Year in Review 2022

Support groups and event committees are essential to Rockford Art Museum. Ticket proceeds from each event help provide funding support for RAM throughout the year.

Sponsors, donors, partners and more help Rockford Art Museum support our community through art collection, exhibition and eduation.

815 Alive A Thymeless Bloom ABG Bag, Inc. Aegis Advisory Group Anderson Japanese Gardens Aqua-Aerobic Systems Inc Karen Archer Becky and Eric Baeverstad Leah and Bill Baskin Lon and Dick Behr Sarah and Kurt Bell Bergstrom Inc Cherry and Dave Beto Erin and Douglas Beto Anne and David Boccignone Judy Boccignone Boone County Arts Council Burpee Museum of Natural History Jordan Calgaro Gary Carlson & Ryan Weiland Cheeks Photography– Albert Riley, Jr. Ron Clewer Coleman CPA Consulting Inc. Community Foundation of Northern Illinois Countryside Flower Shop Coyle-Kiley Insurance Agency Dean Alan Olson Foundation Deborah Strand Designs John Deill Sara and Dave Deutsch Liz Dickinson Dillon Foundation Discovery Center Museum Emerson Mary and George English

Event Floral Brian Fischer and Todd Fischer-Free Lynn Fischer-Carlson Flower Fan-a-See Flower Girls Cathy and Rob Funderburg Garden of Eevie Bruce and Vickie Glidden GM Scheurich Gorman & Company Grainger Ground Floor Skateboards Sherry and Greg Harlan Haskell STEAM Academy Kristin and Mark Hatch Sally and William Hoff Celeste and John Holevas Colleen and Jack Holmbeck Barbara and John Holmstrom Wanda Hoover Jessica and Michael Iasparro Illinois Arts Council Illinois State Credit Union J. Carlson Growers, Inc. J.R. Kortman Center for Design and Kortman Gallery Julienne and Stephen Jackson Carol and Karl Jacobs Anita Jacobson John T Wolf Charitable Trust II Jane Johnston Pam and Jim Keeling Jane and Steve Kiley Kishwaukee College Floral Design Program Kjellstrom Family Foundation KNIB

Lamonica Beverage Deanna and Craig Legault Christy and Jay Lenox William Lieberman Lisa and Mark Lindman Scott and Mona Lindvall Lino’s Restaurant Pam Littrell Barbara Lunde Luxe Productions Francis Martinez Bonita Marx Mary’s Place Betsey McCoy Midwest Contemporary Glass Art Group Judy and Tom Mott Mrs. Fischer’s Marcia Mueller Alanna Nelson Nicholas Conservatory and Gardens Kyle Norberg Northwest Bank of Rockford Pattie Wallander Designs The Paul and Dorothy Salerno Endowment Shelley and Kevin Peifer Pepper Creek Sandra and Michael Perlow Perryville Pet Hospital Mary Kay and Michael Pfeiffer Louise Poska RBC Wealth Management Trudy and Dick Reynolds Patty and Bob Rhea Riverfront Museum Park Rock House Kids

Rockford Area Arts Council RACVB Rockford Dance Co. Rockford Park District Rockford Public Library Rockford Roasting Co. Rockford Symphony Orchestra Joan B. Sage Savant Wealth Management Kimberly and David Schmitt Scott Snyder Sjostrom & Sons Foundation Patty and Jeff Smith Paige & Clint Snedegar Holly and Dominick Squicciarini St. Charles Florist & Boutique Stems Floral and More Steve and Vicki Johnson Family Foundation Joan Stonecipher Studio GWA Studio Wealth Advisory Group The High and Mighty– Kelvin Candie Cathie and Bill Thiede Title Underwriters Agency Transformations Plastic Surgery Twisted Stem Gloria and Gerard Visel Meredith Williams WilliamsMcCarthy LLP Diane and Doug Wilson Wipfli Jim Wojtowicz WOW Investment Club Zolla/Lieberman Gallery

PATRONS Patrons support RAM at the highest philanthropic levels of membership (Patron $1000, Junior Patron $500). Perks include remarkable opportunities for art-focused trips, stateside and abroad, that feature memorable experiences off the beaten path.

ART IN BLOOM NOV 2–6, 2022 David Boccignone, Chair; Karen Archer, Co-Chair Rockford Art Museum was in full bloom during this four-day event and its Preview Party as select works of art from were creatively interpreted through flowers and other organic material by talented local designers.

FASHION IN BLOOM: COCKTAILS + LIVING COUTURE NOV 5, 2022 Jordan Calgaro, Chair; Karen Archer, Co-Chair RAM partnered with local floral design shops along with Rockford fashion designers (including Kelvin Candie of The High and Mighty), to present this popular fundraising event during Art in Bloom.

