ArtPrize revamps site after vote crash

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - Art work is popping up around Grand Rapids, and starting Sept. 19 you can cast your vote in the world's largest art competition.

After a voting snag last year, ArtPrize 2012 officials want to make sure every vote counts.

If you voted last year, you probably remember when the ArtPrize website crashed due to so much traffic, causing a major kink in the voting process. The site was down for nearly 24 hours, and at one point about 20,000 people were logging on each hour to vote.

The traffic overloaded the system, causing officials to extend the voting deadline.

ArtPrize officials told 24 Hour News 8 they have made changes to make sure that doesn't happen again.

Brian Burch of ArtPrize said they completely revamped the back-end of their website in January, restructuring their database.

"That's something we took very seriously," said Burch. "We've taken it very seriously every year, and this year we're looking forward to no crashes, no mishaps, no issues."

More than 1,500 artists have entered to display their entries at 162 venues across 3 square miles in downtown Grand Rapids Sept. 17 through Oct. 7.

Participating artists hail from 56 countries and 45 states.

Total prize money is $560,000, with $360,000 determined solely by public vote. Other prizes will be juried awards.

The Top 10 winners will receive cash prizes, with the first-place winner taking home $200,000.

Voting is free and open to the public anyone 16 years of age or older, via the ArtPrize website, text-a-vote, or on the ArtPrize app on your smartphone.