RAM’s Wustum Museum of Fine Arts Reopens to the Public on September 2

In response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Racine Art Museum (RAM) and RAM’s Wustum Museum of Fine Arts temporarily closed their doors back in March. RAM recently reopened its downtown Racine campus to the public on August 5 after nearly five months of closure, and now, RAM’s Wustum Museum will reopen the Northwestern Avenue museum on Wednesday, September 2.

Similar to the downtown Racine campus, RAM’s Wustum Museum is resuming operation with limited hours, open each Wednesday through Saturday from Noon to 4:00 pm. The museums are monitoring the current health situation and will phase into traditional operating hours when it is safe to do so.

To promote safe social distancing, RAM’s Wustum Museum is limiting the number of museum guests to 25 people at any one time. Those who arrive after reaching this occupancy limit will be invited to leave their cell phone number with reception staff, and will receive a phone call—in order of arrival—once there is vacancy.

Museum staff established in-depth sanitation procedures for both public and private spaces to ensure a safe environment for guests. Public spaces are cleaned each morning prior to opening, and high-contact items such as door handles and countertops are sanitized multiple times throughout the day. Staff and visitors to RAM’s Wustum Museum are required to wear a face mask at all times.

Opening alongside the museum is the biennial exhibition Wisconsin Photography 2020—a statewide competition organized by the museum since 1979. Featuring 85 pieces from 30 Wisconsin photographers, this year’s show will be on view through November 28, 2020.

The juried exhibition received online submissions from all over the state. Of 1040 pieces submitted by 104 artists, approximately one-third of the artists were accepted into this year’s show. The exhibition’s juror, Lisa Volpe, is the Associate Curator of Photography at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas.

Since attendance usually surpasses the current Wustum capacity of 25 visitors for this event, a virtual opening reception and awards ceremony will be held online this year. The public is invited to join this event—held on Tuesday, September 1 at 6:00 pm—via the video conference app Zoom. A link to participate will be available at ramart.org near the end of August.

Further information regarding safety protocols and current exhibitions are also available on the museum website, ramart.org.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.