days of Glasgow Print Studio (1972-1989). The collection includes a much smaller amount of material from this period, with little information on the founding members and their role in running the workshop and developing the Studio. Women had a key role in the workshop during this period and this project seeks to find out more about how women have been involved in shaping the organisation as it is today. For this wikipedia event, we have chosen a selection of biographical articles on female printmakers working in Scotland (who have work in the GPS collection), which need to be added to Wikipedia or improved. Through this event we hope to give more visibility to female printmakers, and create more interest in our collection. The event is held in partnership with the Glasgow School of Art, who are lending research resources to support the event.

To join the event you will need to bring your own laptop and also Create a Wikipedia account before the event – more information is available here: https://wikimedia.org.uk/wiki/Graphic_Impact_Wikipedia_Editathon

Graphic Impact Wikipedia Edit-athon @ Glasgow Print Studio