BUTTER Fine Art Fair Celebrates Big Success and Announces Expansion Plans

The fifth annual BUTTER Fine Art Fair, held from August 28 to 31, 2025, at Indianapolis's historic Stutz Factory Building, showcased a diverse array of contemporary artworks and marked significant milestones in sales and expansion plans.

Organized by the cultural development firm GANGGANG, BUTTER 5 featured 50 exhibiting artists, two galleries, and six curators, presenting a wide range of contemporary artworks across various mediums. The event achieved a notable milestone with 104 artworks sold, totaling $192,247 in sales for 2025. This brings the cumulative artwork sales since the fair's inception in 2021 to over $1.16 million. Notably, the fair operates on a no-commission model, ensuring that 100% of the proceeds from art sales go directly to the artists. The event attracted over 10,000 attendees, including students from 35 schools who participated in the BUTTER Education Day. In addition to the art exhibition, the fair included live music, educational pop-up events, guided tours, and dining experiences. Building on its success, GANGGANG announced plans to expand the fair to Los Angeles in February 2026, aiming to bring its equitable art fair model to a broader audience.

GANGGANG, founded in 2020 by Mali and Alan Bacon, focuses on promoting and protecting creators of color, aiming to generate economic opportunities and cultural recognition for these artists. Since its inception, GANGGANG has generated nearly $8 million for the local creative economy through various initiatives, including art fairs, real estate projects, youth programs, and Black rock festivals. The agency's efforts have drawn over 50,000 attendees to its events, highlighting its significant impact on the Indianapolis arts scene.

The fair's Education Day on August 29 provided 35 classes of K-8, high school, and college students with a behind-the-scenes tour of the exhibition. This initiative, supported by the Lumina Foundation and The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, aimed to inspire and educate the next generation about the arts.

Building on its success, GANGGANG announced plans to expand the BUTTER Fine Art Fair to Los Angeles in February 2026. The inaugural BUTTER LA will coincide with the city's Frieze Week, showcasing a curated lineup of independent, emerging, mid-career, and established artists, highlighting the creativity of the African diaspora.

Since its inception in 2021, BUTTER has showcased nearly 200 local and national artists, emphasizing its impact on talent retention, cultural resilience, economic development, and innovation in the Indianapolis arts scene. The fair's no-commission model has been instrumental in transforming artist mindsets and careers, providing a platform for artists to gain recognition and financial stability.

The fifth annual BUTTER Fine Art Fair not only celebrated artistic excellence and economic empowerment but also set the stage for national expansion, signaling a transformative shift in the art fair landscape.