Sanarchive:Selected anniversaries

This page defines the selection policy for the On This Day (Art) section featured daily on the Sanarchive main page. The purpose is to present historically significant art-related events through anniversaries in a balanced, curated, and high-quality manner.

The scope includes all artistic disciplines, such as visual arts, sculpture, architecture, music, performing arts, literature, cinema, photography, design, and contemporary art.

How to contribute

Contributors may participate in the On This Day (Art) project in three primary ways:

Improving ineligible entries

Entries listed in the staging area as ineligible may be upgraded by addressing issues such as insufficient context, weak connection to art history, low content quality, or lack of reliable sourcing. Once improved, note that the entry is ready for review.

Suggesting new art-related events

Suggestions may include artist births or deaths, first exhibitions or performances, publication or premiere of significant works, founding of art institutions, or major movements and manifestos.

Flagging upcoming significant anniversaries

Anniversaries marking 25, 50, 100 years or more are strongly encouraged, especially when they relate to influential moments in art history.

Purpose of the staging area

Each date has a staging area where potential entries are collected.

Eligible entries are rotated onto the main page.
Ineligible entries are retained for future improvement rather than removed.

This system exists to prevent overrepresentation of only the most famous figures and to encourage a broader, more inclusive view of art history.

Reporting errors

Errors found on the current On This Day (Art) listing should be reported in the feedback section for that date. For other dates, a new discussion should be opened in the relevant discussion area.

Adding new entries

All entries must be written in the past tense.
A single, clear sentence is preferred.
The central artist, artwork, or institution should be clearly emphasized.
Entries must avoid present-day commentary to prevent confusion with current events.

Protected dates (yesterday, today, tomorrow) require suggestions rather than direct edits.

Selection criteria

To be eligible for inclusion, an entry must meet the following minimum standards:

1. Art-historical significance The event must have a meaningful impact within its artistic discipline or cultural context.

2. Date accuracy The event must have occurred on the stated date according to the calendar in use at the time.

3. Clear and verifiable dating The date must be explicitly stated and reliably sourced, particularly for events with variable or non-Gregorian dates.

4. Content quality Entries must not be stubs and should provide sufficient context and clarity.

5. Artist births and deaths Each day aims to include at least one artist birth and one artist death where possible. An individual may not be listed for both their birth and death dates.

6. Diversity Efforts should be made to ensure diversity across:

Artistic disciplines
Historical periods
Geographic regions

No single category should dominate a given day.

Images

Only freely licensed images may be used.
Images must remain clear at small sizes.
Preference is given to images directly related to the artwork or event.
Only one image is displayed per day.

Main page curation guidelines

Approximately five entries are selected per day.
Priority order:

1. Significant anniversaries
2. Chronological diversity
3. Geographic diversity
4. Disciplinary diversity

Recently featured artists or movements should not be repeated within short intervals.
Entries should avoid overlap with other major thematic content featured that day.

Conflicting guidelines

When guidelines conflict, curatorial judgment is required. A reasoned and transparent decision is preferred over rigid automation.

The objective is not a perfect list, but a thoughtful one.