Bisa Butler: in conversation with Folasade Ologundudu Artwork

Everything Is Connected

Light Work Presents: Everything Is Connected, created by Folasade Ologundudu is a podcast that shares the interesting and inspiring stories of artists, thought leaders, and critical thinkers on life, work, and a wide range of cultural and social topics. Through engaging content, Ologundudu seeks to inspire listeners to lead their best lives through the transformative power of art and culture. She dives into ideas on art and society across cultures with a focus on diverse communities worldwide. Guests include artists, curators, entrepreneurs, educators, and creatives who are changing the way we think about the art, creativity, and the world.

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Everything Is Connected

Bisa Butler: in conversation with Folasade Ologundudu

December 17, 2025 • Light Work

On this episode I’m joined by Bisa Butler. We discuss her pivot from painting to quilting, what it was like for her to study at an HBCU, she earned her BFA in Painting at Howard University, how that experience shaped her and what she hopes her work does in the world. Bisa talks about her recent exhibition Hold Me Close that was previously on view at Jeffrey Deitch Gallery in LA.

Bisa Butler (b. 1973) lives and works in New Jersey. She earned her BFA in Painting at Howard University and holds a MA in Teaching Art from Montclair State University. In 2020, Portraits at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Katonah Museum of Art was the artist’s first institutional solo exhibition. Her quilts were prominently featured in Black American Portrait at LACMA, Los Angeles (2022) and Fabric of a Nation: American Quilt Stories at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2021), and graced the cover of both exhibition catalogs.

Her work can be found in the permanent collections of several institutions, including Art Institute of Chicago; The Smithsonian American Museum of Art; The Pérez Art Museum, Miami; High Museum of Art, Atlanta; MFA Houston; and de Young Museum, San Francisco. Butler is the recipient of the 2022 Gordon Parks Foundation Fellowship and of the inaugural “Faith in The Arts Award,” presented by Broadway Housing Communities in recognition of the legacy of Faith Ringgold.

The World Is Yours, Butler’s first exhibition with Jeffrey Deitch in New York in 2023, attracted thousands of visitors. Hold Me Close is the artist’s first solo exhibition in Los Angeles.