Racine Art Museum Inspiring People, Nurturing Place A Case for Support
At RAM, we celebrate the margins— those subtle, unseen, infinite spaces
Where art meets craft, and hands meet materials. Where contemporary meets historic, and urban meets rural.
We embrace the boundaries—
Where lake meets land, where home meets work, where Milwaukee meets Chicago.
And draw strength from the places
Where tradition meets innovation, vision meets possibility, and creativity and connection converge: in the space between.
Foreword
Who We Are
Racine Art Museum (RAM) is a nationally recognized institution that presents exhibitions and programming curated around contemporary art, craft, and design. Located in Racine, Wisconsin, a historic community on the shores of Lake Michigan, it occupies two facilities—the Racine Art Museum, an expansive modern gallery with award-winning architecture on the downtown waterfront, and the Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts (Wustum), an exhibition space and studio art center housed in a historic farmhouse surrounded by lawns and gardens.
RAM is known for having the largest contemporary craft collection in North America, with more than 14,000 works by renowned artists in ceramics, fiber, glass, metal, polymer, wood, and more. Our thoughtful exhibitions invite visitors to engage with artistic innovation, the physicality of materials, and the intersection of the craft and contemporary art movements.
We welcome approximately 50,000 guests from 40 states and 15 countries annually—making RAM a cultural and economic anchor for the region. Each year, as many as 15,000 people take part in our educational programs, including studio art classes taught by accomplished artists. Others benefit from wide-reaching K–12 experiences, community collaborations, and creative engagement opportunities for people with memory loss, which we offer on-site and at schools, community centers, senior living facilities, and respite programs throughout the region.
RAM strives to be a place-based institution, rooted in all that makes the Upper Midwest what it is—a home to hard-working people who came here from around the world to make better lives for themselves, and formed the backbone of industries that built our nation.
While some refer to us as “the Rust Belt,” we are proud to reclaim that term and reframe its narrative to one of resilience. Despite weathering the loss of heavy manufacturing, Racine and surrounding communities are now rebuilding our economic base on new industrial foundations. By embracing art and craft as tools for reinvention, we will shape a bright future together.
Our Mission
To exhibit, collect, preserve, and educate in the contemporary visual arts.
Our Vision
To be a preeminent museum, inspiring imagination and engaging a diverse audience in the contemporary visual arts.
Our Commitment
To support diverse artists, voices, and audiences—whether that diversity reflects race, gender, heritage, ethnicity, sexuality, age, ability, social standing, or world perspective.
As a cultural/educational institution rooted in the humanities and using art as a catalyst, RAM wants to encourage inquiry, exploration, and empathy about the world in which we live. We strive to provide spaces and experiences that show art is powerful—it can offer new viewpoints, moments of wonder, difficult or fantastical things to ponder, an occasion to relax or reflect, and also, significantly, a means to understand or connect and interact.
Racine is a place where people have always made things with their hands, whether they’ve grown it on the farm or created it on the factory floor— which is why we embrace handwork in all its forms.
Bruce W. Pepich, RAM Founding Director Emeritus
History
City of Racine
Long before RAM opened its doors, Racine established itself as a hub of innovation, industry, and design on the western shore of Lake Michigan. Once home to Horlick’s Malted Milk Company and Western Publishing— which is best-known for its Little Golden Books—Racine continues to house the global headquarters of SC Johnson. The city’s legacy also includes J.I. Case, Mitchell Wagons, Fish Brothers, The Massey Harris Co., and more, alongside smaller tanneries, fish markets, lumber yards, grain mills, and printing houses.
Racine’s history of ingenuity and making continues to shape the community today—not only its economy, but also its art, culture, and environment, where white sandy beaches and scenic parks dot a post-industrial landscape layered with sleek modernity. An idyllic lighthouse, Danish bakeries, and iconic Frank Lloyd Wright architecture give further form to the singularity of place that defines the “Belle City” within Wisconsin and the broader Midwest.
Racine Art Museum
The origins of the Racine Art Museum date back to 1938, when Jennie E. Wustum donated her home, its surrounding 12.8 acres, and a trust fund to the City of Racine in memory of her husband, Charles A. Wustum. Her vision was to establish an art museum and park that would benefit future generations. By 1941, her gift had formally become the Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts, operated by the Racine Art Association, which later changed its name to Racine Art Museum Association (RAMA).
In 1943, the new museum received a major gift of Depression-era artworks from the Works Progress Administration, including prints, paintings, drawings, and textiles by Wisconsin and New York City artists. In 1966, it added a wing for studio art classes and organized the first Watercolor Wisconsin, a statewide watercolor competition that continues to this day. The museum began building its contemporary craft collection in the 1970s, thanks to ongoing donations from longtime patron Karen Johnson Boyd, an American Craft Council trustee and owner of Perimeter Gallery in Chicago.
By the 1990s, Wustum had outgrown its space, and RAMA launched a plan to establish a second campus in downtown Racine. The Marshall & Ilsley Bank of Racine offered the museum its former site at Fifth and Main Streets, and in 2003, with the help of a major leadership gift from the SC Johnson Fund and corporate and private donors like Karen Johnson Boyd, the new Racine Art Museum opened its doors. Designed by the award-winning Chicago architectural firm Brininstool + Lynch, the 46,000-square-foot facility features exhibition galleries, an art library, a sculpture courtyard, a museum store, and collections storage space. Its distinctive exterior, clad in translucent acrylic panels, shines by day and glows at night, making it an architectural landmark in Racine’s revitalized downtown area.
RAM was led by Bruce W. Pepich for 43 years, during which time it became one of the nation’s foremost contemporary craft museums. Now, under the leadership of Executive Director Robb Woulfe, we plan to build on that legacy while also deepening our connection to place with a broad spectrum of artists whose work reflects and engages with our diverse community.
RAM serves a wide array of people, from craft aficionados who travel across the country and globe to view our exhibitions, to locals who take part in our extensive studio art and outreach programs, to emerging, mid-career, and established artists who earn fellowships or enter our juried competitions. We welcome all guests and participants, irrespective of age, income, culture, creed, gender, or language.
