One of the joys of attending the Create Huntington Chat 'n' Chews on a regular basis is that every few weeks, a person offers an idea that reminds me of the creative genius and creative energy that exist in our community.

That happened last week when Bill Rawlinson proposed a new way to support local artists and creative projects. The idea is simple, creative, sustainable and being used elsewhere with success.

After hearing a story on National Public Radio and looking into a St. Louis-based group called Sloup, Bill offered the idea of establishing Huntington's "Starving Artist Foundation" to provide seed grants to support artists and other communicative projects.

Here's how it works. Residents get together for a monthly dinner, which is open to the public and hosted by an individual, restaurant or group of people. They invite artists and others to submit grant requests for art projects, community programs and other creative endeavors.

Each dinner guest makes a nominal donation (usually $10-$15) to the group's grant fund, entitling the donor to vote on the grant proposals which excite them the most. Every month, 100 percent of the contributions are given to the artist or project voted on by the dinner guests. Communities with this program provide several hundred dollars every month to fund artists and creative projects.

Similar efforts in other communities have funded an exciting array of projects, including:

Drafting an Artist-Landlord Agreement guide to help artists, curators, organizations and property owners use unoccupied real estate for arts programming.

Converting the rooftop of an urban warehouse into a community garden. The garden produces food, which is sold to the community, is a greenspace for residents and a place to teach children and families about gardening and food production.

Creating a wide variety of public art projects.

Establishing an after-school creative writing program.

Helping artists purchase new equipment and resources.

Providing scholarships.

Supporting exhibits, seminars and symposiums.

For background, visit any of the following websites:

http://sloup2122.blogspot.com/ (for information on Sloup),

http://feastinbklyn.org/index.php?/how-to-feast/ (for information on Brooklyn's FEAST),

http://delicious.com/tag/ch-starving-artists (for descriptions of other similar projects going on around the world), and

http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/04/19/pm-sloup-art-donating/ (for the NPR story).

For information on Huntington's Starving Artist Foundation, visit the group's Facebook page: The Starving Artist Foundation.

The newly formed group working on this idea is seeking your ideas and support. Join them the Create Huntington Chat 'n Chews, held 5:30-7 p.m. every Thursday in the lobby of the Frederick Building, 940 4th Ave., Huntington.

For more information on Create Huntington, go to www.createhuntington.com. If you would like to participate in this or any project, e-mail createhuntington@gmail.com.

Thomas McChesney is a Huntington resident.

National Video