You Can Now Explore an Open-Source Encyclopedia of 10,000 Years of South Asian Art

The online reference aims to make the region’s masterpieces more accessible than ever

Jane Recker
Daily Correspondent

April 28, 2022



This watercolor from a devotional poem shows the richness of South Asian art—a long art history overlooked by some in the Western world. Public domain via Philadelphia Museum of Art


South Asia has a long, vibrant artistic tradition. But art enthusiasts in search of an easy-to-read reference on the region’s art have long been disappointed. Now, the New York Times’ Ginanne Brownell reports, a team of researchers has launched an open-source online encyclopedia covering over 10,000 years of South Asian art— the first such collection of information about Indian and South Asian art of its kind.

The MAP Academy Encyclopedia of Indian Art, supported by Bangalore’s Museum of Art and Photography (MAP), launched last week with over 2,000 peer-reviewed entries on artwork ranging from paintings, to sculptures, to textiles and crafts.

Each easy-to-read entry is in article form with text and images, and focuses on artistic techniques, the importance of individual works, and the art movements to which they belong, Hyperallergic’s Jasmine Liu writes.

The peer-reviewed articles were created by roughly 20 researchers and editors, CNN’s Oscar Holland notes, and the peer-reviewed project was supervised by scholars, editors and art history experts. Though the encyclopedia is only in English, organizers hope to launch Hindi translations in the near future. Currently, writes Holland, the team is aiming to add roughly 1,000 additional entries per year, including artwork from Bangladesh and Pakistan in recognition of art movements that pre-date modern borders.

More:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/explore-open-source-encyclopedia-of-10000-years-of-south-asian-art-180979990/