Butter, the Indianapolis-founded art fair known for returning 100 percent of sales proceeds to artists, is making its Los Angeles debut at Hollywood Park in Inglewood. Organized by the cultural development firm GangGang, the fair coincides with Frieze Week and features works by Black visual artists including Micah Johnson, Micaiah Carter, and April Bey. The event includes a robust programming schedule featuring a collaborative installation by Lauren Halsey and a screening commemorating the 50th anniversary of Ernie Barnes’s "The Sugar Shack."
This expansion marks a significant moment for the "artist-first" model as it moves from a Midwest base into a major coastal art market. By eliminating gallery commissions and booth fees for artists, Butter challenges the traditional commercial art fair structure during a period of rising costs and market softening. Its success in Los Angeles will serve as a litmus test for whether more equitable, non-commission models can scale and effectively redistribute capital within the high-stakes global art economy.