Grants:Simple/Applications/BLT2020
- Application or grant stage: application
- Applicant or grantee: The Black Lunch Table
- Amount requested: US$120,000.00
- Amount granted: TBD (to be added by WMF)
- Funding period: 1 Jan 2020 - 31 Dec 2020
- Midpoint report due: 17 July 2020
- Final report due: 30 Jan 2021
Background edit
Annual Plan edit
Budget Plan edit
Staffing Plan edit
Strategic plan edit
Introduction edit
The Black Lunch Table (BLT) is an ongoing collaboration founded by artists Jina Valentine and Heather Hart which intends to fill holes in the documentation of contemporary art history. Since 2005 the BLT has taken a variety of forms relating to this most recent iteration, which includes a Wikimedia project.
BLT mobilizes the creation and improvement of a specific set of Wikimedia documents that pertain to the lives and works of Black artists. At each edit-a-thon, we provide a list of suggested artists to add or edit, with particular focus on Black artists who have worked within or are local to the host institution’s community and are currently under-documented on Wikipedia. Our project encourages people of color and women to join the Wikimedia movement while also asking white male editors to focus on gaps in coverage on Wikimedia. Our Wikipedia initiative began in 2014 and has grown steadily since. In 2018 BLT hosted/collaborated on 39 edit-a-thons, trained 165 new editors, and over 1800 articles were edited.
As we continue to cultivate our relationship with the Wikipedia movement, seeking out ways we can innovate within it, and continue to grow our project sustainably, we are more committed than ever to how the work we do makes Black artists visible. Our project raises awareness about the importance of this work, particularly as it pertains to the often unrecorded history of Black visual artists.
Broadly BLT aims to:
- Increase the reach, connection with communities, and presence of Wikimedia, especially as it pertains to gaps of Black visual artists.
- Increase Wikimedia understanding, editorship, articles and article quality.
- To afford more new editors one-on-one attention, access to training and help them get the editing bug, fostering return editors.
- Increase visibility of marginal populations on Wikimedia through edit-a-thon events, online meetups, a photo initiative, and other creative approaches.
For our 2020 initiative specifically, we will establish and maintain a committed and engaged team that supports and champions our vision as a nonprofit organization and a project with a niche in the Wiki universe. Coalescing this team is also dependent on continuing to move our nonprofit operations forward. As of June 2019, Black Lunch Table has been approved by the IRS as a 501c3 organization. Taking the next steps with a nonprofit strategist to organize our board, and develop strategy and sustainability for BLT is critical. Our recent focus on internal operations is all in service of strengthening our outcomes for all our Wikipedia initiatives. With this support, we are uniquely suited to take advantage of the many opportunities in front of us.
Programs edit
Black Lunch Table 2020 Initiative
BLT mobilizes the creation and improvement of a specific set of Wikimedia documents that pertain to the lives and works of Black artists. At each edit-a-thon, we provide a list of suggested artists to add or edit, with particular focus on Black artists who have worked within or are local to the host institution’s community and are currently under-documented on Wikipedia. Our project encourages people of color and women to join the Wikimedia movement while also asking white male editors to focus on gaps in coverage on Wikimedia.
Black Lunch Tables programmatic initiatives include hosting edit-a-thons, online and with institutional partners, training and retaining new editors, and imagining a thoughtful approach to translation and including oral histories on the platform. Increasing our number of regional proxies for the upcoming year and hosting twelve total photo pop up booths are central to our work next year. All of our programmatic and organizational plans for the upcoming cycle are in our annual plan.
- Regional Proxies are Wikimedians based outside of the New York/northeast and Chicago/Northern midwest areas (where BLT Lead Organizers and Project Manager are based). The role of the proxy is to help establish BLT’s Wikipedia initiative in their own community, through hosting three Wikipedia edit-a-thon events annually, developing the local editorship via training and support, and developing institutional outreach and partnerships.
- Wikicommons Photo initiative's goal is to quite literally increase the visibility of Black visual artists on Wikimedia. The process is simple: we invite a local Black photographer to host a pop-up portrait studio at our edit-a-thon; we invite local artists on our Wiki list to have their photo taken; the photographer releases all portraits to WikiCommons for use (eventual, if the artist still lacks a page; or immediately if they have one) on the artists’ Wikipedia article. Thus far we have uploaded 900 photos to the commons, dozens of which have been incorporated into artists’ Wikipedia articles.
As detailed in our plans and provided google docs, for the upcoming grant cycle we expect to increase our target numbers by 20%. This will take place through hosting/collaborating on a total of 40 edit-a-thons and 12 total pop up photo booths. For our most recent granting cycle targets and metrics please seehere.
Grant Metrics Reporting edit
Metrics, targets and results: grants metrics worksheet here.
Midterm report edit
Program story edit
Please tell or link to one program story that showcases your organization's achievements during the reporting period. This can be another meta page, a blog post or any other source that tells your program story.
Program Progress edit
Black Lunch Table 2020 Initiative
Spending update edit
Please link to a detailed financial report for your spending during the first half of your grant period. This should be in the same format as your detailed budget from your Simple APG application.
Please include the total amount of Simple APG funds you spent during the grant period:
- XXXXXX.XX USD/Local currency
Grant Metrics Reporting edit
Metrics, targets and results: grants metrics worksheet here.
Final report edit
Program story edit
Please tell or link to one program story that showcases your organization's achievements during the reporting period. This can be another meta page, a blog post or any other source that tells your program story.
Learning story edit
Please link to one learning story that shows how your organization documents lessons learned and adapts its programs accordingly.
Programs Impact edit
Black Lunch Table 2020 Initiative
Spending update edit
Please link to a detailed financial report for your spending during the grant period. This should be in the same format as your detailed budget from your Simple APG application.
Please include the total amount of Simple APG funds you spent during the grant period:
- XXXXXX.XX USD/Local currency
Grant Metrics Reporting edit
Metrics, targets and results: grants metrics worksheet here.