Interdisciplinary Arts Innovation Lab — March 2026

Why this lab? Why now?

In an era shaped by information overload, misinformation and growing distrust in public institutions, open knowledge platforms play a critical role in how information is produced, shared and accessed. From Wikipedia to collaborative data repositories, these platforms influence public understanding of issues ranging from public health to climate change, history and culture.
Yet open knowledge ecosystems are not neutral. They reflect uneven representation, linguistic imbalance, systemic bias and power dynamics in our societies, shaping whose knowledge is visible and whose is hidden. When these imbalances persist, communities can be misrepresented or excluded, public debates can be distorted and decisions that affect people’s lives can be made based on incomplete or unreliable information.
This Arts Innovation Lab invites students to tackle these issues head-on. You’ll move beyond symptoms to examine and respond to their underlying causes through iterative work, feedback and guidance from expert partners.

The challenge

Whose voices shape open knowledge, and whose are absent? How can open, collaborative platforms support reliable and inclusive public information to shape fair decision-making and reduce the risk of exclusion or harm? Let’s address what affects how reliable information is created, shared and trusted in society, and what’s at risk when these systems fail.
Working in interdisciplinary teams, you’ll collaborate with Wikimedia Canada to:

• reveal gaps, bias and systemic blind spots by identifying where, how and why open knowledge systems fall short, and who’s most affected when information is incomplete, distorted or missing
• apply arts- and humanities-based critical thinking in hands-on practice by using data mapping, collaborative editing, Wikidata, multilingual contributions and other methods to examine how knowledge is produced and contested on platforms like Wikipedia, with a focus on high-impact issues and under-represented communities
• develop interventions with real-world relevance by working in a consulting-style role to propose, prototype or contribute interventions for sharing, testing or further development by Wikimedia Canada and its broader ecosystem
• gain hands-on experience collaborating with a national organization, responding to a real and current mandate, and working across disciplines to produce solutions relevant to the public

Anticipated impact

By the end of the lab, you will have:

• contributed to real initiatives that address challenges associated with open knowledge and public information
• developed insights and contributions likely to inform future work by partner organizations
• strengthened your ability to navigate complexity, uncertainty and collaboration in fast-paced, interdisciplinary, real-world contexts
• gained clarity about how arts- and humanities-based thinking can have a meaningful societal impact
   

If your application is accepted, you’ll be registered in DCN 3312 — Advanced Workshop in Digital Cultures II and given access to the course on BrightSpace. There, you’ll find all information relevant to the lab.

• Schedule and commitment
• Friday, March 13, 2026: 5 p.m.–8:30 p.m. (Desmarais)
• Saturday, March 14, 2026: 10 a.m.–6 p.m. (Desmarais)
• Sunday, March 15, 2026: 10 a.m.–5 p.m. (Desmarais)
• Spots are limited.
• Lunch is provided on Saturday and Sunday.

Once you’re registered, your attendance and participation are required for the full duration of the lab.