Building Smarter, Creating Freer: Behind the Scenes of Our Digital Toolmaking
Over the past few months, we’ve been having an incredible time exploring and experimenting as part of our fall and winter incubator program. One of the most exciting threads to emerge has been our deep dive into developing our own custom digital tools—particularly for WordPress. Like many arts groups and community organizations, it’s one of our main platforms, and lately we’ve been diving really deep into extending its capabilities.
This journey has been a mix of creative problem-solving, technical curiosity, and a whole lot of trial and error. But it’s also been deeply rewarding. Instead of relying heavily on third-party tools, we’ve been crafting our own plugins and custom tables from the ground up. These tools aren’t just functional—they’re tailored to our specific needs and workflows.
From custom interfaces that help us curate exhibitions and collections, to image generators, to smarter ways of importing and exporting data—we’re laying the groundwork for a digital ecosystem that works for us, not the other way around.
And the best part? It’s fun. Truly. There’s something joyful about building systems that feel intuitive and purposeful, and that cut through some of the tangle that comes with creative administration.
Working Smarter, Not Harder
Let’s be honest: admin and paperwork can be some of the biggest drains on creative energy. Whether it’s managing submissions, maintaining records, or preparing materials for public sharing, these are all important pieces of the puzzle—but they can eat up huge amounts of time.
By building our own tools, we’re shifting the balance. We’re automating the repetitive, organizing the messy, and streamlining the clunky. The result? We’re freeing up more time to actually create, experiment, and engage—with each other and with our communities.
This approach isn’t just about efficiency. It’s about sustainability. When we reduce the friction in our day-to-day work, we make more room for imagination, innovation, and joy.
Supported by OpenAI’s Researcher Access Program
We’ve been incredibly fortunate to have the support of OpenAI and their Researcher Access Program this past year. Access to advanced tools and models has opened up new possibilities for us—particularly in how we generate content, design interfaces, and experiment with interactivity and accessibility.
That support has been key to helping us push our experiments further, faster—and we’ve been putting those tools to very good use.
Looking Ahead: Exhibitions and New Experiments
As we move into spring and summer, we’re excited to start showcasing some of these tools in upcoming exhibitions. Each season, our programs evolve around a new theme—but this year, we’re planning to continue developing our digital infrastructure in parallel with our creative and curatorial work.
You’ll see glimpses of these tools in action across several upcoming projects, where we’ll be integrating them into how we present, organize, and invite participation. It’s part of a broader commitment to not just make art, but to reimagine the systems around how we share and engage with it.
Join Us On This Journey
We’ve got a few test builds live already, and we’d love for you to take a look. Whether you’re curious about what we’re making, interested in how these tools might work in your own projects, or just want to follow along—your thoughts and feedback are always welcome.
We’ll keep sharing our progress as we go, and we can’t wait to show you more.