Each year, more than 2,500 students take part in RAM on the Road , which brings hands-on art directly to schools and community centers. Other programs provide free access to museum exhibitions and art-making activities via field trips, Free First Fridays, and family drop-in sessions. We work with a variety of local and national funders to bring art education to underserved students. RAM also offers cultural programming for people with memory loss and their care partners through our acclaimed SPARK! program.
We are committed to accessibility, offering free events, affordable ticket pricing, class discounts, scholarship opportunities, and outreach that extends throughout the greater Racine region.
Our programming serves diverse audiences, but we have observed that some community members are less likely to visit the museums than others. Our guests should reflect the diversity of our community, so we are actively working to expand our outreach and create relevant programming that fosters engagement and empowerment. This includes efforts to connect with Hispanic/Latino residents, who make up 23% of the city’s population, and Black residents, who make up 20%. In 2022, we established an Artists of Color Acquisition Fund to increase representation in RAM’s collection. We proudly collaborate with community partners such as the Spanish Center of Racine, Latino Community Center, Black Arts Council of Racine, and Mahogany Black Arts & Cultural Center.
RAM should be a place for everyone—lifelong art lovers, curious first-time visitors, students, educators, families, and creative minds of all kinds. Through art, we seek to foster connection, spark dialogue, and invigorate the cultural life of Racine and beyond.
What
We Believe
We believe that art has the power to captivate and delight, to heal and inspire, to shed light on who we are and who we aspire to be. Through it, we can forge unexpected connections and strengthen our community.
We believe that craft and design are powerful mediums—honoring past traditions while embracing the creative possibilities of the future. By telling the stories of makers, materials, and communities, we reflect the resilience and ingenuity that define our region.
We believe our museums should inspire each and every person whether you come to engage with contemporary art, hone your craftmaking skills, or enjoy an evening of music, food, and social connection. This is our RAM, and it should be for all of us.
We believe the spaces we cultivate—in our galleries, our city, and our collective imagination—should be welcoming and inclusive. We continue to learn, grow, and evolve to make sure this is true for all.
We believe in people and their potential, and strive to lead with empathy, understanding, and compassion in an effort to uplift the human condition. We embrace our differences as vibrant threads that enrich the fabric of our community.
We believe in collaboration as a core operating tenet. Together with our partners, collaborators, donors, and volunteers, we can produce exhibitions and experiences that are relevant and enlightening for a broad spectrum of people.
We believe in the power and potential of place—and that art, craft, and design are essential to shaping our city’s identity, livability, and economic vitality. By investing in creativity, we invest in our home and ourselves.
We believe Racine should be a source of pride—for our innovative spirit, our friendly, outdoors-loving people, our charming architecture and expansive beaches. If we embrace all that we have to offer, our future is limitless.
What We Do
Exhibitions
RAM produces 12–15 exhibitions annually. Craft aficionados flock from around the world to our downtown gallery to view our contemporary craft collection, which we plan to activate in innovative new ways alongside commissioned, co-created, and presented artworks in a range of disciplines. Many of our exhibitions—including Watercolor Wisconsin, Wisconsin Photography, and Racine and Vicinity Show —feature work by regional and local artists, and our Artist Fellowship program incubates exhibitions by solo artists. We loan objects and curate traveling exhibitions that bring our collection to distant museums, and our new Fresh Air Series will infuse outdoor spaces with creativity too.
Education and Outreach
RAM cultivates learning and engagement by people of all ages and interests. Our studio art program offers year-round classes at Wustum in drawing, painting, fibers, ceramics, and more. People with memory loss and their care partners are invited to engage in creativity through SPARK! —a program now replicated in 36 institutions. We partner with Racine Unified School District on the Zero Waste Art Initiative, which inspires eighth-graders to repurpose waste into art. RAM on the Road brings art experiences directly to the community, including all second-graders in the district. We welcome fifthgraders through our Outreach 5 program, and students of all ages for K–8 field trips that include a guided museum tour and art-making activity. Student interns explore museum careers with us, and our scholarships expand access to art classes. In our new artist-in-residence program, artists will engage with the local community while focusing on artistic process.
Community Celebrations
RAM’s homegrown community events celebrate creativity, connection, and local culture, and nearly all are free. Families can explore RAM and other downtown attractions each month at Free First Friday, or create an art project at Kids Day or Drop-in for Art days at Wustum. Each October, we host Free Fall Family Fun Fest, another arts-themed event. Groov’n in the Garden is a ticketed event in the gardens of Wustum, which we present with Mahogany Black Arts & Cultural Center. Our new RAM Unlocked series invites young adults and others to connect in a fun, creative, 21+ environment at our museums.
Multidisciplinary Works
Through a series of festivals, symposia, and public events, RAM continues to introduce more multi- and interdisciplinary programs across a range of genres and forms, both at our museums and venues throughout town. This includes our speaker series, which showcases artists and scholars via lectures and conversations, and a film series of narrative features, documentaries, short films, and video. Our new performance series highlights experimental pieces, while our wellness series promotes mind and body health via yoga, meditation, and more. Guests can also delight in food and beverage experiences focused on craft, regionality, and seasonality as part of our ongoing culinary series
Signature and Special Events
We host fundraisers and friend-raisers throughout the year to raise dollars and awareness for RAM. Our RAM PEEPS® Brand Art Exhibition showcases community artwork made from or inspired by colorful PEEPS® Brand marshmallow candy. Full Steam Ahead is our large-scale printmaking event that uses a steamroller as a makeshift printing press. SAVOUR is a ticketed fundraiser in which we pair the diverse flavors of local cuisine with works created by local artists.
RAM maintains a nationally recognized collection of more than 14,000 works spanning modern and contemporary works on paper, contemporary craft and design, and other art forms.
