Culture and Traditions Reflected in Upcoming Community Art Exhibition

Expressions of cultural connections and traditions can take the form of many things—including food, literature, dance, craft forms, and visual art. Different societies, and individuals and groups within them, have various ways of reflecting significant aspects of their heritage. Open June 15 through August 13, 2022 at Racine Art Museum's (RAM's) Wustum Museum of Fine Arts, Cultural Reflections: RAM Community Art Show showcases work by 87 artists that used a wide variety of media to explore aspects of their culture, heritage, family traditions, or way of life. Through paintings, prints, collages, objects, and more, these artists share their inspirations, influences, and observations about the world connected to them. The wide variety of subject matter and imagery reflects the uniqueness of each maker.

Cultural Reflections is comprised of work drawn from RAM’s creative community of class participants and teachers, museum staff and volunteers, Racine school teachers, and artists invited by the Black Arts Council of Racine (BACR). Committed to supporting diverse artists, voices, and audiences, RAM collaborated with the BACR to develop Cultural Reflections.

"In addition to celebrating art in the community, this exhibition has allowed RAM to do critical relationship-building with the BACR—setting the stage for future collaboration," says Lena Vigna, RAM Curator of Exhibitions. "Significantly, the partnership has also offered different and valuable perspectives on programming content. RAM recognizes the necessity of embracing a wealth of voices and continues to develop various ways to make that happen."

The exhibition theme was inspired, in part, by the work of Haitian-born artist Edouard Duval-Carrié whose piece entitled, Lost at Sea is on loan to RAM for display in Blurry Boundaries: Contemporary Artists, Imagination, and the Spaces Between through August 27, 2022. Looking at historical paintings that provide a romanticized view of the Caribbean, Duval-Carrié created an imaginary landscape emphasizing the importance of the area's cultural identity.

Exhibitions at Racine Art Museum are made possible by: Platinum Sponsors—Judith and David Flegel Fund, Ron and Judith Isaacs, Nicholas and Nancy Kurten, Wingate Foundation; Diamond Sponsors—Osborne and Scekic Family Foundation, Ruffo Family Foundation; Gold Sponsors—Anonymous, David Charak, Tom and Irene Creecy, Herzfeld Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Racine Community Foundation, Reliance Controls, Trio Foundation of St. Louis, W.T. Walker Group, Inc., Wisconsin Arts Board; Silver Sponsors—A.C. Buhler Family, Andis Foundation, Lucy G. Feller, Ben and Dawn Flegel, Annette Hirsch Family, Dorothy MacVicar, RDK Foundation, Inc., Real Racine, Jann Serr and John Shannon, Twin Disc, Inc.; Bronze Sponsors—Anonymous, Baird, Susan Boland, Virginia Buhler, Educators Credit Union, Fredrick and Deborah Ganaway, Get Behind the Arts Studio Tour, William A. Guenther, Tom and Sharon Harty, Andrea and Tony Hauser, David and Judy Hecker, Bradley Lynch, Carlotta Miller, Larry and Barbara Newman, The Norbell Foundation, Deb and Willard Walker; Media Sponsors—88Nine Radio Milwaukee, Wisconsin Public Radio.

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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.

Both campuses of the Racine Art Museum are currently operating with limited hours, open Wednesday through Saturday from Noon to 4:00 pm. Both museums encourage all visitors and staff who are not fully vaccinated, and those who feel more comfortable wearing a mask, to continue doing so in public areas at RAM and RAM's Wustum Museum of Fine Arts. Masks are still required for some in-person art classes and workshops at Wustum.