GREENWICH VILLAGE ART FAIR SEP 17 + 18, 2022 Valerie Olafson, Chair The 74th Greenwich Village Art Fair featured over 120 artists and vendors, live music by local musicians, an artisan marketplace, children’s art activities, and much more. The fair extended along the Rock River and showcased music in the amphitheater at Burpee Museum of Natural History.

WOMEN’S ART BOARD LUNCHEON FEATURING JENNY RIDDLE DEC 9, 2022 Holly Squicciarini, Chair This signature fundraiser features a live performance by Jenny Riddle based on the book “The Palace Papers”. The event also includes a silent auction, raffle, and lunch from Greenfire Restaurant in the RAM galleries.

The Rockford Midwestern Biennial

trustees , patrons , staff TRUSTEES PRESIDENT Keri Benhoff PAST PRESIDENT David Boccignone EXEC. TRUSTEES Steve Bois John Holevas Daniel G. Saavedra TREASURER Greg Harlan SECRETARY Holly Squicciarini

PATRONS Jim Bennett Jordan Calgaro Todd Fischer-Free Matt Herbig Jerry Kortman Dana Martin Steve Pitkin TRUSTEES EMERITUS Dick Behr Rob Funderburg SUPPORT GROUP REPRESENTATIVES Valerie Olafson | GVAF Anne Boccignone | WAB

John Anderson Lon & Dick Behr Cheryl Bischoff Anne & David Boccignone Steve Bois Liz Dickinson Lynn Fischer-Carlson Gail & Hugh Funderburg Cathy & Rob Funderburg Judy & John Graff Paula Turner Grasso Jeanne Gropp-Wedig Patricia Hagman Karen Vaughn Harding Mary Heffran Janella & Matt Herbig Margret Hesler Hynes Vicki Johnson Sally & Gary Jouris Lisa & Mark Lindman Diane Meltmar Patty & Bob Rhea Stella Schroeder

Dave Schroepfer Joan Stonecipher Cathie & Bill Thiede

STAFF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/ CURATOR Carrie Johnson OPERATIONGS MANAGER AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS + DESIGN Sarah Axelson ASSISTANT CURATOR Frances Downey MUSEUM ASSISTANT Jessie Prouty STORE STAFF Hannah Garl Kyndra Roberson

ROCKFORD ART MUSEUM | 711 N MAIN ST ROCKFORD, IL 61103 | (815) 968-2787 | ROCKFORDARTMUSEUM.ORG

Buzz Spector: Reading Matter

support

YEAR IN REVIEw 2022

sponsors , donors , partners

COLLECTION In the past year, Rockford Art Museum has acquired and added 4 new works to the Permanent Collection. Recently accepted or accessioned works are listed below.

NEW ACQUISITIONS (in order of acceptance or accession) Stephen Warde Anderson (American, b. 1953) Coronavirus Costume Party #2, 2021 acrylic with prismacolor overworking on illustration board Collection of Rockford Art Museum Gift of Lon and Richard Behr

Amy Rueffert Thibeault Shy Peacock, 2008 glass Collection of Rockford Art Museum Gift of Bonita Marx

2022 COLLECTION EXHIBITS SEEING AMERICA NOV 26, 2021–MAR 27, 2022 WHITE FIELD DISTORTION DEC 3, 2021–APR 3, 2022

EXHIBITION

EDUCATION

Feature exhibitions are organized by Rockford Art Museum Executive Director and Curator Carrie Johnson.

This year’s feature exhibitions were sponsored by Liz Dickinson, Community Foundation of Northern Illinois, Partners in Excellence Grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency, Women’s Art Board of Rockford Art Museum, Studio Wealth Advisory Group—David Boccignone, Joan Stonecipher, the Dean Alan Olson Foundation, and the Illinois Arts Council Agency.

In 2022, we were excited to see Rockford Art Museum’s educational programming grow with new partnerships and engaging collaborations.

Alongside old favorites, our programming has expanded to offer new workshops by local artists, virtual programs, and lots of outreach to local schools and community groups.

BUZZ SPECTOR: READING MATTER FEB 4–MAY 29, 2022 In Buzz Spector: Reading Matter, the artist showed his large-format Polaroid photographs of books, whether from his own library or from various private or public collections. This rarely exhibited body of work shows the range of Buzz’s interest in the books others read or collect. Also on view were Buzz’s drawings and prints, dating back to the 1970s. The centerpiece of the show was a new book construction for the museum, using more than 5,000 books donated from the Rockford and Evanston Public Libraries.