Our earliest collection focus, established in the 1940s, began with a significant gift of art created through the Works Progress Administration (WPA) Federal Art Project. With approximately 260 prints, drawings, watercolors, photographs, and block-printed textiles, it is one of the largest collections of its kind in the Midwest. The gift helped shape RAM’s early collecting priorities around contemporary craft, works on paper, and works by women. Many artworks depict scenes of American life, labor, and landscapes, offering a compelling visual record of the nation’s social and cultural history during the 1930s and 1940s. These works are complemented by a selection of oil and acrylic paintings and small-scale sculpture.
Although the WPA works are now historical, they first entered the collection as contemporary pieces by living artists. RAM has continued to collect work by living artists regardless of their chosen media, with select artists represented in depth. Our collection includes notable names working in two dimensions, including Dawoud Bey, Harry Callahan, Richard Diebenkorn, Sam Gilliam, Russell T. Gordon, David Hockney, Corita Kent, Frances Myers, Claire Prussian, Masami Teraoka, John Wilde, and Francesca Woodman. Archival representations include pieces by Warrington Colescott, Ruth Grotenrath, Keiko Hara, Patrick Nagatani, and Beth Van Hoesen.
The museum also continued to collect contemporary craft, and in 1990 it made a formal decision to embrace it as a focus, bolstered shortly thereafter by a gift of more than 200 important works from collector Karen Johnson Boyd. Since then, RAM has built one of the most significant collections of contemporary craft in North America. With more than 9,000 works in ceramics, glass, fiber, wood, metal, polymer, and found media—including clothing, furniture, jewelry, artists’ books, baskets, teapots, goblets, and more—the collection features traditional and experimental works by influential artists including Wendell Castle, Dale Chihuly, Cristina Córdova, Tanya Crane, Randall Darwall, Robert Ebendorf, Carol Eckert, Arline Fisch, Walter Hamady, Kiyomi Iwata, Mary Jackson, Beth Lipman, Albert Paley, JoAnna Poehlmann, Joyce Scott, Therman Statom, Toshiko Takaezu, Peter Voulkos, Anne Wilson, and Elise Winters.
Through its exhibitions, programs, and collecting practices, RAM has long championed creative expressions historically overlooked by mainstream museums. With more than 40% of our holdings by women artists and a growing representation of artists of color, we remain committed to amplifying diverse perspectives.
Today, RAM continues to be a prominent voice in the national conversation around craft and material-based art. Our innovative exhibitions integrate pop culture and multidisciplinary approaches—including performance, process, artist presence, and nontraditional craft forms—with objects from our collection, connecting them to broader cultural narratives while uplifting craft as a vital and evolving art form.
Impact Areas
Because so much of our work is developed through the lens of public benefit, we have identified key areas that help us consciously embrace how art can integrate with and enhance community life. Also seen as our spheres of impact, they guide how exhibitions, programs, and other initiatives are developed, curated, and organized—creating opportunities for cultural practitioners to collaborate, inspire, and elicit creative solutions that result in deep and lasting change.
RAM’s core offerings focus on four distinct dimensions of impact— place-based, sociocultural, health, and economic —which together help us create a vibrant, livable community.
Place and Identity
RAM’s work has long reflected our region’s creative spirit, and today we are even more intentionally focused on the place we live—its people, heritage, and landscapes. Through place-based exhibitions and programming, we ground our work in the distinctive historical and ecological character of Racine and the Upper Midwest, ensuring that local stories shape who we are and who we are becoming. In this way we honor the past while imagining a shared future—one we construct together, here and now.
Themes: Creativity, discovery, and inventiveness. Making things with our hands. Land and lake, factory and field. Industrious people, interwoven through past, present, and future. Textures of identity recalled, reimagined, and hand-hewn. Local pride. Together cultivating a strong sense of place.
Initiatives:
Upcoming: Fresh Air Series—Outdoor exhibitions of place-based art in public spaces
2023: Wisconsin Artists: 1960–90 —Exhibition illustrating the history of creative production in our state
2023: Gathering Voices at RAM: 20 Years of Building America’s Largest Contemporary Craft Collection —Exhibition on the history of RAM’s craft collection
2017: Full Steam Ahead (ongoing)—Printmaking event that ties industrial history to creative expression by using a steamroller as a massive press
2015: Urban Wood Encounter 2015: RAM Explores Contemporary Furniture Annual showcase of regional artists using reclaimed wood, which RAM was first to host
2013: Collection Focus: John Wilde and Ken Loeber —Two exhibitions of significant Wisconsin-based artists whose work RAM has collected in depth 2011: Kim Cridler: My Wisconsin Home —Windows on Fifth Gallery exhibition highlighting the artist’s response to living in rural Wisconsin 1990: Contemporary craft focus—RAM’s new collection focus links to a legacy of craftsmanship in Racine and the Upper Midwest 1979: Wisconsin Photography (ongoing)—Exhibition highlighting photography and video art by regional artists 1966: Watercolor Wisconsin (ongoing)—Exhibition of work by regional artists, with many pieces depicting local scenes 1950s: Racine and Vicinity Show (ongoing)—Exhibition of work by local artists 1943: Works Progress Administration (WPA) collection—Donation of WPA-era artworks; RAM regularly exhibits and links these to labor history and “work of the hand” by regional makers
Culture and Connection
RAM is committed to building understanding and connection across cultures, perspectives, and lived experiences. Exhibitions, partnerships, and programs will reflect the rich diversity of our community as a way to foster a more inclusive and welcoming environment—one where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued. The cohesion of a community is what binds residents to each other and their locality. It is vital in creating a common vision for a collective future.
Themes: Traditions passed hand to hand, story to story. Global perspectives, migration, and memory. Embracing differences, human rights, and social change. Addressing tensions, promoting shared values, fostering mutual support. Familial bonding. Makers across disciplines and generations shaping meaning together.
