BUTTER: The Midwest’s Largest Black Fine Art Fair Is Expanding To LA

It’s been five years since BUTTER, the fine art fair that celebrates and spotlights Black artists, launched the hidden art gem of a city, Indianapolis. The organizers behind the Midwest’s largest Black fine art fair now plan to expand the event to the West Coast.

GANGGANG, founded by Mali Bacon and her husband Alan Bacon, is the cultural development firm behind the multi-day fine art fair.  BUTTER LA will take place in the Circle City during Black History Month from February 26 through March 1, 2026. It also coincides with the Frieze Los Angeles, an international contemporary art fair.

Like BUTTER Indianapolis, the LA fair will showcase an intentionally curated lineup of independent, emerging, mid-career, and established artists that highlight the creativity of the African diaspora.

“We’ve grown an incredible model and experience in central Indiana and are thrilled to see it expand to benefit the artists and community of LA,” said Mali Bacon. “We’re connecting the industry and the voices within it, spreading our geographic reach, but more importantly, our mission, which means more perspective, more learning, more ownership, authorship, and preservation.”

How BUTTER Levels The Playing Field For Black Visual Artists

Across the board, there is pay inequality in the arts industry. Research in the American Sociological Association’s Culture Section reveals a lack of representation in U.S. art galleries. In appointed positions of power in museums, few are people of color.

When examining galleries in New York City, the capital of the contemporary art market, research by Fiona Greenland and Patricia Banks reveals that 5.6% of artists showcased in New York City galleries are women of color. Black artists, unfortunately, also report high levels of burnout due to unpaid, invisible labor, persistent microaggressions, and pressure to make sure their work is appeasing to non-Black audiences.

Mali and Alan are redefining how the art world engages with Black visual artists through BUTTER. Since its founding in 2021, BUTTER has generated over $1 million to date. The no-commission, no-censorship model maximizes artist earnings by working to sell or loan 100% of the exhibition, giving 100% of the art sales to the artists.

Some artists say that while financial support is a blessing, they feel honored to provide Black audiences, especially young children, with positive representations of themselves.

“I love what Malina and Alan are doing. I have had the honor of participating in all five BUTTER fairs [as an artist], and am the only woman who has been in all five,” said Indianapolis-based artist, Ashley Nora.

She adds, “My work is all about being heard and being seen because growing up in Mississippi, I didn’t feel that way. With BUTTER, I’ve had the opportunity to use this stage to make sure that Black bodies are shown in this beautiful light, and it has been incredible.”

Preserving Black History Through The Arts

For Washington, D.C.-based artist Blu Murphy, who says she is also an educator first, BUTTER has allowed Black artists like herself to continue teaching and showcasing history, as Black history and DEI initiatives are under attack.

“Right now, we’re in a space where Black history is being erased. I feel like it’s our duty as Black artists at this point to create, tell, and archive our stories in so many different ways,” Murphy tells Travel Noire. “We can document our history in art. It’s the one place, for now, where it’s not being censored as much.”

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