open(FILE,"<$file") or die $!; # always check for the error condition!
while (my $line = <FILE>) {
  if ($line =~ m/\[(.*)\]/) {
    push @art, { item => $1 };
  }
  elsif ($line =~ m/^(\w+)\s*=\s*(.*?)\s*$/) { # the \s*'s ignore leading and trailing whitespace.
    $art[-1]->{$1} = $2; # [-1] references the last item in the array; i.e. what you just pushed on there
  }
}
close FILE;