Initiatives:
• Upcoming: Cut it Out: Papercutting Traditions and Beyond Exhibition with artists and makers who explore and expand on papercutting, featuring Polish and other traditions
• 2025: RAM Showcase: Bodies —Exhibition of works by artists of color examining the human body
• 2025: On Fire Part II: Surveying Women in Glass in the LateTwentieth Century —Exhibition of influential female glass artists
• 2024: Nicole Acosta: HOOPS—Beyond the Aesthetic Lies the Story and Low: René Amado —Solo exhibitions of the artists’ photographs highlighting aspects of Mexican American culture
• 2024: Spanish Center of Racine and Case High School Latino Student Union—New partners collaborating with RAM on cultural programming and outreach
• 2024: RAM Showcase: Storytellers—Narrative Photography from Artists of Color —Exhibition of works addressing identity and heritage in RAM’s collection
• 2024: Collection Focus: Polish Fiber —Exhibition of Polish fiber art
• 2023: Groov’n in the Garden (ongoing) – Event with music by African American artists, presented with Mahogany Black Arts & Cultural Center
• 2023: Black Futures II —Exhibition curated by Mahogany Black Arts & Cultural Center
• 2022: Black Arts Council of Racine and Mahogany Black Arts & Cultural Center—New partners collaborating with RAM on cultural programming and outreach
• 2022: Cultural Reflections: RAM Community Art Show —Showcase of works by 86 artists exploring culture and heritage, presented with Black Arts Council of Racine
• 2022: Creative Conversations—Event featuring Chicago-based artist Paul Andrew Wandless, held at Mahogany Gallery and presented with community partners
• 2022: Artists of Color Acquisition Fund—Launched to help diversify the collection
• 2021: RAM Showcase —Exhibition series launched to showcase work by artists of color and works addressing critical social and cultural issues
• 2016: After-school opportunities (ongoing)—United Way Community School partnership programs at identified local schools celebrating artists of color and diverse creative traditions
• 2011: RAM on the Road (ongoing)—Program that brings art experiences directly to the community, including all second-graders in the school district
• 1984: Outreach 5 and K–8 field trips (ongoing)—Guided museum tours and art-making activities for students
• Ongoing: Family activities – Programs that engage children and families with creative learning and play, including Kids’ Days, Drop-in for Art, and Free Fall Family Fun Fest
Health and Sustainability
Art can be a powerful catalyst for individual, community, and environmental well-being. RAM makes an effort to integrate holistic approaches that nurture physical, mental, and social-emotional health, while working to deepen relationships between art, nature, and healing. Through hands-on art making, restorative experiences, and creative sustainability initiatives, we help cultivate a community of people who care for each other and the Earth.
Themes: Care as a creative act. Mending that which is frayed. Reaching out, reflecting within. Art as sustenance—nourishing mind, body, and spirit.
Regenerative practice. Mediums of water, air, and living earth. Illuminating spaces where art, science, and sustainability intersect. Ensuring all have the right to thrive.
Initiatives:
• Upcoming: Wellness Series—Program to promote mind and body health via meditation, movement, and more; it builds on past offerings like yoga in the Wustum gardens and RAM galleries
• 2024: Zero Waste: Objects and Jewelry —Two exhibitions highlighting artists who repurpose materials originally intended for a use other than art
• 2023: Resource conservation—RAM implements strategies like carbon-neutral shipping, reusable packing materials and supplies, and eco-friendly sealants
• 2020: From the Heart: Artist as Commentator —Exhibition featuring intellectual, cultural, social, and personal calls to action
• 2020: Zero Waste Art Initiative (ongoing)—Program in which eighth-graders make art with recycled and reclaimed materials collected in partnership with local manufacturers
• 2017: Shie and Acord: Recent Acquisitions —Exhibition of quilts addressing personal experiences and shared compassion for humanity and the environment
• 2015: Lost and Found: Featuring Kim Alsbrooks and Nikki Coupee Large-scale exhibition of artists using found and salvaged materials in their work
• 2014: Charlotte Kruk: Consumer Couture—The Politics of Having Windows on Fifth Gallery exhibition featuring garments and sculpture made of recognizable consumer packaging
• 2009: SPARK! (ongoing)—Program inviting people with memory loss and their care partners to engage in hands-on creative practice
• 2003: Eco-conscious museum architecture—RAM’s downtown building features recycled rubber flooring as well as translucent acrylic siding that reduces energy use via natural light and insulation
• Ongoing: RAM Museum Store—Offers a wide selection of green, ethically sourced, biodegradable, sustainable, and eco-friendly products
Innovation and Enterprise
RAM plays an essential role in Racine’s creative economy—supporting local makers, attracting cultural tourism, and promoting creativity as a driver of innovation. By connecting art with enterprise, we honor our legacy of invention while advancing a future shaped by imagination and entrepreneurial spirit. Our initiatives foster the intersection of craft, design, and commerce—preparing today’s visionaries to explore new models of making that are grounded in place, responsive to community, and vital to cultural and economic renewal.
Themes: Material intelligence meets visionary thinking. Artists as incubators and change-makers. Mastering mediums, forging livelihoods. Grassroots enterprise. Applying emergent digital technologies and smart design. Circular entrepreneurship as a catalyst for transformation. Cultural energy as economic force.
