We're almost midway through our annual Community Campaign and grateful for the generous support we've recieved from our members. However, we are still far from our $25,000 goal so we ask that you please make a donation today to help support Rhizome into the next year!
Below, Nick Hasty Rhizome's Director of Technology, provides insight on how our community's support is vital to innovation at Rhizome.org.
Technology-wise, with the launch of our new website and art archive, 2011 has been a transformative year for Rhizome. This kind of ambitious, large-scale development is a massive challenge for an organization with Rhizome’s staff size, and we couldn't have done it without support from our membership.
http://rhizome.org/support/donate/
The Rhizome website is a complex platform, containing some 220,000 lines of code and, with over 15 years worth of content, more than 125,000 individual pages as indexed by Google. These numbers are a considerable sum for any website, but for a non-profit with a single developer / sysadmin, they represent a challenge that's simultaneously both exciting and daunting. Like the rest of the staff, I am motivated by the daily engagement the site receives, whether by artists, academics, or technologists eager to learn more about our field.
Since launching the new site, community engagement has boomed. From overall site traffic to announcements to portfolios, we've seen tremendous growth in all the service we offer, and we're thrilled to know that our community finds great value in Rhizome. We plan to continue listening to your feedback, improving our offerings and creating innovative tools for documenting, archiving, promoting, and researching digital art.
In the coming year, I anticipate growth and innovation in the following areas:
+ More collaborations with artists to create unique online exhibition experiences here on the site
+ Improving and expanding our jobs board so to help our community connect and thrive in these hard economic times
+ Expanding portfolios and profiles so to help artists better promote and create dialogue around their practice
Keeping a non-profit website running and relevant for 15 years is a balancing act of strategy and dedication. We’ve accomplished this thanks to the artists, members and site users who give back to the organization. Your contributions help drive innovation here at Rhizome, and help ensure that Rhizome continues to be a crucial resource for our community.
I sincerely hope you will make a donation now during Rhizome’s Campaign.
http://rhizome.org/support/donate/
And while you're at it, drop us a line and tell us about your favorite features on the site, or suggest new ideas or improvements for Rhizome.
Thank you for your continued support!
Nick Hasty
