Lauren Shapiro
Lauren Shapiro’s journey through the Wikipedia workshop was nothing short of a whirlwind. Known for her coral-inspired sculptures and intricate community work, she approached the workshop with an artist’s natural curiosity, tempered by a few anxieties. "Not being able to follow along fast enough," she admitted at the start, worried that the technical aspects might slip through her fingers. But as the workshop progressed, Lauren’s journey became one of empowerment, with more than a few laughs along the way.
At the halfway mark, her nervousness shifted slightly. "Losing track of my citations!" she wrote with a sense of urgency. As an artist deeply involved in research for her own work, Lauren found that Wikipedia’s verifiability policies were rigorous, but also enjoyable in a way that brought her back to her roots. "Writing from a neutral point of view that avoids bias," she learned, was a skill in itself. "All info must be based on credible reliable sources, and what the publications are matter," she reflected. For Lauren, the challenge wasn’t just in finding the facts—it was in stepping outside of her artist’s voice, which is often filled with emotion and personal perspective.
“Another learning moment is to write without ‘style,’ as in not trying to ‘sell’ an idea but rather selling the idea that you are presenting honest information without an agenda.”
As she honed this new style of writing, she noted, "another learning moment is to write without ‘style,’ as in not trying to ‘sell’ an idea but rather selling the idea that you are presenting honest information without an agenda." By the end of the workshop, she confessed, "It’s really hard to write from a neutral point of view as an artist, but I think it’s a useful skill!" This new approach, she realized, could even influence her future grant-writing or project pitches, helping her bring objectivity to a craft that often blurs the lines between personal and professional.
When it came to writing about herself, Lauren's stance evolved. "Not exactly," she said at first, apprehensive about self-promotion. However, halfway through the workshop, she reconsidered. "I think I could write about myself and it would be an interesting exercise in objective writing." By the end, she had found a balance, writing, "Eventually, yes, once I have enough singular press on the internet."
Her feelings about learning to edit were refreshingly candid. "I am getting 1% smarter every hour I sit in this workshop," she joked early on. By the halfway point, that self-doubt had started to fade. "I am feeling more confident and less insecure about sucking because I actually don’t suck that bad!" But even with her newfound confidence, the workshop wasn’t without its challenges. "Ok," she quipped in the final stretch, "I might have lost a few brain cells towards the end but I feel so much more accomplished!"
“I am getting 1% smarter every hour I sit in this workshop.”
Lauren’s irreverent humor found its way into her offline notes as well. "Philip Lique is the sexiest boyfriend ever. He is a beefcake and a genius," she penned, adding with a wink, "The above statement was not written from a neutral point of view. Verifiability is questionable."
But beyond the jokes, she tackled serious topics too, contributing to pages like Path of the Panther and keeping an eye on projects like The MEGA Lab. For Lauren, the research process wasn’t just about editing—"Not so much learning, but revisiting a research process that is enjoyable and not often practiced," she said. By the end, her key takeaway was that anyone could edit, but "not everyone’s edits stick."
Throughout the workshop, Lauren found surprising parallels between Wikipedia and her artistic practice. "It relates to my research processes, my community work, writing practice, and my deep and undying love for systems," she observed. The intricate, layered work of sculpting mirrored the detailed, additive nature of Wikipedia editing. "Wikipedia is a swirling whirlpool of brain goo with lots of gremlins yelling over each other via keyboard," she wrote, capturing the frenetic energy of the platform. But she also saw it as "a community, an organic archive, and an opportunity to add to one of the world’s biggest libraries the subject matter you are interested in."
“Wikipedia relates to my research processes, my community work, writing practice, and my deep and undying love for systems.”
Lauren’s excitement about Wikipedia grew as she began to see the platform's potential for artists like herself. "That artists can actively contribute to subjects they are interested in and add information that might be missing, overlooked, or incorrect," she noted. By the end of the workshop, she was a firm believer in the idea that artists had a place on Wikipedia, and could help shape the online archive. "We as artists can contribute to an online archive and help shape the information on the internet—I stand by my above statement!"
“We as artists can contribute to an online archive and help shape the information on the internet—I stand by my above statement!”
Her advice to future workshop attendees was both bold and heartfelt: "Be bold! And mighty forces will come to your aid." Midway through, she doubled down: "I second the above." By the end, she cheekily added, "Be Bold! And Jake Orlowitz might come to your aid."
What truly excited Lauren about Wikipedia was the prospect of contributing to an active archive of human history. "I’m excited to contribute an article to the archive about something that totally deserves to be in there," she wrote. Her enthusiasm was palpable as she imagined using the skills she’d learned in her own research. By the end, she felt empowered, eager "to continue doing research in this way—following citations and organizing information to create articles that I can later source for my own research purposes."
Lauren’s journey through the Wikipedia workshop was one of humor, hard work, and discovery. What began as a nervous attempt to follow along ended with a deeper understanding of how art, research, and open knowledge could intersect. Wikipedia, for Lauren, became not just a platform for information, but a dynamic space for artists to contribute, collaborate, and make their mark on the ever-evolving archive of human knowledge.