Initiatives:
• Upcoming: Food and Beverage Series—Program that supports farm and food entrepreneurship through art-infused tastings and culinary experiences
• Upcoming: Artist-in-Residence—Program in which artists focus on artistic process while engaging with the community
• 2025: RAM Unlocked—Social events for young adults and others to connect in a fun, creative, 21+ environment at the museums
• 2024: Collection Focus: Frances and Michael Higgins —Exhibition showcasing glass pioneers who turned an ancient technique into a modern business
• 2023: Wisconsin Art Destinations (ongoing)—Collaborative initiative of 16 art museums using tourism marketing to promote Wisconsin as a national arts destination
• 2023: Hotel Verdant—An adaptive reuse development project that exhibits art from local artists and reproductions of prints from RAM’s collection
• 2023: Women and the WPA —Exhibition of works by women artists employed by the WPA in the 1930s, including domestic-oriented goods sold to public institutions
• 2022: Collection Focus: Randall Darwall —Exhibition featuring wearable art by a weaver who created work while running a business, teaching, and selling at craft shows
• 2020: Digital Engagement Programs (ongoing)—Web-based program of video storytelling, home-based art activities, and online gallery tours, launched during the COVID-19 pandemic
• 2018: SAVOUR (ongoing)—RAM’s signature fundraising event, uniting artists, patrons, and local businesses in support of cultural and economic vitality
• 2015: Photography Studio—New studio space at Wustum with professional photography equipment local artists can use to document and promote their work
• 2014: Professional Artist Development Series—Program designed for emerging and mid-career artists, with tools and resources for career advancement
• 2012: RAM Artist Fellowships (ongoing)—Program in which regional fellows receive funding to produce a solo exhibition at the Wustum
• 2011: Terra Nova: Polymer Art at the Crossroads (and symposium)— Exhibition and conference exploring the expansion of polymer from a hobby craft to art media
• 1941: Studio art program (ongoing)—Year-round classes in drawing, painting, textiles, ceramics, and more at the Wustum
• Ongoing: Student interns—Program in which students explore museum careers
1838: George Wustum emigrates to the U.S. from Bavaria, Germany.
1844: The Wustum family moves to Racine.
1893: The Wustums purchase what will later become the Wustum museum.
1938: Jennie E. Wustum passes, leaving her home, property, and a trust fund to the City of Racine.
1941: The Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts opens, named for Jennie’s husband.
1941: The Racine Art Association incorporates to manage museum operations.
1941: Sylvester Jerry is appointed first Director; he serves 28 years, then 30 more on the Board.
1940s: Alfred L. Boerner redesigns the Wustum gardens thanks to fundraising led by Etta North.
1943: The museum receives a major gift of Depression-era artworks from the WPA.
1966: Wustum adds an education wing to accommodate more studio art classes.
1966: The museum launches Watercolor Wisconsin, a juried art competition.
1970: George M. Richard is appointed Director; he serves 9 years in the position.
1980: Wustum and Racine Theatre Guild Playhouse are together designated a Fine Arts Center.
1981: Bruce W. Pepich is appointed director; he serves 43 years in the position.
1986: The museum receives coveted accreditation status from the American Alliance of Museums.
1990: The museum formally adopts a focus on contemporary craft.
1991: Karen Johnson Boyd donates 200+ artworks by influential artists in contemporary craft.
1999: The collection doubles in size thanks to new donations, many by Karen Johnson Boyd.
1999: The collection is recognized as one of the top four craft collections in the nation.
2000: Major gifts from M&I Bank and SC Johnson make a new downtown facility possible.
2003: The new Racine Art Museum, designed by Brinistool + Lynch, opens downtown.
2009: The museum completes its $5 million endowment campaign.
2009: The museum helps launch SPARK! for people with memory loss and their care partners.
2010: RAM hosts the first community-driven PEEPS® Brand Art Exhibition
2011: The museum starts RAM on the Road, bringing hands-on art directly to the community.
2012: The museum launches an artist fellowship program to incubate exhibitions by local artists.
2013: RAM’s contemporary craft collection is identified as the largest in North America.
2020: The museum introduces a Zero Waste Art Initiative for eighth-grade programs.
2022: RAM starts an Artists of Color Acquisition Fund to diversify the collection.
2022: Racine Community Foundation awards $90,000 for Polish art exhibitions and SPARK!
2022: RAM exhibits artwork from and in partnership with the Art Bridges Foundation.
2023: Wustum hosts Groov’n in the Garden with local partners in the Black community.
2023: RAM celebrates its 20th anniversary since opening the downtown museum in 2003.
2024: Karen Johnson Boyd leaves the museum a generous bequest in her estate.
2024: RAM receives $75,000 from the United Way of Racine County for three exhibitions and outreach programming featuring Mexican American artists.
2024: Bruce W. Pepich is designated founding director emeritus upon his retirement.
2025: Robb Woulfe is appointed Executive Director.
Milestones and Highlights
Cultural Vibrancy
Together with our partners in the creative sector, RAM plays a key role in nurturing cultural vibrancy in Racine and beyond. We see this impact in two interconnected spheres—economy and society.
First, RAM is part of and contributes to the creative economy. In Wisconsin alone, the creative industries support 89,000 jobs and contribute $11.9 billion to the state’s economy, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce and National Endowment for the Arts. Each year, RAM welcomes nearly 50,000 cultural tourists, who typically spend 20% more than other tourists—benefiting businesses, restaurants, and hotels as well as artists, writers, performers, and other creative professionals. Our local economic impact has been estimated at $5–6 million annually by the County’s tourism marketing organization, Visit Racine County. In addition, RAM’s exhibitions and programming foster creativity—a proven catalyst for innovation. As Racine’s long history of ingenuity shows, creative practice stimulates local entrepreneurship and ultimately drives economic development.
Artistic experiences also benefit society by promoting livability —the quality of life that a community offers its residents and guests. Creativity ignites inspiration. It kindles reflection and invites engagement and collaboration. It also fosters pride in place, helping to shape a community’s identity. Research shows that decisions on where to live, work, and start businesses are increasingly influenced by quality of life and the availability of cultural amenities. RAM contributes to this dynamic by offering a wide range of creative experiences that make Racine a more attractive and engaging place to live.
Moving forward, our efforts to enhance cultural vibrancy will center on three core areas, as detailed on the following page.
Placekeeping
Similar to the placemaking movement in community development, placekeeping recognizes and celebrates a community’s existing cultural identity, history, and people. Not only will RAM offerings encourage both tourism and localism, they will also invest in our cultural profile in a way that enriches the lives of our local community, invites participation, and ensures we remain attractive and relevant in these rapidly changing times.
Community Belonging
A sense of belonging contributes to healthy, meaningful lives and safe, inclusive neighborhoods. When we encourage culture and identity to flourish, civic participation increases. We seek to animate our museums and community in a way that honors our diverse cultures and histories and encourages interaction and community building. We will engage people to collaborate around art; create spaces for encounter, dialogue, and social cohesion; and build individual and collective capacity to sustain resilient communities.
