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