Arts database | Mr. Henry

An ar(t)chive containing all activity from Belgian makers, organisations, stage productions, expositions and music releases.

Showcasing a vast amount of artwork, locations, artists, performers and related events. This web application streamlines multiple data sources from the Belgian government, spanning over 10 years of meticulously collecting data & making relationships. The data itself goes back for over 50 years.

All the views are auto-populated with data. Kunstenpunt has the ability to configure a set taxonomy inside pages. This allows automated filtered states on known datasets (e.g. artists > painters).

The arts database is a continuation of our work for Kunstenpunt.

Services include: wireframing — ui/ux — digital design — database design — development — optimising — infrastructure management

100.000+ entities, 800.000+ relations, 200.000+ tags and counting…

Paintings, sculptures, drawings, installations, photographs, letters, artists, curators, critics, dancers, performers, actors, art galleries, spaces, residences, publications, publishers, musicians, orchestras, bands, albums, museums, theatres, monologues, dance, puppet shows, musicals, opera, ballet, radio, circus, …

New information gets added daily, so the entirety is becoming a reference point in Belgian culture.

A special algorithm builds an asset grid composed of various artworks sharing a colour palette.

The ar(t)chive is used by field enthousiasts, government officials and the general public.

Ok great, but how and when is this application used? The answer is in-depth & daily. Kunstenpunt gets a lot of international enquiries about the Belgian Arts.

A new settlement in Copenhagen, a residence in Catalonia, an overview of artist activity in Spain or a representative in Japan exploring new markets for Taiwan and South Korea… All helpful information gets composed using the Arts Database.

“For our work with the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Flemish Government, the database is really an important tool to provide a good overview of the activities of Flemish artists abroad.

The user-friendliness of the current front-end that Mr. Henry built is so high that we simply refer the General Representatives of the Flemish Government to databank.kunsten.be if they want an overview.

Previously, we always had to do a complex search in our database and create customised lists in spreadsheets.”

Tom Ruette
Head of information management, research & dissemination of knowledge @ Kunstenpunt

Besides the obvious, practical side for people in the field of arts, the openness of this data fits into the Mr. Henry philosophy of a free and public accessible internet for all.

We’re grateful to have gotten the opportunity to work on such an interesting project.

Verbeke Foundation

Photography by Charlotte Abramow, Anne Van Aerschot, Hans Spooren.