Social Connectedness
Connectedness is key to belonging, and the experiences we design around it encourage people to come together, interact, and engage in mutual value creation by exchanging knowledge and information. Residents who are engaged become invested in RAM and one another. This builds the public value and perception of the organization, while contributing to the community’s social and economic wellbeing overall.
Cultural vibrancy is not static—it must be nurtured, sustained, and adapted to meet the needs of an evolving community. By embracing innovation, inclusion, and creative collaboration, RAM will continue to play a transformative role in Racine’s cultural ecosystem, strengthening the city’s artistic legacy while helping to shape a vibrant, creative future for generations to come.
Financial Health
RAM maintains a stable and resilient financial position, with the capacity to support its core operations and pursue new initiatives. However, there are opportunities to optimize asset utilization and improve efficiency.
Like many museums and cultural organizations, RAM faces a variety of challenges that resulted from the pandemic and other external factors. Because of this, we have taken and continue to take actions to ensure sustainability now and in the future.
In the short term, we have been pursuing additional funds through gifts and grants focused on capacity-building and institutional development, while also streamlining expenses and modifying our operations. For the long term, we are working to strengthen our business model with financial strategies that include striking a realistic balance between earned and contributed revenue, shoring up cash flow, broadening our base of support, and catalyzing improvement through capital investments and endowment growth.
We are deeply grateful for RAM’s current financial stability, but we also know we must remain focused on fiscal prudence. Later this year we will embark on an in-depth planning process to help guide our direction over the next five years. By responding to current economic conditions, changing audience behaviors, and competitive dynamics, we can position the institution for ongoing success.
Why Support Us?
RAM is more than a museum—it’s a living expression of Racine’s creative spirit, and a testament to the power of handwork, storytelling, connection, and the unyielding drive to keep moving forward. RAM is a beloved cultural resource, deeply woven into community life and recognized nationally for its leadership in contemporary craft. With two campuses—one a striking architectural beacon downtown, the other a historic farmhouse turned museum and education center—RAM represents the best of where we’ve been and where we’re going.
For decades, RAM has grown steadily in reach and relevance, building a permanent collection of more than 14,000 works, launching trailblazing community programs like RAM on the Road and SPARK!, and forming lasting partnerships that reflect our diverse community. From studio art classes that empower youth and adults, to exhibitions that draw visitors from around the world, to events that fuse art, music, food, and culture, RAM brings people together in imaginative, meaningful ways.
When you support Racine Art Museum, it is not a gamble—you are investing in an institution with deep roots and proven impact. You become part of a committed, professional team with a long record of success working tirelessly on behalf of the community—building on work that came before and reenergized under new leadership—to take RAM to new levels of engagement, collaboration, and excellence.
We hope you will not only support us, but join us in the next phase of our creative journey. Together, we can craft something extraordinary.
There are a number of different ways to support RAM, and we offer many benefits and opportunities to recognize and thank our supporters. Whether you become a member, underwrite one of our special projects, sponsor RAM activities, or donate your time and talent, you help us share our collection, exhibitions, and programs with a broad audience. We sincerely thank all of our members, partners, and volunteers for your tremendous support, and look forward to working with new friends as we pursue new horizons. Your contributions are vital to our shared success.
Membership
Membership is a great way to experience and support RAM. Annual levels start at $45 and include admission, exhibition previews, exclusive events, discounts, and more.
Individual Giving
Individuals can make a big difference at RAM. Whether you participate in a donor circle, support a specific program, or contribute to the annual fund, your generosity helps us maintain our collections, develop and produce exhibitions, and present meaningful programs.
Legacy Giving
A planned gift is the perfect way to perpetuate your love of art and establish a legacy. Planned giving includes any major gift that involves financial or estate planning, such as bequests or gifts of securities, retirement assets, life income plans, real estate, or personal property.
Gifts of Art
RAM welcomes gifts of art consistent with our collection themes and our commitment to excellence. While not every offer is the right fit, we are always delighted to discuss potential contributions. We appreciate you considering RAM as a home for your works of art.
Volunteering
Hundreds of dedicated volunteers engage at our museums each year— serving as docents, providing support for operational tasks, facilitating art experiences, and more. We rely on our volunteers, and look forward to welcoming you to the team.
Corporate Support
There are a number of ways businesses can partner with RAM, including sponsorship, hospitality options, and matching gifts. In return, we provide a range of benefits and access to our museums.
Foundation and Government Support
RAM builds partnerships with foundation and government entities to support all aspects of our programming and operations. We are proud to count leading local, state, and federal grantmaking organizations as well as independent and family foundations among our supporters and collaborators.
In-Kind Support
RAM benefits enormously from in-kind gifts that provide non-cash support for a variety of needs. A member of our development staff will be happy to assist you in coordinating your in-kind contribution.
