Following the successful conclusion of the first round of our collaborative PoNJA Wikipedia Initiative (PWI) in 2021, Asia Art Archive in America (AAA-A) and PoNJA-GenKon are pleased to announce an open call for Fellowship applications for the second phase of this initiative.

Introduction

In recent years, Wikipedia has become the established go-to source for public information in the field of art history. The Museum of Modern Art’s Online Collection increasingly relies on Wikipedia for artist’s biographies, incorporating Wikipedia entries along with Getty records. The representation of Japanese and other Asian artists and movements, however, is far fewer and far less substantial in terms of the number and length of entries on postwar and contemporary European and American art. This lack of presence and information on Wikipedia – the presumed absolute repository of knowledge – perpetuates the peripheral status of Japanese art within a global art history. 

The PoNJA Wikipedia Initiative (PWI) is a multi-year project aimed at addressing this imbalance of art historical information available online by recruiting and training emerging scholars as Wikipedia Editors to dramatically expand the number and length of entries on postwar and contemporary Japanese artists and movements. These efforts help to further expand the presence of the field while broadening free access for a global online public to greater information on postwar and contemporary Japanese and Asian Art in the English language.   

The first phase of PWI in 2021 (PWI 1) was a marked success, with twelve Fellows adding over 310,000 words and 3,700 scholarly references to 102 new or improved Japan-related Wikipedia articles. AAA-A and PoNJA-GenKon invite applications to continue this fruitful collaboration and embark on a new phase of this initiative, PWI 2, beginning in 2022. For PWI 2, we are seeking a new cohort of ten emerging scholars and will also expand the scope of the articles suggested for creation or improvement to  include postwar and contemporary Korean artists / groups / movements in addition to Japanese. To help incorporate this change, the PWI 2 Fellowship period will unfold over 15 months throughout 2022-2023. 

Method

This project is organized by AAA-A and PoNJA-GenKon and overseen by an Editorial Committee whose members are Alexandra Munroe, Miwako Tezuka, Ming Tiampo, Jane DeBevoise, Charlotte Horlyck, and Reiko Tomii. 

Fellows’ contributions will be monitored by both the Project Director and Project Manager, assisted by two Editorial Associates, Nina Horisaki-Christens and Sohl Lee.

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AAA-A and PoNJA-GenKon call for emerging scholars to apply for ten PWI 2 Fellowship positions. Each Fellow will receive a $2,500 honorarium for a fifteen month commitment to this initiative. Payment will be made in two installments upon the publication of five 1000-plus-word articles on Wikipedia.

Duties of PWI 2 Fellows are as follows:

• Responsible for researching, editing, and writing multiple entries on English Wikipedia for artists / collectives / movements from a curated list of suggested Japanese and Korean topics provided by the PWI Editorial Committee.
• Responsible for publishing 10 new or significantly updated articles throughout the course of the Fellowship, each with a minimum of 1000 words.

The PWI Editorial Committee will select the 10 Fellows based on the following criteria:

General requirements:

• Graduate or PhD students. New graduates (with bachelor/master/doctoral degrees) within three years may also apply, although priority will be given to current students
• Major in Art History, Japan Studies, Korean Studies, 20th Century Studies, and/or Asian Studies
• Japanese and/or Korean language is a plus, but not necessary
• Extensive research and writing skills

Undergraduate Fellowship:

• Senior level Undergraduate students are invited to apply for the PWI Undergraduate Fellowship, which has the same goals and general application requirements as the Full PWI Fellowship, but differs in the duties required and resulting honorarium.
• Undergraduate Fellows would be responsible for researching, editing, and writing 3-4 Wikipedia entries throughout the first six months of PWI 2 in 2022.
• Undergraduate Fellows will receive a $750-$1000 honorarium payment on completion and approval of these entries.

Interested applicants should submit the following materials to be considered:

• Name / e-mail address / Current location or  postal address
• Student status (Graduate / PhD / Post-grad)
• A 250-word statement of intent
• A short (max 500 words) sample text of the Lead Section of a Wikipedia article on a Japanese or Korean artist / group / movement of their choice that is not currently on English Wikipedia. (Note: you don’t have to create an actual Wikipedia entry; just send us the beginning of a “mock” entry). See here for a list of the new or majorly expanded articles published by PWI 1 Fellows for examples of the format and content of approved articles.

Please send your application materials to MailPonja@gmail.com. The PWI 2 Fellowship application deadline is February 25, 2022.

If you have any questions before applying, please contact MailPonja@gmail.com.

Reiko Tomii (PoNJA-GenKon), Project Director & Hilary Chassé (AAA-A), Project Manager

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.