flask nginx aws-ec2 ubuntu

Museum Collection Manager App

2 minute read

Museum Collection Manager

A full-stack web application for managing museum collections, artworks, artists, and exhibitions built with Flask and MySQL.

Live Demo

Live Application: https://museums.khilldata.com

Features

  • Artist Management: Track artist biographies, birth/death dates, art movements, and portfolios
  • Artwork Cataloging: Detailed artwork records with dimensions, valuations, signatures, and provenance
  • Museum Registry: Comprehensive museum information including locations, visitor statistics, and contact details
  • Collection Management: Link artworks to museums with acquisition details, accession numbers, and display status
  • SQL Playground: Interactive query builder for exploring collection data
  • Data Export: Export collection data to CSV format
  • Professional UI: Responsive design with beautiful artwork backgrounds and modern styling

Technology Stack

Backend:

  • Python 3.12
  • Flask (web framework)
  • Flask-WTF (form handling & validation)
  • MySQL (database)
  • Gunicorn (WSGI server)

Frontend:

  • HTML5/CSS3
  • JavaScript (ES6+)
  • Font Awesome icons
  • Responsive design

Deployment:

  • AWS EC2 (Ubuntu 24.04)
  • Nginx (reverse proxy)
  • Let’s Encrypt (SSL/TLS)
  • Systemd (service management)

Prerequisites

  • Python 3.8+
  • MySQL 8.0+
  • pip (Python package manager)

Installation

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/kd365/museum-collection-manager.git
cd museum-collection-manager

2. Create virtual environment

python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate

3. Install dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Setup MySQL Database

sudo mysql

# Create database and user
CREATE DATABASE museumapp;
CREATE USER 'museum_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'your_secure_password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON museumapp.* TO 'museum_user'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

# Import schema
mysql -u museum_user -p museumapp < schema.sql

5. Configure Environment Variables

Create a .env file:

SECRET_KEY=your-secret-key-here
DB_HOST=localhost
DB_USER=museum_user
DB_PASSWORD=your_secure_password
DB_NAME=museumapp

6. Run the Application

Development:

python3 museums_app.py

Production:

gunicorn --bind 127.0.0.1:8000 --workers 3 museums_app:app

Access at: http://localhost:5000 (development) or http://localhost:8000 (production)

Database Schema

The application uses four main tables:

  • artists: Artist biographical information and metadata
  • artworks: Detailed artwork records with dimensions and valuations
  • museums: Museum information including location and visitor data
  • collections: Junction table linking artworks to museums with acquisition details

See schema.sql for complete database structure.

Key Features Explained

Form Validation

  • Server-side validation using Flask-WTF
  • CSRF protection on all forms
  • Data type validation (dates, URLs, decimals)
  • Required field enforcement

Security

  • Environment-based configuration
  • SQL injection prevention (parameterized queries)
  • HTTPS encryption (Let’s Encrypt)
  • Secure headers (HSTS, X-Frame-Options, etc.)

User Experience

  • Flash messages for user feedback
  • Responsive design for mobile/tablet/desktop
  • Professional artwork imagery
  • Auto-closing notifications

Project Structure

museum-collection-manager/
├── museums_app.py          # Main Flask application
├── config.py               # Configuration management
├── forms.py                # WTForms form definitions
├── requirements.txt        # Python dependencies
├── .env                    # Environment variables (not in repo)
├── templates/              # Jinja2 HTML templates
│   ├── base.html
│   ├── index.html
│   ├── artist_form.html
│   ├── artists.html
│   └── ...
├── static/                 # Static assets
│   ├── css/
│   │   └── style.css
│   └── js/
│       └── main.js
└── schema.sql              # Database schema

Production Deployment

The live application is deployed on AWS EC2 with:

  • Nginx as reverse proxy
  • Gunicorn as WSGI server
  • Systemd for service management
  • Let’s Encrypt for SSL/TLS

See deployment documentation for details.

API Endpoints

Endpoint Method Description
/ GET Homepage with statistics
/artists GET List all artists
/artists/create GET/POST Create new artist
/artists/<id>/edit GET/POST Edit artist
/artists/<id>/delete POST Delete artist
/artworks GET List all artworks
/artworks/create GET/POST Create new artwork
/museums GET List all museums
/collections GET List collection items
/sql-playground GET/POST Interactive SQL query builder
/export/<table> GET Export table data to CSV

Contributing

This is a portfolio project, but suggestions and feedback are welcome!

Author

Kathleen Hill

License

This project is open source and available under the MIT License.

Acknowledgments

  • Artwork images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
  • Icons by Font Awesome
  • Fonts: Playfair Display & Lato (Google Fonts)