How to Engage
Leadership
Board of Directors
President: Debra Karp, Retired Director of Community and Business Engagement, University of Wisconsin–Parkside
Vice President: Clair Holland, Principal/Owner, VIVIDLY by Clair Holland Consulting
Secretary: Toby Simpkins, Owner, Ad Hoc Consulting, LLC
Treasurer: John Crimmings, General Sales Manager, First Weber Real Estate
• Linea Anthony, Owner, Racine Merchandise Mart
• Zaida Puy Arena, Marketing and Brand Management Professional
• Lisa Marie Barber, Professor, Department of Art and Design, University of Wisconsin–Parkside
• Nichole Elcano, Volunteer Leader
• Carl Hipp, Retired Educator, Racine Unified School District
• Mark Janiuk, Retired Corporate Counsel, Racine County
• Kim Jankowski, VP Private Banking Relationship Manager, Johnson Financial Group
• Molly Lofquist Johnson, Co-Director of College Counseling, The Prairie School
Management Team and Staff
• Robb Woulfe, Executive Director
• Tricia Blasko, Director of Education
• Hanneke Abels, Receptionist/Museum Store Associate
• Veronica Averkamp, Community Educator
• Cassidy Binder, Receptionist/Museum Store Associate
• Emily Brownell, Education Programs Coordinator
• Rachel Comande, Digital Marketing and Special Events Coordinator
• Kelly Darrah, Education Assistant
• Deedee Dumont, Receptionist/Museum Store Associate
• Eva Foster, General Museum Assistant
• Laura Grayson, Executive Assistant and Collections Support Specialist
• Lief Hanson, General Museum Assistant
• Carol Klees-Starks, Lead Receptionist
• Sandra Krueger, Wustum Building Services Supervisor
• Jean Mandli, Receptionist/Museum Store Associate
Honorary
• Bruce W. Pepich, Founding Director Emeritus
Contractors and Service Providers
• Beth AlderBaes, CRB Insurance
• René Amado, Matt Binetti, CJ Foeckler, Samer Ghani, Camela Langendorf, Jarvis Lawson, Azure Mahara, and Lori Potrykus, Photography and Videography
• Belle City Lawn Care LLC and J&V Martinez Landscape, LLC, Landscaping Services
• The Bishop Leberfing Klenke Group at Baird, Financial Advisors and Investment Managers
• City of Racine, MIS Dept, IT Services and Support
• Joyce Koker, Retired Program Manager, Harley-Davidson Motor Company
• Tony May, Director of Client Services, Design Partners
• Denise Roberts McKee, Chief Operating Officer, September Club
• Laura Million, Deputy Director, Racine County Economic Development Corporation
• Julia Oas, Retired Executive Director for Regulatory and Marketing Law, SC Johnson & Son, Inc.
• Vin Venegas, Project Manager, Artist, Bukacek Construction
• Nancy Wheeler, Retired Attorney, Nancy Wheeler, S. C.
• Dale Zierten, Owner, Dale’s Upstairs Gallery
• Laura D’Amato, Deputy Director and Chief Development Officer
• Lena Vigna, Director of Exhibitions and Collections
• John Martinoff, RAM Building Services Supervisor
• Sharon Martinoff, Human Resources Specialist
• Leah Mathews, General Museum Assistant
• Andrea Mickelson, Retail and Guest Services Manager
• Katelyn Mitchell, Assistant Curator
• Alan Peralta-Martinez, Exhibition Preparator
• Tyler Potter, Marketing and Communications Specialist
• Debra Rexhausen, Receptionist/Museum Store Associate
• Noelle Ridolfi, General Museum Assistant
• Sophia Salcido, General Museum Assistant
• Amy Singstock, Bookkeeper and Membership Coordinator
• Museum Search & Reference, LLC, Executive Recruitment
• Barb Namowicz, CPA, Accounting Services
• Risk Strategies, Insurance and Risk Management
• RitzHolman, LLC, Auditors and Tax Advisors
• Spanish Center of Racine/Centro Hispano de Racine, Translation Services
Museum Visits
47,585
1,082
By the Numbers
Key Statistics between January –December 2024
203,332
60,528
782
Exhibitions
18 Member Households
146,292
88,582 Email Subscribers
10,079
10,131
Partnerships
RAM promotes cultural experiences in keeping with the beliefs, values, and ideals of the greater Racine community, an effort that honors and strengthens our sense of place. In order to involve the community comprehensively in our mission and draw on the multidisciplinary strengths of our peer creative community, RAM undertakes frequent collaborations with individuals, organizations, and businesses to offer relevant programming, services, and support.
Program Collaborators
ArtRoot / OS Projects
Black Arts Council of Racine
Carthage College
City of Racine
Downtown Racine Corporation
Hot Shop Glass
Hotel Verdant / Dominion Properties
The Johnson Foundation at Wingspread
Latino Community Center
Mahogany Black Arts & Cultural Center
Racine Arts Council
Racine Theatre Guild
Racine Public Library
Racine Unified School District
RAMAC / Leadership Racine
Racine Zoo
Rasmussen Diamonds
Spanish Center of Racine
SPARK! Alliance
University of Wisconsin–Parkside
Visit Racine County
What’s Up Racine
Funding Partners*
Platinum Partners
Estate of Karen Johnson Boyd
David Charak
Judith and David Flegel Fund
Ron and Judith Isaacs
Racine Community Foundation
United Way of Racine County
Windgate Foundation
Diamond Partners
Ruffo Family Foundation
Ruth Foundation for the Arts
Diane Zebell
Gold Partners
A.C. Buhler Family
Robert E. Kohler Jr. Fund
Osborne and Scekic
Family Foundation
Reliance Controls
Trio Foundation of St. Louis
Wisconsin Arts Board
W.T. Walker Group, Inc.
Silver Partners
Baird
Lucy G. Feller
Ben and Dawn Flegel
Sharon and Tom Harty
Dave and Judy Hecker
Paula Kalke
Horizon Retail Construction, Inc.
