Awarded $1200 FEAST grant

Elizabeth Knafo, Dylan Gauthier

greenmybodega.org

Awarded $1000 FEAST grant

Books by local collaboratives hand crafted and shared by a network of readers.

Project Summary
The underground library is a full-scale book-making and distributing project aimed at resuscitating the literary impulse with mystery, community, DIY verve, and innovation. Through the hand-crafting and self-distribution of 6 limited-edition hardcover books annually (70+ per edition), the group will:
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Publish works by members of The Metric System, Red Bucket Films, and other New York/Brooklyn based collaborative communities.
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Distribute them through an Heirloom process whereby books are passed through peers, their name retained on a library card, and access given to a community web space, in addition to past publications.
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Establish a web component facilitating community discussion.

How will your proposal manifest itself at the next feast?
A reading of the first published work will commence at the next FEAST, along with a distribution raffle to give out 10 Heirloom books to “ambassadors” within the FEAST audience, initiating and encouraging the books’ travel through the larger FEAST circuit.

How will you use funding (approximate $500-$700) towards the project?
Funding for the underground library would be used to purchase inexpensive book-making supplies for book production, facilitate the creation of the on-line forum, and launch each underground library publication with public readings by published and un-published members of the community.

Why is this project critical to the FEAST community?
Creating an alternative to the internet-encouraged “get anything, anytime” impulse, the group hopes to recapture a personal, valuable experience with artwork by distributing projects along a community circuit – whereby books are passed along based on close relationships rather than wide-scale marketing strategies. Each Heirloom book carries a trail of signatures, and becomes a collaborative space wherein an individual experience can be understood as shared amongst a larger whole. A value placed on physical objects uses self-distribution to encourage face-to-face interaction, and empowers individuals as arbiters of work they believe in, with considerable hand in the trajectory it travels.

Awarded $400 FEAST grant

Shopping-cart campsite roves the city.

PROJECT SUMMARY
As a FEAST grantee, I will build the CAMPER KART: a pop-up camper affixed to a shopping cart which can be pushed to a chosen location and opened to serve as a functioning habitat for an urban camper. After its completion, the CAMPER KART will be exhibited in a series of mock campsites in Brooklyn and Manhattan where the FEAST community and beyond will be participants and observers of art in public. In addition to serving as an experiment in autonomy, the project investigates habitats and housing; recycling and ecology; exploration and mobility.

HOW WILL YOUR PROPOSAL MANIFEST AT THE NEXT FEAST?
I will create an on-site installation of the CAMPER KART for people to interact with and explore—it can be installed outside in McGorlick Park or indoors in a diorama setting. As part of the installation, attendees will receive a printed instruction manual to serve as inspiration for building their own CAMPER KART and as a token of their support.

HOW WILL YOU USE THE FUNDING TOWARDS THE REALIZATION OF YOUR PROJECT?
The majority of the funding from a FEAST grant will go toward the construction of the CAMPER KART and the remaining money will go toward the creation of mock campsites and on-site installation. The construction costs include the purchase of a salvaged 1970/80s era Coleman pop-up camper (that I’ll locate through my hometown newspaper); shopping cart (if costs apply); transportation costs; building materials such as wood, fabric, and basic hardware; and lots of marshmallows.

WHY IS THIS PROJECT CRITICAL TO THE FEAST COMMUNITY?
Many of us are making due with less and it seems natural to consider what we have and how to maintain what’s important to us. The spirit of frugality is something that we often embrace after it becomes a necessity, but can be liberating nonetheless. The CAMPER KART prompts a dialogue about mobility, housing, recreation, and what is possible with less. Additionally, a public exhibition of the CAMPER KART is equally as important as its construction. Engaging those outside the current FEAST community allows the circle of participants to grow, and broadens the number of people interested in funding art.

by Kevin Cyr

Awarded $400 FEAST grant

Films depicting local labor screened on manufacturing facades.

Project Summary
BROOKLYN MAKES is a video walking tour of the Williamsburg Greenpoint Industrial Zone revealing the work of Brooklyn manufacturers today. I am making four videos that show the choreography of work at a paper maker, a smoked fish factory, a printer and an architectural fabricator. I will project these videos on the outside of the buildings at night, letting the hidden tapestries of manual labor spill onto the public space. The community will visit each business, lit up on a building facade with a projection showing what happens inside during the day. Soundscapes will be mixed from audio captured on site. After this event, the public may download the videos for self-guided mobile tours.

How will your proposal manifest at the next FEAST?
At the next FEAST on October 3, I will project the videos silently throughout the dinner, which will add to atmosphere of supporting and celebrating local economy and creation. The videos emphasize both the highly skilled processes of the work as well as the human element of fabrication. As a set, they exemplify the diversity of manufacturing in North Brooklyn today. I will make a short presentation on the project and invite everyone to come to the projection event, which will take place the following Friday, October 9.

How will you use funding (approx $500-$700) towards the realization of your project?
I will use the funding to rent projectors for outdoor projection ($640 with Rooftop Films) and print promotional postcards about each business at our local Brooklyn printer ($360 at Print House in Bushwick). This business selection is in keeping with supporting local businesses and manufacturers thematically promoted in the project.

Why is this project critical to the FEAST community?
The FEAST community is concerned with local economy and sustainability. Though many people know about Brooklyn’s industrial past, not many in our community are aware that there are plenty of businesses to support in the industrial present. Many of the artists and DIYers who attend FEAST will recognize similarities in the work of these small well-run manufacturers and their own practices. These businesses provide work that is more creative and sustainable to new immigrants and workers without higher education. They also provide work for many artists and designers. BROOKLYN MAKES will reveal these natural alliances to the FEAST community, and set the stage for future collaboration and community building.

by Sarah Nelson Wright