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AfroKC LEGACY AWARDS:
The AfroKC Legacy Awards honor and celebrate individuals and organizations within the Kansas City community who make a meaningful difference, particularly in promoting and preserving African, African American and Afro-diasporic culture. These awards shine a light on the often-unrecognized efforts of community leaders, artists, educators, and advocates whose work uplifts cultural identity, fosters unity, and drives positive change. By acknowledging these contributions, the AfroKC Legacy Awards not only validate the importance of cultural heritage and grassroots impact but also inspire future generations to continue building strong, vibrant, and inclusive communities.
Celeste Butler
Multi-disciplinary Artist
My Story
Based in Omaha, NE, Celeste has worked on several community engagement art projects, celebrating the pride and culture of North Omaha and collaborating with mothers who have lost their children to violence, developing set design for 2019 Union Fellow Liz Gre’s opera Whispered Like the Wind, and more.
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Celeste has participated in in-school artist-in-residences, working with children at Nelson Mandela and Saratoga Elementary Schools, teaching the next generation the art of quilting and storytelling. In 2018 she created quilts in honor of Nelson Mandela for the centennial celebration of his birth for Nelson Mandela Elementary.
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Celeste lectures and teaches at Metropolitan Community College, and led workshops at the 2018 National African American Quilt Convention in Lawrence, Kansas, where she had two quilts featured.
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Celeste’s work has been featured in the Washington Post, We Don’t Coast, and Omaha INSPIRED Living. Celeste’s work is in several public and private collections, including those of world renown coach and author Iylana Vanzant, Anne York and Jeffrey Schrager, Women Center for Advancement, Dr. Mark Goodman, Dr. Cynthia Gooch- Grayson, Brigitte McQueen, Camille Moten, Center for Holistic Development, Nelson Mandela Elementary, and The Union for Contemporary Art.
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Celeste was a 2017 Fellow at The Union for Contemporary Art and participated in the 2018-19 Kent Bellows Artist Mentoring Program and Omaha’s Why Arts Artist-in-Residence program. Butler just finished a year as a fellow at the Union for Contemporary Arts. During that time, it was important for her to send positive messages about North Omaha. She invited the community to sit with her around a quilt frame and talk. Quilts are the original version of social media, she says, sending a message with every finished masterpiece.