Johnson Financial Group
Lang Family Foundation
Dorothy MacVicar
Jan Serr & John Shannon
Sandra Shove
Willard and Mary Walker
Bronze Partners
Sandy and Gus Antonneau
Carol Baylon
Rose and Peter Christensen
Dave’s Wine Garage
Educators Credit Union
Patricia and Richard Ehlert
Express Employment Professionals
Deborah Ganaway
Carol Griseto
Hitter’s Baseball
SC Johnson
Bill and Debbie Keland
Nancy and Nick Kurten
Susan Manalli
Norbell Foundation
JoAnna Poehlmann
Rasmussen Diamonds
Harold and Lois Solberg
Kathy Stranghellini
Tito’s
Twin Disc
Janna Waldeck
Barbara Waldman
Marc J. Wollman
Media Sponsor
Radio Milwaukee
* Based on giving in 2024
Image Credits
(front cover) Free Fall Family Fun Fest 2023 at Wustum
Photography: Azure Mahara Photography (page 01) RAM’s Wustum Museum exterior
Photography: Jon Bolton
(page 02) Racine Art Museum exterior
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
(page 03) Installation view, Vignettes: Concentrated Views of RAM’s Collection
February 1 – August 19, 2023
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
(page 04) Installation view, RAM’s First 20 Years: A Visual History of the Art and Architecture
June 17, 2023 – July 20, 2024
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
(page 06, left) Visitors viewing work at Wustum, ca. 1950s
Photographer Unknown (page 06, right) Studio art class at Wustum, ca. 1950s
Photographer unknown
(page 07) Free Fall Family Fun Fest 2023 at Wustum
Photography: Azure Mahara Photography (page 08) Ice sculpture carving during Downtown Racine Corporation’s Chili Ice Walk 2025
Photography: Rachel Comande
(page 09, left) Free Drop-in for Art at Wustum
Photography: RAM Education Staff
(page 09, right) Visitors viewing work at RAM
Photography: Rachel Comande
(page 10, left) Full Steam Ahead 2024 at Wustum
Photography: Azure Mahara Photography (page 10, right) Groov’n in the Garden 2023 at Wustum
Photography: Tyler Potter
(page 11, left to right) Toshiko Takaezu, The Star Series, 1994 – 2001, Glazed stoneware, Racine Art Museum, Gift of the Artist, Photography: Jon Bolton; Milwaukee Handicraft Project, Selection from Applied Design Block Printed Textiles, Volume VI, ca. 1940, Woodblock on cotton fabric, Racine Art Museum, Works Progress Administration, Wisconsin Federal Art Project, Photography: Jon Bolton, Jan Hopkins, Isadora, 2008, Alaskan yellow cedar bark, grapefruit peel, lotus pod tops, Sharlyn melon rind, and waxed linen thread, Racine Art Museum, the Karen Johnson Boyd Collection in Honor of Bruce W. Pepich’s 35 Years of Service to RAM, Photography: Jon Bolton; Frances Myers, Johnson Wax Building from The Frank Lloyd Wright Portfolio, 1980, Color aquatint, edition 1/50, Racine Art Museum, the Karen Johnson Boyd Collection, Photography: Jon Bolton; Wendell Castle, Desk (Silver Leaf Desk), 1967, Mahogany, cherry, plywood, gesso, and silver leaf, Racine Art Museum, Gift of SC Johnson in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of RAM’s Wustum Museum of Fine Arts, Photography: Michael Tropea; Dawoud Bey, A Boy Eating a Foxy Pop, Brooklyn, NY, 1988, Printed 1997, Silver gelatin print, Racine Art Museum, the Karen Johnson Boyd Collection Photography: Jon Bolton; Joyce Scott, Topographical Fields (Neckpiece), 1989, Glass seed beads, cotton thread, and wire,
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Laura Oskowitz, Photography: Jon Bolton; Carol Eckert, Remembered Dreams (detail), 1993, Dyed cotton thread, wire, and wood, Racine Art Museum, Gift of the Artist, Photography: Jon Bolton; Jeffrey Lloyd Dever, Seeking Solace, 2011, Polymer, plastic-coated wire, and steel wire, Racine Art Museum, Polymer Art Acquisition and Care Fund Purchase, Photography: Gregory R. Staley; Margaret Ponce Israel, Doll and Wooden Chair (Seated Figure), 1974, Glazed stoneware and found wooden chair, Racine Art Museum, Gift of Sally and Larry Israel in Memory of Margaret Ponce Israel, Photography: Jarvis Lawson
(page 13 + 14) Free Fall Family Fun Fest 2023 at Wustum
Photography: Azure Mahara Photography (page 15) Madrigal Choir performance at RAM Photography: Rachel Comande (page 16) Artists Respond to On Fire Part II: Surveying Women in Glass in the Late-Twentieth Century, 2025
Photography: Tyler Potter
(page 17, left) Jewelry Studio at Wustum Photography: RAM Education Staff (page 17, right) Free Drop-in for Art at Wustum Photography: RAM Education Staff (page 18, left) DJ Unknown at RAM
Photography: Tyler Potter
(page 18, right) Kids Day 2022 at Wustum
Photography: Azure Mahara Photography (page 19) Installation view, Collection Focus: Randall Darwall, September 21, 2022 – January 7, 2023
Photography: Jon Bolton
(page 20) Installation view, Low: René Amado, August 2, 2024 – July 19, 2025
Photography: René Amado
(page 21 + 22) Racine Art Museum exterior Photography: Jarvis Lawson (page 23) Director Emeritus Sylvester Jerry with artists at Wustum
Photographer unknown (page 25, left) SAVOUR 2022 at Wustum
Photography: Lori Potrykus
(page 25, right) Hands-on art activities at RAM during Downtown Racine’s Party on the Pavement 2024
Photography: Emily Brownell
(page 26, left) Window painting at RAM
Photography: Rachel Comande (page 26, right) RAM Unlocked: Gallery Game Night
Photography: Tyler Potter
(page 27) SAVOUR 2022 at Wustum
Photography: Lori Potrykus
(page 28) Kids Day 2024 at Wustum
Photography: Azure Mahara Photography (page 29) Potter’s wheel studio at Wustum
Photography: RAM Education Staff (page 30) Kids Day 2024 at Wustum
Photography: Azure Mahara Photography (page 31) Window painting at RAM
Photography: Rachel Comande
(page 36 + 37) Kids Day 2024 at Wustum
Photography: Azure Mahara Photography (back cover) Racine Art Museum exterior Photography: Christopher Barrett
Acknowledgments
Racine Art Museum Association
441 Main Street, Box 187
Racine, Wisconsin 53401-0187
262.638.8300
RAM’s Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts
2519 Northwestern Avenue
262.636.9177
ramart.org
Visit the Museums
Current Hours
Wednesday – Saturday
10:00 am – 4:00 pm Closed Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, and Federal holidays
Get in Touch
Please contact Laura D’Amato, RAM Director of Operations and Development, at 262.898.1412 or ldamato@ramart.org to discuss our full range of giving opportunities. For more information about RAM and Wustum, please visit ramart.org.
