Eat, Drink, and Be Arty: F.E.A.S.T. Evolves

Last Saturday evening, Jeff Hnilicka was distracted. “My head’s in five places at once,” he said, after pausing our interview to stare down two people attempting to take beer outside of the Church of the Messiah basement (“Eagle Eye!” Hnilicka yelled at the pair across the street) and greeting an old roommate.

And who could blame him? In the circus of F.E.A.S.T.—Funding Emerging Art with Sustainable Tactics—the community-based arts fundraiser that entered into its fourth cycle on Saturday, Hnilicka is the ringleader. The event has steadily grown since its inception in February, attracting 18 proposals this time around, “double what we’ve ever had”, said Hnilicka.

Though F.E.A.S.T. is usually held in the basement of Greenpoint’s Church of the Messiah, on this temperate August evening Hnilicka had split the event into two sections, staging the artists’ proposals outside in McGolrick Park and serving dinner inside the church. Entry tickets, priced on a sliding scale between $10 and $20, got you dinner, beer, and a ballot to vote on which artist’s proposal deserved the grant awarded at the end of the night.

This year’s food vendors included Van Leewen Ice Cream, which set up shop alongside the artists, and the Brooklyn Standard, which dished out finger foods inside the church. Brooklyn Brewery had also donated all the Brooklyn Lager thirsty F.E.A.S.T.-goers could drink—as long as they kept it inside the basement.

In the park, the corridor of artists explaining their proposals resembled a combination science fair and Halloween parade, with each team explaining their ideas to passersby. At the table for Free Space, a gaggle of Bushwick roommates proposing to turn their downstairs into a combination studio and community space paraded around in costumes. Matt Garron, one of team Free Space, donned a plush costume bunny head and danced the Macarena to the delight of a little girl.

“We’re definitely trying to get people’s attention,” said Mikki Olson, head of the Free Space team who donned a bikini-patterned cover up and sparkly red ribbon. “It’s showing that people can support artists just by having a good time. It’s completely interactive and very personal.”

Other projects up for funding this round included obscure terrain, a collaborative work of more than 40 artists planning to created “a multi-rooftop spectacle” along the Gowanus Canal, and Dark F.E.A.S.T., which proposed an “in-the-dark dining” component to the next event.

In the end, the crowd voted for the Underground Library—a book-making project—to receive the largest grant of funds, which totaled $1000. Runners up, both receiving $400, were Camper Kart, a shopping cart-cum-tent designed for the “urban camper” and Brooklyn Makes, a video screening of Williamsburg and Greenpoint’s industrial spaces.
Hnilicka plans to revive F.E.A.S.T. every two months, scheduling the next fundraiser for October 3rd. He describes F.E.A.S.T. as “a large group of people creating value for themselves,” injecting democracy into the funding process as well as taking a more populist approach to the idea of art.

“It keeps evolving,” Hnilicka said, before dashing off to greet more arriving guests and point voters towards the ballot box. “It’s like a changing beast.”