We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Keyonna Butler. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Keyonna below.

Keyonna, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

Black Hippie Art started from a needed to empower artists & creative entrepreneurs to have successful careers in whatever field they are interested in entering. As an artist myself, I often felt alone or out of place when trying to navigate the career industry of fashion & costume design. I didn’t feel confident and with my lack of connects, I felt lost. I then made a post on Facebook to see if anyone would be interested in joining an art collective if I were to start one and the response was overwhelming. So, in 2016 I officially started the Black Hippie Art brand which only consisted of artist meetups at the time. Even though the collective aspect never came into fruition, I was still able to show support to my peers in the creative industry by hosting meetups and networking events. Not only was it a way to give artists resources but also for artists to feel like they weren’t alone in this journey. It was around 2019 that I decided to hone in on supporting Black + POC artists as I feel they are under appreciated and under supported. I wanted to create a safe space for Black + POC artists and creative entrepreneurs to tell their stories, get guidance and find their people who can share support in their journeys.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Keyonna Butler and I am a multidisciplinary artist and writer based in Philadelphia, PA. With over 10 years of experience working as a creative entrepreneur, I had the pleasure of working with designers and brands such as Dah’mod Collins of RM67 Studio, James R. Sanders, DJ Selekta XXX, Philadelphia Fashion Week, New York Fashion Week, Art Basel Miami and FAME Worldwide in London.

As a creative entrepreneur, I would describe myself as a designer and visual storyteller with credits as a costume designer for Curio Theater’s “A Symphony for Saint Georges”, Theater in the X “The Wiz” as well as Theater Exile “The Ever Present” just to name a few. In transitioning from costume design to wearable art, my work as a wearable art designer has been showcased at events such as Raw Artist Philadelphia, Taste the Runway and at HOT•BED Gallery during Philadelphia Fashion Week. I’ve also been featured in both major and indie publications including The Huffington Post and Daydreamer’s Magazine. In 2018, I had the opportunity to work with Neighborhood Time Exchange teaching upcycling and repurpose fashion workshops for free within the West Philadelphia community. This opportunity led me to being chosen for the Barnes West “Everyday Artists Partnership” Residency in 2021 to continue my work teaching repurpose fashion and the importance of sustainability and eco-friendly living.

My latest venture is being the founder of Black Hippie Art, a digital art platform with the mission to support and empower BIPOC & Womxn creatives and creative entrepreneur in the art and culture sectors. With this company I am able to support and showcase contemporary artists, makers and creative entrepreneurs while introducing them to the plenty of opportunities of success within the creative industries. I am also currently a writer for The Baldwin on Meduim, a platform that focuses on culture, fashion and news that centers the Black community. My goals for the future includes continuing my work with consulting and guiding artists to successful careers with Black Hippie Art, art writing for major publications and curating exhibitions showcasing contemporary Black + POC emerging artists.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

As a creative, I wish I knew of resources such as Creative Capitol or Artwork Archive that gives free resources such as grants and how to articles for artists. I also wish I knew about all the amazing resources we had right here in Philadelphia such as the NextFab Artisan Accelerator, Philadelphia Visual Artist Resource Guide, Business Resource and Innovation Center at the Free Library and so many of free programs artists and creative entrepreneurs can take advantage of in this city. Most importantly, I wish knew of the comradery we have among Philadelphia artists and even artists online who share such wonderful resources and advice. There are so many artists who are using online sites and social media to connect, share their experience and make the life of a creative a little less lonely. Learning all of this helped me later on in my own creative journey and even help me create the Black Hippie Art brand what it is today.

Have you ever had to pivot?

During the pandemic I really had to pivot how I would run Black Hippie Art as a brand. Pre – pandemic Black Hippie Art predominantly did meet ups and in person events. So, in 2020 when everything shut down I wasn’t sure how I would continue to run my meetups or if Black Hippie Art would survive. At the time, I wasn’t using social media as a source but after seeing so many brands depend on different online platforms to stay afloat, I thought to give it a try. I started doing IG live interviews with artists and even did some online meet ups for artists to still connect. Fun fact is that is how my sketch clubs started, by meeting up with artists over Zoom and sketching whatever inspired us at the time. The pivot really helped me learn to use other forms to not only promote but connect with my audience and spread the word on Black Hippie Art that I still use to this day.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.blackhippieart.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackhippieart/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blackhippieart
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keyonna-butler/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/BlackHippieArt
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@blackhippieart

Image Credits
Headshot – Senia Lopez @senialopez.photography