SELECTED PORTRAITS APR 1–JUL 31, 2022 WILD BLUE YONDER APR 8–AUG 7, 2022 HOTDOG KINGDOM MAY 19–AUG 7, 2022 CHICAGO IMAGISTS MAY 19–AUG 7, 2022 Abigail Brown (1891-1960) Untitled oil on canvas Collection of Rockford Art Museum Gift of Barrie Gibby Douglas Busch (American, b. 1951) One Legged Fruit Seller, 1991 platinum print Collection of Rockford Art Museum Gift of Chuck Guildner

it is our mission to foster creativity and build community through visual arts .

Installation view: Reading Matter

THE SHAPE OF LIGHT: CONTEMPORARY PAINTING AND STUDIO GLASS JUN 10–SEP 25, 2022 Celebrating the International Year of Glass 2022, The Shape of Light explored the relationship between Contemporary Painting and Studio Glass.

This feature exhibition paired paintings from Rockford Art Museum’s Permanent Collection and studio glass on loan from Illinois artists and collectors. Also on view were selections from the museum’s studio glass collection.

Installation view: The Shape of Light

77TH ROCKFORD MIDWESTERN BIENNIAL OCT 7, 2022–JAN 22, 2023 Rockford Art Museum proudly presents its 77th Rockford Midwestern Biennial–a juried survey of recent contemporary art in the Midwest. This year’s Judge, Frank Juárez, is the art department chair at Sheboygan North High School, contributing editor of SchoolArts Magazine, and publisher of Artdose Magazine. He chose 61 pieces from over 600 submissions representing seven midwestern states.

Congratulations to this year’s award recipients: BEST OF SHOW: Renee McGinnis, Nesting Protocol JUROR’S CHOICE: Amy Cannestra, Draining and Gretchen Jankowski, Reef THE DEAN ALAN OLSON PURCHASE AWARD (to be included in Rockford Art Museum’s Permanent Collection): Tom McHale, Flow #7

So many kids this year have learned to draw fun characters in our Cartoon Club programs offered for ages 6+ both in-person and virtually.

We offered numerous summer camps for youth ages 5-18, which introduced young people to different art forms. We are also pleased to be back in collaboration with Rockford Public Library this year with several programs. RPL offers storytimes and craft projects free to the public in The Studio at RAM, catering to our youngest audiences. We also worked with RPL on numerous programs focused around the Buzz Spector exhibition in the spring including several tween workshops and a huge book sale at the end of the show. We love partnering with our friends in the community!

We were happy to employ 2 RPS 205 teenagers as Museum Assistants for the summer. Our Museum Assistants gained experience in educational programming, exhibit preparation, and customer service in RAM’s museum store.

For adults, we have brought back our monthly figure drawing sessions and unique workshops led by local artists, including watercolor and ceramics.

Our Studio Artists group, led by local artist Jasmina Jovanovic, has remained popular, as well as our gallery walks and Coffee with the Curator series.

Gallery Walk

8IST YOUNG ARTIST SHOW HIGH SCHOOL: MAR 13–APR 10, 2022 YOUTH: APR 24–MAY 15, 2022 The choice to make the Young Artist Show a part of the museum’s annual exhibition schedule reveals the museum’s understanding of the dynamic role that art experiences and art education play in the lives of young people. Since its inception, the Young Artist Show has evolved and grown to become a Rockford tradition. Today, the popular exhibition bears a reputation of excellence, expanding from its modest local beginnings to become a regional show featuring students from public, private, parochial and home-school settings. It is consistently Rockford Art Museum’s most popular exhibition of the year. The Young Artist Show was sponsored by Kjellstrom Family Foundation, the Johnson Family Foundation and Women’s Art Board.

students to rich and diverse musical and artistic communities.

Summer Camp

Thanks to the Healing Illinois grant sponsored by United Way of Northwest Illinois, RAM staff offered art workshops to over 350 students at Haskell STEAM Academy, 815 Alive, and Rock House Kids. We also participated in numerous events in Rockford, sharing free crafts and spreading the word of our free admission to our community.

Thanks to generous funding provided by Rockford Public School District’s “Live, Learn, Play” program, RAM was able to partner with Rockford Symphony Orchestra and Rockford Dance Company to present two, week-long camps for rising third graders in the RPS district. The ‘World Explorers Summer Arts Camp’ was created to connect

Some education events looked a little different this year, like the 81st Annual Young Artist Show which was back in the gallery! Although we had to forgo the opening for both shows, we had nearly 2,500 people attend these very popular exhibitions! The Creations by Kids tent at Greenwich Village Art Fair this year was a hit, with over 400 crafts created.

This fall, we are looking forward to once again hosting our free Portfolio Day event, which gives students the chance to meet with representatives from various colleges and universities to learn more about pursuing an art or design career.

Overall, we are so thankful for the support we have gotten through grants and from community members. Your support allows us to create dynamic, accessible, and engaging educational programming.