Building the KMSKA Fabriek: turning open collection data into an AI-powered learning platform
In partnership with KMSKA (Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen) and Arinti, we're building an AI-powered learning platform that transforms open collection data into a genuinely useful tool for students and teachers. The goal isn't to publish more data. It's to activate what already exists.
Rich data, untapped potential
KMSKA already makes a substantial part of its collection digitally accessible: high-resolution images, structured metadata, IIIF manifests, and a public API. The technical foundation is solid. The collection is open, well-structured, and available.
Yet for students and educators, navigating large datasets, surfacing relevant works, and translating raw cultural data into meaningful learning materials remains genuinely difficult. The collection is available, but not yet easy to use.
Our role: from concept to scalable MVP
Leap Forward is leading the product development of the KMSKA Fabriek MVP, with Arinti bringing AI expertise to the table. The collaboration is built on four pillars:
- User-centered interaction design tailored to educational contexts
- AI-supported discovery through semantic search and intelligent clustering
- Direct integration with IIIF and the collection API
- Scalable architecture built to support long-term evolution
AI serves the experience rather than driving it. It enhances search, surfaces connections between artworks, and supports creative workflows, without dominating the interface. The user stays at the center.
Gallery
From passive browsing to active exploration
Rather than scrolling through a database, users can search thematically across the collection, group works into curated sets, trace visual and contextual relationships between pieces, and build educational outputs like stories or quizzes. It's the difference between having access to a collection and knowing what to do with it.
Why it matters
Many cultural institutions open their data. Very few turn it into structured, usable educational products. The KMSKA Fabriek, made possible through co-building and co-investing with KMSKA and Arinti and supported by Sandbox Vlaanderen, shows what's possible when strong product design meets genuine institutional ambition.
