HUMAN | AGENCY
David J. Butler
Entrepreneur | Strategist | Artist | Community Builder
“You can't lead the people if you don't love the people. You can't save the people if you don't serve the people.”
- Bro. Dr. Cornel West
Who?
David J. Butler (DavehasWingz) - has been exploring the relationship between creativity and business for a decade. Originally joining the ranks of corporate America after college - Butler quickly realized he had a desire to turn the things he loved and lived into a career.
Dave now distills all his work into a single challenge. “How might I be a creative leader who helps provide pathways for people to tell their personal stories while bringing insights to enhance both the people and businesses/brands involved?” He’s interested in projects, roles, and clients that help answer that question.
Giving people power to tell their own story and bringing insights to brands to tell authentic stories and create impactful moments. A human agency giving human agency.
'Entrepreneur' just denotes that you recognize that you're doing things across disciplines and that you're blazing your own path.
- Pharrell Williams
Professional Experience
Butler is a dynamic creative leader who has spent his professional life working to shape and contribute to the creative economy of the southeast - particularly in his hometown, Charlotte, NC. His experience includes corporate supply chain, experiential retail, creative + brand services, curatorial services, & exhibition design
Current Affiliations & Titles
Hue House
CEO & Managing Partner
Sept 2019 to Present
The Featherbed
Owner | Consultant | Artist
April 2014 to Present
The Whitaker Grp
Director of Community Initiatives
Jan 2019 - Sept 2021
E-Commerce Manager
June 2016 to Nov 2017
Education
Management, B.S.
Winston Salem State University’13
Innovation Institute
McColl Center For Arts + Innovation
Community Cohort ’18
Put up or shut up: If you don’t have something to say, don’t say anything at all.
- Bobby Hundreds
Artist CV
Dave’s experience in the world of fine art began with publishing a book of his own work in 2014. He spent two years financing his own solo exhibitions and pop up shops but struggled to break through commercially. Due to his limited access to new spaces; Butler took a break from his practice to strength his work, perspective, and network.
From 2015 - 2020 - He continued to work in the field curating and supporting independent art shows, providing award-winning creative services to major institutions, and advocating for shifts in arts funding.
Personal Art Practice
Known by the monicker, DavehasWingz, Butler’s practice is rooted in vintage photography mediums, usually Polaroids & 35mm film. Dave, displays his images in various iterations of puzzle pieces that give them new life evoking the curiosity of the viewer. This presentation challenges the perspective of how a visual element traditionally interconnects with a given environment. For the foreseeable future, Butler has committed to exploring how people, places, and things are interconnected through this concept while exploring new vintage formats of photography. Dave is now available for commissions and exhibition inquiries. For additional merchandise and information visit Analogue Luxury.
Tethered: An Exploration of Existential Interconnectedness (January 2023 - April 2023)
Curator & Artist
Elder Gallery of Contemporary Art
Home: A Group Exhibition (Nov 2020 - Feb 2021)
Featured Artist
Elder Gallery of Contemporary Art
Don’t Wait Til Its Cool: NC Hip Hop Photography Exhibition
Traveling Exhibition Charlotte | Durham | Raleigh (2018 - 2019)
Featured Artist & Marketing Support
NC Always
Home CLT: Brooklyn: A City Within A City - 2019
Home CLT - 2018
Video Production Services
The Levine Museum of the New South
Welcome To Brookhill - 2018
Exhibition Designer | Co-Curator
Harvey B. Gantt Center for Arts + Culture
Creative NC Film Screening & Mini Conference - 2016
The North Carolina Museum of History
