About The Open Art Database

Context,
not catalogue.

The Open Art Database (OADB) is an open, connected record of art: who made it, where it has been shown, and how it all links together. It tests a simple proposition: a well-sourced art dataset becomes substantially more useful when it is presented as a navigable network.

The current collection holds 385 published records—combining 50 curated works from Slow Going and Zones Without People with 128 works from the Art Institute of Chicago, linked across artists, 74 exhibitions, 36 venues, and 40 places.

Every record preserves a visible source, licence, and import date. Institution-hosted images are displayed only when source terms permit embedding; otherwise records show a typographic placard. Uncertain, disputed, or conflicting assertions are marked explicitly rather than smoothed away.

Published records are also available as JSON at /api/entities.