Interview: Local artist highlights work at 5th annual BUTTER

BUTTER, an annual art fair that highlights the work of Black artists, celebrates its five year anniversary Labor Day weekend. The event has provided an equitable opportunity for local artists who receive 100 percent of the profits.

Nicole Powell will show her work at the art fair for the first time this year. WFYI’s Abriana Herron sat down with Indianapolis native Powell who is a photographer and painter to talk about her work. 

This interview has been edited for style and clarity. 

Abriana Herron: Can you tell us a little bit about the work you created for the fifth annual BUTTER Fine Art Fair?

Nicole Powell: This year, BUTTER is going to be focused on The Lady in the Big Hat and Murray's. Now the two pieces are totally different. One is a still life and the other is a beautiful brown woman in a big hat. Murray's came about — my husband is always cutting hair, he always had his barber bag in the bathroom.

And I was like, 'Oh, well, this would make for a good painting. I mean, who doesn't know Murray's grease? And your little brush, we'll work it out too. So let me see, how can I make this into a good composition?'

And so I just took out my camera and I started taking pictures. And then the other is the total opposite of that. It's a woman in her finest with a big hat, but it does sort of encompass the body. Makes you say, 'Hey, that is something to look at, right there. Isn't she elegant?' And that's really what I wanted to do with this piece. The two pieces are opposites of each other, but they speak about our culture and our lifestyle and the softness that can be found in it, in everyday things.

Herron: What inspired the creation of your work?

Powell: So many different things inspire me. I can find beauty in just about all things that we do, and I think it comes from trying a variety of different mediums in my past. Also being a photographer, I always see something in that sort of picture frame, and then you take it and mold it into the painting.

Herron: What excites you about being a part of BUTTER this year, your first time?

Powell: I'm excited about connecting with new artists and being in a space where everyone is sort of together and like-minded. BUTTER is exciting because it'll be a way to see a variety of different styles of art and people all at once and just explore. I know that I'm going to be inspired regardless.

Herron: Why do you believe it's important to showcase the artwork of local black artists?

Powell: Artists have to know that their work counts and that they matter, that their stories should be heard and seen. As an artist, it is your job to really focus on the things that are happening around you and tell the story. You should be telling your story and not letting someone else tell it, because they're not going to tell it correct. People who want to erase our stories, they want to silence our voices, and so it is important that we really are seen and heard.

BUTTER is important because it gives a chance to artists who have been in the shadows for whatever reason. I think that young people, especially Black children in schools, are just disadvantaged. I believe that all the kids need to be able to see that, ‘Oh, this is something that I could do, and I don't have to do it this way. I could do it that way.’