Racine Art Museum Announces Annual Art Sale and the Opening of a Community Holiday Art Exhibition

Racine, WI  November 15, 2019

Open to the public with paid Racine Art Museum (RAM) admission, the RAM Awesome Art Sale will be held on Saturday, November 23, 2019, from 10:00 am until 8:00 pm at RAM. The museum will offer free admission from 4:00 pm until 8:00 pm as part of the Downtown Racine Art Walk (DRAW)—a great opportunity to visit the many unique galleries and workshops throughout downtown Racine.

Each year, RAM organizes a sale of artworks to place pieces it cannot use into the hands of the public. The RAM Awesome Art Sale is both a fundraising event and an opportunity to encourage more people to collect museum-quality art. The sale includes works in a variety of media including painting, works on paper, ceramics, glass, fibers, decorative items, and vintage costume jewelry.

A variety of RAM supporters, including individuals, corporations, foundations, and artists, donate, on average, more than 500 artworks each year. Many of these pieces enter the permanent collections of RAM and RAM’s Wustum Museum of Fine Arts, and are regularly used in RAM’s changing exhibitions. Some works, however, do not fit the museum’s specific collection criteria. The museum also receives gifts—especially in the case of limited edition graphics—that duplicate works already in the collection or replicate the kinds of works RAM already has by the same artists. In addition, artists donate their own works with the request that they be sold to raise funds to support programs and collection care. This annual fall art sale offers the public the chance to acquire something for their home or work environment that appeals to them. All art sale purchases significantly help RAM produce exhibition and education programs and care for the collection.

“We see this as a great opportunity to make storage space available at the museum, while encouraging people to take part in collecting artwork as an educational process and an enjoyable and rewarding experience,” said RAM’s Executive Director and Curator of Collections Bruce W. Pepich. He added, “These pieces have many fine qualities and can easily fit into an existing home environment or become the first piece of original art to enter your home. Either way, we think this is a unique opportunity to own museum-quality art that inspires you at a sale that truly is awesome.

The artists represented have local, regional, and national reputations. Prices range from $10 to over $850, depending on the reputation of the artist, the materials used, and the size of the work.

The museum is offering an exclusive art sale preview to its members and supporters on Friday, November 22, from 10:00 am until 7:00 pm. There will also be a reception to debut the presentation of The Art of AdORNAMENTS, Wrappins’ and Greetins’ 2019, from 5:00 pm until 7:00 pm. The objects in this annual open competition of holiday-inspired ornaments, wrapped packages, and greeting cards are created by artists, creatives, and hobbyists from Racine and across the region. Prizes will be awarded at the opening reception, which is free to RAM members and to the public with paid admission. The Art of AdORNAMENTS includes ornament-sized holiday decorations created in a wide range of materials such as ceramics, stitched and knitted fibers, glass, painted wood, and paper. The gift-wrapped packages and greeting cards also demonstrate how many different materials can be used for these purposes.

“The goal of this competition is to demonstrate many different ways of creating collectible decorations for one’s own use or to give as gifts and to assist RAM in giving its holiday season visitors an enjoyable way to celebrate,” said Pepich.

Exhibitions at Racine Art Museum are made possible by: Platinum Sponsors — Anonymous, Windgate Foundation; Diamond Sponsors — David Charak, National Endowment for the Arts, Osborne and Scekic Family Foundation, Ruffo Family Foundation Inc.; Gold Sponsors — Anonymous, Tom and Irene Creecy, David Flegel, Herzfeld Foundation, Johnson Bank, Racine Community Foundation, Trio Foundation of St. Louis, Twin Disc, W.T. Walker Group, Inc.; Silver Sponsors — A.C. Buhler Family, Andis Foundation, Evinrude Outboard Motors, Lucy G. Feller, Dorothy MacVicar, Real Racine, We Energies Foundation, Wisconsin Arts Board; Bronze Sponsors — Andis Company, John Cram and Matt Chambers, Barbara Delaney, David and Ellen Easley, Educators Credit Union, Eye Care Center of Waterford, The Furniture Society, Fredrick and Deborah Ganaway, William A. Guenther, Kirsten and Emily Maki Foundation, The Norbell Foundation, Charles H. Patton and Family in Memory of Joan S. Patton, Janna and Dr. Edward Waldeck, Bill and Mary Walker; Media Sponsors — 88Nine Radio Milwaukee, Wisconsin Public Radio.

Together, the two campuses of the Racine Art Museum, RAM in downtown Racine at 441 Main Street and the Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts at 2519 Northwestern Avenue, seek to elevate the stature of contemporary crafts to that of fine art by exhibiting significant works in craft media with painting, sculpture, and photography, while providing outstanding educational art programming.

Docent-led contemporary craft and architectural tours of the museums are available. Both campuses of the Racine Art Museum, are open Tuesday – Saturday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm, and are closed Mondays, Federal holidays and Easter. RAM is open Sunday Noon – 5:00 pm, while Wustum is closed Sundays. An admission fee of $7 for adults, with reduced fees for students and seniors, applies at RAM. Admission to Wustum is free. Members are always admitted without charge to either campus.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.