Spotlight on Black artists who shaped Naptown

As the community comes together to celebrate Black History Month, the Recorder is shedding a light on a few of the Black visual artists who paved the way for events like Meet the Artists, Art & Soul and BUTTER. While Indiana Avenue was known as the nexus for Black musicians and creatives, Black painters, illustrators, sculptors and photographers did not have the same luxury and often worked out of their own homes, turning attics or basements into studios and selling their work on the street, painter Roderic Trabue told the Recorder.  Trabue, a retired educator and founder of Urban Arts of Indianapolis, Inc., grew up on Indy’s Southside, where he spent his time drawing on any piece of paper he could find. He graduated from Indiana State with a degree in art education and went on to teach in public schools during the “Black is Beautiful” Movement in the 1970s. “The stuff they’re doing now is more or less a celebration of Black culture,” Trabue said. “Back then, I think we was [sic] just depicting Black culture, more than anything. Nowadays, it’s a celebration, and they’re doing some great stuff.” Laying the groundwork John Wesley Hardwick and William Eduoard Scott...