Art enthusiasts will have plenty to experience and enjoy during Labor Day weekend at BUTTER Fine Art Fair 2024.
The fair, which takes place August 29 through September 1 at The Stutz, will feature 60 Black gallery artists’ pieces in a variety of mediums, including paintings, sculptures, three-dimensional works, and large-scale public art.
Director of BUTTER, Deonna Craig, said there also will be other creatives present. “We will have a performance stage for singers and bands,” she said. The fair will feature DJs and poets as well. “We just want to show the kind of diversity that exists within the creative culture,” she said.
BUTTER aims to “highlight artists here in Indianapolis and ensure that they are in the same conversations that national artists are in,” she said. Craig said then they will have a larger collector base and be more likely to flourish as full-time artists.
In addition to her work with BUTTER, Craig herself is an artist who works in mixed media, so she understands the creative process. She has been traveling throughout the world “exploring some of the most ancient rock art and immersing myself in the culture, history, and presence of Petroglyphs.” Craig said the three pieces she has at this year’s fair will reflect her journey of “evolution, exploration, and self-discovery.”
BUTTER was created in 2021 by Malina Simone Bacon and Alan Bacon, founders of the creative advocacy firm GANGGANG. This year marks the fourth annual BUTTER but the fifth fair total because there was a smaller special edition, BUTTER at Indy’s Home Court, for the NBA All-Star weekend in February.
BUTTER Associate for GANGGANG, Bridget Hayes said another goal is to uplift voices of color. Hayes said her role is that of a liaison and she works alongside the curators and the artists.
She said there are no fees for an artist’s work to be in BUTTER. “Also, we don’t take any type of commission for any artwork sold; it goes directly to the artist,” she said.
Some of this year’s art features themes include identity, femininity, motherhood, grief, and trauma. “You can tell that the artists really put their heart and soul into the pieces,” she said.
India Cruse-Griffin’s artwork was in BUTTER for the first time in 2023. Cruse-Griffin, who is a retired K through 12 art teacher, has been creating art for 26 years. She now pursues her passion full-time and uses magazines and sometimes newspapers in her creations. “I’m a mixed media collage artist; what I do is create a collage, and then I go back and use paint to pull it all together,” Cruse-Griffin said.
She also intentionally hides something in her work, which is kind of the same concept as an Easter Egg or bonus feature in DVD or Blu-Ray movies. “So when people look at my work, they don’t just look at it, they actually spend time with it, and that’s my objective,” she said.
Cruse-Griffin had five pieces in last year’s BUTTER, and they all sold. This year she has three pieces of art in the fair. She appreciates the opportunities the fair offers.
“GANGGANG is so good at what they do in taking care of their artists, and getting people in to see the artists’ work.” Cruse-Griffin said.”They are like a guardian angel.”
General admission tickets for the weekend are $40 and can be purchased here. For more information about the fair, visit BUTTER 2024.
Diane Moore is a contributing writer for Indy Maven, and is looking forward to attending BUTTER for the first time. You can follow her on Instagram @whatdianeloves.
All of our content—including this article—is completely free. However, we’d love it if you would please consider supporting our journalism with an Indy Maven Membership.
