Artifact
The Modern Platform for Catalogue Raisonné Creation
Everything You Need to Document an Artist's Legacy
Artifact is a cloud-based platform for collaborating and creating born-digital artist catalogues raisonnés. Built on international standards and designed for collaboration, it transforms how museums, foundations, and scholars create definitive catalogues raisonnés. Artifact is a modern cataloguing solution that honors centuries of art historical scholarship.
A catalogue raisonné is more than a list—it's the authoritative record of an artist's complete body of work. Artifact provides the comprehensive tools, collaborative workspace, and publishing capabilities to create catalogues that meet the highest scholarly standards.
Create with Precision
Work within a system designed specifically for art cataloguing. Our platform implements the Getty's CDWA (Categories for the Description of Works of Art) standards, ensuring your documentation meets international best practices. Support for multiple languages, flexible date formats, and hierarchical classification systems means you can capture the nuance and complexity your scholarship demands.
Controlled Vocabularies
Artifact minimizes free-text fields in favor of structured controlled vocabularies: curated terms linked to authority files that ensure consistent data entry and precise retrieval across every record.
Collaborate Seamlessly
Multiple team members can work simultaneously with granular role-based permissions. From researchers adding notes to editors reviewing entries, everyone works in their dedicated space with exactly the access they need. Real-time updates keep your team synchronized while maintaining complete control over who sees what.
Publish with Confidence
Transform your research into beautiful, accessible public catalogues. Control exactly what gets published with our flexible publication flags, preview your catalogue before it goes live, and update published entries as new research emerges—all from a single platform.
Built for Scholarship, Designed for Efficiency
Standards & Technology
Artifact is built on the same international standards used by major museums and cultural institutions worldwide. This isn't just about following best practices—it's about ensuring your catalogue remains accessible and interoperable for decades to come.
Designed for Clarity
Artifact's intuitive interface guides users toward accurate, consistent data entry from the start. A live preview lets users see exactly how their content will appear when published, with proper styling and punctuation applied, making it easy to review and refine entries as work progresses.
Archival Best Practices
Every change to your catalogue is logged, recording what was changed, when, and by whom. This creates a reliable audit trail that supports scholarly accountability and institutional transparency.
Key Features
Intelligent Organization
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Manage complete artwork records with all related documentation in one place
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Link exhibitions, publications, provenance, and archival materials directly to artworks
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Support multiple catalogue numbering systems and alternate identifications
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Create custom hierarchies that reflect how you organize your research
Advanced Image Management
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High-resolution image viewing with deep-zoom capabilities
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Support for multiple image types: primary views, alternate angles, verso, conservation photos
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Track image status from collection through publication
Powerful Research Tools
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Create custom flags and saved lists for workflow management
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Attach research notes and documentation to any record
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Advanced search capabilities across all fields and relationships
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Complete revision history shows exactly what changed and when
Flexible Access Control
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Eight distinct user roles from Subscription Administrator to Viewer
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Control visibility at the record level with publication flags
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Separate confidential research data from published information
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Time-based embargoes for sensitive materials
Professional Publishing
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Generate public-facing catalogue websites directly from your database
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Preview exactly how entries will appear before publication
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Automatic change tracking flags differences between database and published versions
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Support for tiered public access (open access, subscription, institutional)
Security & Reliability
Your Research, Protected and Available
We understand that catalogue projects represent years—often decades—of scholarly work. Artifact is built with institutional-grade security and reliability.
Data Security
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Data is transmitted securely over encrypted connections and stored on protected, access-controlled servers.
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Multi-factor authentication and IP monitoring prevent unauthorized access
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Granular permissions ensure team members see only what they should
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Complete audit logs track every action for accountability
Geographic Data Residency
Your data stays in your region. European organizations keep data in Europe, meeting GDPR requirements. North American organizations keep data in North America. Full compliance with data sovereignty regulations.
Continuous Protection
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Automated backups every 6 hours ensure minimal data loss
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Multiple redundant copies across different facilities
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Annual archival exports in standard formats for long-term preservation
Always Available
Built on enterprise cloud infrastructure, Artifact maintains 99.9% uptime. When your researchers need access, the platform is there—whether they're working from an office, home, or archive across the world.
On the Roadmap
Building on the foundation of the current platform, we are developing the next generation of tools for catalogue raisonné scholarship. Artifact will expand on what works today, adding powerful new capabilities while modernizing the underlying architecture to ensure the platform remains sustainable, scalable, and built for the long term. Here are some of the features we look forward to bringing to the platform.
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Full multi-language platform support
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Deeper Getty Categories for the Description of Works of Art (CDWA) integration
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International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF)
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Enhanced data security protections
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Reengineered backend architecture for improved performance and faster response times
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Modernized codebase built on current technologies for long-term platform sustainability
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Comprehensive self-service export options
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Open API connectivity
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Self-publishing options