GLAM/Newsletter/March 2024/Contents/USA report

This Month in GLAM – Volume XIV, Issue III, March 2024

USA report

GLAM CSI and WikiPortraits launch and more meetups

GLAM CSI initiative

GLAM Wiki CSI - Contribution Study Initiative

In 2024, Andrew Lih will be working with the Smithsonian Institution on the GLAM CSI – Contributor Study Initiative, a WMF-supported project to assess the contribution pipeline in the Wikimedia technical infrastructure for supporting cultural and heritage partnerships and projects. A key output from the process will be the creation of key user stories to better document the GLAM wiki community's needs for future software development.

Contact Andrew, or visit the meta page for more information. For a longer writeup, consult the WMF GLAM report.

WikiPortraits launches at South by Southwest

The WikiPortraits project was started in 2024 by WikiConference North America users in the United States Wikimedia community to capture high-quality portrait photographs for Wikimedia Commons, through in-person outreach and event coverage. It was formally launched at the South by Southwest (SXSW) conference in Austin, Texas, a multi-week film, music, and interactive festival from March 8-16, 2024.

The project had more than six photographers working over the course of the conference, both capturing photos at the conference venue, while also hosting a dedicated nearby studio for taking portraits by appointment and as a space to learn about Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons. The reception area had signage explaining the basics of Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons copyright, and the WikiPortraits project.

WikiPortraits Studio at South by Southwest 2024
WikiPortraits Studio space at 811 Congress
Explanatory banners at WikiPortraits Studio
WikiPortraits Studio area

Photographers included:

Jay Dixit
Andrew Lih
Kevin Payravi
Frank Sun
Jason Weinrich

See https://wikiportraits.org or refer others to the site for a time slot and activities. More details can be found at the after-action report or the main Commons page for the project.

Given the general interest in projects like these, a new meta page was started: meta:Wiki Covers Events to better document and coordinate event coverage events across the movement.