A Scalable Art Opportunity Platform Built for Growth

ArtOpps is an online platform run and commissioned by Parker Harris, helping artists discover and apply for exhibitions, competitions, grants, residencies and other creative opportunities. For artists, the platform needs to feel simple and dependable. For the ArtOpps and Parker Harris teams, it needs to handle large volumes of applications, payments, files, judging activity and results without becoming difficult to manage.

Before the current platform, ArtOpps was running on a WordPress and WooCommerce hybrid. It was already trying to do many of the right things: accept applications, take payments and support judging. The problem was scale. As the number of artists and entries grew, the old system struggled with the traffic peaks that mattered most, especially around opportunity deadlines, payment activity, entry editing and results announcements.

This became a long-term platform journey rather than a one-off website project. ArtOpps first worked with Dan around 2020 to address performance and scalability issues. When CoreTechnics was launched, the relationship continued and the platform kept evolving as ArtOpps grew.

Where ArtOpps started

The original WordPress and WooCommerce setup had reached the limit of what it could comfortably support. It was not just a brochure website with a few forms. It was being used as a working platform for applications, payments and judging, which placed much heavier demands on the system.

The busiest moments were also the most important. Artists would submit or edit entries close to a deadline. Payments would need to go through cleanly. Judges and administrators would need access to entries. Results days would bring another wave of visitors wanting to check outcomes. These traffic spikes placed pressure on the site at exactly the moments when reliability mattered most.

As more artists used ArtOpps, the platform needed to become faster, stronger and easier to scale.

The first rebuild on SMART 1

The first major rebuild moved ArtOpps away from the limits of WordPress and WooCommerce and onto SMART 1. This gave the platform a stronger technical foundation and improved how it handled users, entries, payments and judging workflows.

That first rebuild gave ArtOpps room to grow. It helped the team support more artists, more opportunities and more entries without relying on a setup that was never designed for that level of activity.

Over the next few years, ArtOpps continued to expand. User numbers and entry volumes almost tripled, and the platform became responsible for a much larger amount of operational activity. What had been a good solution for one stage of growth eventually needed to evolve again for the next one.

A second rebuild for the next stage of growth

Starting in early 2025, CoreTechnics began a second full rebuild, this time using SMART Data, VueJS and NodeJS. The goal was not simply to make the existing system a little faster. The platform needed to handle much higher volumes of traffic, users, payments, applications, files, judging activity and communication.

SMART Data provided the scalable and secure foundation needed for the next generation of ArtOpps. VueJS created a faster and more flexible user experience, while NodeJS helped power the application logic behind the scenes. Together, the stack gave ArtOpps a platform that could continue growing without repeating the same performance problems that had held back the original WordPress setup.

The new build supports the whole application journey, from artists finding opportunities and creating accounts through to submitting work, uploading files, making Stripe payments, receiving updates and checking results. Behind the scenes, administrators can manage opportunities, review data, export entries, support applicants and coordinate judging.

Built around artists, administrators and judges

ArtOpps has several different types of users, and each group needs something different from the platform.

Artists need to find opportunities, create accounts, complete application forms, upload images and files, make payments and return to edit or review entries. The process needs to be clear, especially close to deadlines when people may be working quickly.

The Parker Harris and ArtOpps teams need a reliable admin area where they can set up opportunities, review applications, manage payments, export data, publish results and keep track of activity. Judges need private judging panels, scoring tools, shortlisting features and access to the right information at the right stage.

The platform now brings these workflows together in one bespoke system, reducing manual admin and giving the team better visibility across the full process.

Handling deadlines, files, payments and results

Deadline days and results days are some of the hardest moments for a platform like ArtOpps. Many users may arrive at the same time to submit work, edit entries, complete payments or view outcomes.

The new system was designed with those pressure points in mind. It supports high-volume uploads, image handling, application editing, Stripe payments, result viewing and automated email notifications. It also gives the team better reporting, making it easier to understand activity and manage each opportunity.

For organisations running arts opportunities, awards or grants, this kind of reliability matters. The platform has to protect the experience for applicants while also giving the team confidence that the process will keep running when demand is at its highest.

A newsletter system for a growing artist community

As ArtOpps grew, communication became a bigger part of the platform. The new system includes a fully fledged newsletter feature powered by the SendGrid API, sending around 30,000 to 90,000 emails per week on average.

This gives ArtOpps a direct way to keep artists informed about new opportunities, deadlines, updates and results. It also keeps communication connected to the wider platform instead of treating email as a separate afterthought.

At this scale, email delivery needs to be handled carefully. The platform needs to send large volumes reliably while supporting the day-to-day needs of the ArtOpps team.

What ArtOpps has now

ArtOpps now has a bespoke platform built to support growth, high-traffic periods and complex application workflows. It supports more than 50,000 users and has handled more than 35,000 entries in the last year alone.

The platform brings together opportunity listings, artist accounts, application forms, high-volume uploads, Stripe payments, judging dashboards, scoring, shortlisting, exports, automated emails, newsletters and reporting. It is hosted, supported and actively developed by CoreTechnics.

For ArtOpps and Parker Harris, the result is a platform that can keep pace with a growing artist community. For artists, it means a smoother and more reliable way to discover and apply for opportunities that can genuinely shape their careers.