Each year over Labor Day weekend, Indianapolis becomes home to one of the country’s most innovative art gatherings. Since its launch in 2021, the BUTTER Fine Art Fair—powered by the cultural development firm GANGGANG—has blossomed into a stage, a marketplace, and above all, a vehicle for Black artistry. Now in its fifth year, BUTTER is celebrating its anniversary with a model that has already made history: more than 46,000 attendees, 189 artists, and over $1 million in artwork sold, with every dollar going directly to the creators themselves.
The vision was bold from the beginning: build a fair around equity rather than extraction. For Malina “Mali” Bacon, who co-founded BUTTER alongside her husband Alan Bacon, that principle has always been central. “The whole thing here is trying to contradict the notion of a starving artist,” she explained. “The narrative itself of the no-commission fair forces you to ask why? Quickly we can say: artists deserve what they ask for.”
Alan, equally steadfast in his conviction, sees the model as both economic and morally justified. “That 100%, that’s the least we can do,” he said. “They earned it. This should be 150%. We’re just inching up to the point where we can at least say: this is your value. We’re trying to close that gap financially, and that also triggers this remembrance of who you are in the process and your own identity and the dignity that you have.”
The results are undeniable. In its first year, BUTTER generated $65,000 in sales; by 2024, that figure had grown to more than $900,000. The ripple effects extend beyond the fair itself. Commissions, institutional acquisitions, and heightened visibility have transformed the careers of artists who’ve passed through the fair. “I know that BUTTER has brokered well over $1 million already,” Mali noted, emphasizing the lasting impact on artists in Indiana and beyond. “It doesn’t have to be the all. It can be a trampoline, it can be a launching point, it can be a part of evolution.”
This year, the event expands yet again, moving into the historic Stutz factory building with an exhibition curated by its largest team to date. Joining the brain trust are Jacqueline “Jac” Forbes, Janice Bond, and Samuel Trotter, who together bring fresh perspectives from Malibu, Houston, and Detroit. Their collective effort has produced the fair’s most diverse range of works yet—in size, style, and price point—with more than 30 artists represented from across the country and the globe. “These curators fought for the artists they wanted and for the amount of artworks that they thought should be shown,” Mali said. “We want these emerging artists to be on the same wall, the same platform as the well-established artists.”
The success of this event is inseparable from Indianapolis. By rooting the fair in a city with deep but underrecognized Black cultural traditions, the Bacons have shifted national attention toward the Midwest. “BUTTER has really helped to change the narrative of the city,” Alan said. “There is a heightened awareness of what’s coming out of Indianapolis. We have this history and heritage of art and culture, and we’re the direct descendants of those people. This allows us to just keep the spirit going in a refreshed way.”
Visitors, too, often arrive surprised and leave inspired. They end up building social and artistic connections during a large-scale exhibition, along with having an experience that includes music, film, family programming, and community. The after-hours dance party MELT returned this year as well, underscoring the fair’s ethos that art is not separate from life but embedded in every form of expression.
Looking forward, Mali and Alan are clear-eyed about what comes next. The goal isn’t just to sustain this heralded art fair in Indy but to stretch its influence as a blueprint for art worldwide. “I want BUTTER to have authorship,” Mali said. “I want it to remain kind of the original or the premier no-commission fair, and for its model to work for artists in other places. I want to see that show up all over the world in the next five years.”
For now, though, the celebration is in the present — five years of possibility, remembrance, and unity. In the heart of Indianapolis, the Bacons have created a platform that uplifts artists, redefines value, and invites communities to see themselves reflected in the brilliance of Black art. “I think the magic of BUTTER is how it’s been able to connect people,” Alan stated. “It’s really been a beacon for not just the best artists, but the best of us and our culture.”
