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

WSPA participants are working to raise awareness about public art on a community level by locating art, researching it, and publishing information and images about it in Wikipedia. This work is similar to the Save Outdoor Sculpture! program, but is more open and collaborative since the final published information will be available in Wikipedia, one of the most visited websites in the world.

You can participate in the project by working with the SOS! Database and searching for public art that has been surveyed in your state. The SOS! data is further sorted by city. Generally, it's best if you work as a team or at least with a partner on this project.

Step 1: Consult the Save Outdoor Sculpture! Database

• Go to the SOS! Database to find what public artworks were documented in your state.
• After you find your state, see if there are any in your city, or a nearby city. (Cities may have only one artwork, hundreds, or none.)
• Once you have found a list of sculptures, click on the title of the artwork for the detailed report on a specific sculpture. Check to see if there are any images.

Step 2: Verify the Save Outdoor Sculpture! Data

• Identify which artworks you want to investigate

• Create a new spreadsheet which lists the SOS! sculptures found in the SOS! database.
• Go out and visit the artworks, verifying their current locations, artist name, title and creation date (as possible).
• Photograph and Geolocate each sculpture while you are on-site. Upload your photos to a Flickr account.

• Update your spreadsheet with the verified information found while at the artworks.

• Need a step here about acquiring images from the SOS! database.

Step 3: Find What’s Missing

• Search for and identify public artworks that were not surveyed by SOS!, or that are new to your community.

• Create another spreadsheet about these artworks.

• Visit the artworks, documenting their locations, artist, title and date.
• Photograph and Geolocate each sculpture while you are on-site. Upload your photos to a Flickr account.

• Update it with the new information found while at the sculptures.

Step 4: Consult Wikipedia and Prioritize Articles

• Using your two spreadsheets, search Wikipedia for each sculpture. Search a lot and 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 the articles to which you want to contribute or create.

Step 5: Research and Edit/Create an Article

• Consult available printed and online resources to research the history of the artwork. Consider your local library, historical society, tourism department, and newspaper databases. Also consider other local and state institutions.
• Research the artist who made the artwork. 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.