INZART

The Index to New Zealand Art – INZART. Over fifty years of New Zealand art indexing is now available online on through the University of Auckland’s Fine Arts Library.

The database, known as INZART, covers New Zealand artists in journals held in the Library in addition to selected national and local newspaper articles. The NZ Art Journal Index and the NZ ART Press Cuttings Index have been merged to produce a one-stop resource.

INZART represents a unique listing for twentieth century New Zealand artists, art galleries, museums, exhibitions and art events. The Fine Arts Library staff are working to maintain the resource for the twenty-first century as well. As an indication of the scale of the database the extensive “Artist Names List” includes over 8,000 names and draws on over 1,000 journals and related publications.

The search functionality offers a variety of ways to mine the resource. A basic or keyword search can provide an indication of coverage. The Advanced search provides options to limit by date or by article type, such as images of specific works or exhibitions. For many local artists this will be the most comprehensive source available. For example a search for the artist Yvonne Todd (in the format: Todd, Yvonne) results in over 100 articles, a significant increase to the two published works on Todd available through the library catalogue.

The University of Auckland Library is committed to making this resource widely available to enhance art historical research. The press cuttings are now selectively indexed with a focus on nationally significant articles. Indexing aims to capture Elam graduates and the Auckland region in depth. The librarians welcome feedback and corrections to keep the database accurate and dynamic, they can be contacted by emailing: INZART@lbr.auckland.ac