Artsmia

What Artsmia does

Artsmia exposes selected Minneapolis Institute of Art collection data through MCP. Its collection search covers approximately 90,000 objects and accepts either ordinary text queries or field-oriented filters. For example, a client can search for a subject such as Monet water lilies, filter by artist or country, specify a department, or use a room pattern. Free text and field filters can be combined.

Search results include core object information such as artist, date, medium, image URL, and gallery location with on-view status. A separate object lookup retrieves a fuller record when the numeric collection ID is known. That record can include the title, artist, date, medium, dimensions, credit line, department, gallery location, curatorial text, and image URL.

Department browsing provides another way to explore the collection. Supported departments include European Art, Asian Art, Decorative Arts, Textiles and Sculpture, Photography and New Media, Arts of the Americas, and Art of Africa and the Americas. Objects with images are ranked first in these results.

How it works

The hosted connection uses the Pipeworx gateway at https://gateway.pipeworx.io/artsmia/mcp. It can be added to an MCP client with a URL-based server entry. The same gateway also offers a full endpoint at https://gateway.pipeworx.io/mcp, which exposes all available packs directly rather than listing only the Artsmia pack.

A pack-specific gateway connection includes Artsmia tools plus shared Pipeworx tools such as routing, discovery, search, and memory functions. The local package exposes only the Artsmia tools. Gateway routing can be used through ask_pipeworx when a natural-language request should be directed to the appropriate tool.

The tools are also callable over HTTP. For example, the gateway exposes a tool endpoint for artsmia_search_artworks, accepting a JSON request body with a query. The collection operations themselves are keyless.

Setup and configuration

For a hosted MCP connection, add the following server entry to a compatible client:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "artsmia": {
      "url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/artsmia/mcp"
    }
  }
}

A local stdio installation uses the npm package and does not require a Pipeworx account:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "artsmia": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@pipeworx/mcp-artsmia"]
    }
  }
}

The package can also be started directly with npx -y @pipeworx/mcp-artsmia. It communicates over standard input and output and responds to MCP initialization, tool-listing, and tool-call requests.

Tools and capabilities

• search_artworks: Search the Mia collection with free text or Elasticsearch-style fields such as artist, country, department, and room.
• get_artwork: Retrieve expanded metadata for an object using its numeric collection ID.
• department_highlights: Browse selected curatorial departments, placing objects with images first.
• Hosted HTTP access: Invoke collection tools through Pipeworx HTTP endpoints without an MCP client.
• Natural-language routing: Use the gateway's ask_pipeworx tool to select and populate a suitable tool.

Limitations and notes

Artsmia is an independent, unofficial integration and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or published by the Minneapolis Institute of Art. The hosted pack endpoint includes shared Pipeworx tools in addition to the three Artsmia tools, so its reported tool count is larger than the collection-specific set. The standalone package avoids those shared gateway tools and provides only the Artsmia collection operations.

The hosted and local options use the same collection tools, but the hosted route adds gateway-level routing and discovery. Direct collection operations are keyless, while gateway account requirements can differ from the local package experience. Gallery information includes on-view status when returned by the collection search or object record.