KEY FACTS

  • Interpol’s ID-Art app allows users to take a photo in-app, upload an image or enter key descriptive terms into a search engine that runs against the organization’s stolen art database, which has information about more than 52,000 lost pieces of art.
  • If the work appears to match a registered stolen work, the app shows users more information about the lost piece and prompts them to report the item to Interpol with a pop up banner.
  • The app could be a boon for stopping trafficking and recovering lost art, Interpol said, by allowing anyone with a smartphone to instantly check if a piece is registered as missing on their mobile phone.
  • According to Interpol, the app has already been used to successfully recover four pieces of stolen art during an early pilot phase, having identified two sculptures in Italy and two Dutch paintings.
  • ID-Art also has a feature for users to make records of items from their own collection, which Interpol officials say can be useful during an investigation in the event artwork is stolen or lost.
  • There is also an option on the app to report important cultural locations at risk, like historical monuments and archaeological sites, that may have been damaged during a natural disaster, looting or conflict.
The ID-Art app enables mobile access to the INTERPOL database of stolen works of art, creates art collection inventories and both reports and records cultural sites at risk.

Sources:

INTERPOL https://www.interpol.int/News-and-Events/News/2021/INTERPOL-launches-app-to-better-protect-cultural-heritage

Forbes https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2021/05/06/anyone-can-identify-and-report-stolen-art-instantly-with-new-interpol-app/?sh=35e1b8056f2a