Wikipedia:WikiProject Visual arts/Public art/SOS to Wikipedia process

Step 1: Consult the Save Outdoor Sculpture! Database

• Go to the SOS Database to find what public artworks were documented in your community.
  • Click on your state, then city. (Cities may have only one, or hundreds, or none, depending on the size.)
  • Once a list of sculptures is up, go to Click here for more information for the detailed report on a specific sculpture and possibly more photos.

Step 2: Verify the Save Outdoor Sculpture! Data

• Visit the artworks, verifying their current locations, artist, title and date.
  • Photograph and Geolocate each sculpture while you are on-site.
• Create an Excel Doc titled SOS-IN which lists the SOS! sculptures found in the database.
  • Update it with the verified information found while at the sculptures.

Step 3: Find What’s Missing

• Identify public artworks that were not surveyed by SOS! or that are new to your community.
• Visit the artworks, documenting their locations, artist, title and date.
  • Photograph and Geolocate each sculpture while you are on-site.
• Create an Excel Doc titled SOS-NOT IN of sculptures found in your community that were not in the SOS! database.
  • Update it with the new information found while at the sculptures.

Step 4: Consult Wikipedia and Prioritize Articles

• Using your SOS-IN and SOS-NOT IN documents, search Wikipedia for each sculpture. Search a lot. Consider the various titles the sculpture might have.
  • Is there already a good article on the work?
  • Is there already a “stub” article that needs to be expanded?
  • Is there no article at all?
• Prioritize which articles you want to contribute to, or create.

Step 5: Research and Edit/Create an Article

• Consult available resources to research the history of the sculpture.
  • Consider newspaper databases, your local library, historical society or tourism department. Also consider state-level institutions.
  • Research the artist. If they are available to contact, they are often a great source of information.
  • Keep in mind that all information on Wikipedia has to have a source. Original research cannot be included in the article.
• Create or Edit the Wikipedia article for your sculpture.
  • Use the WSPA Article Template to keep all articles similar in layout.
  • Use the WSPA Style Guide for all aspects of article editing.
  • Use the WSPA Image Upload Guide for help with photos.