RAM
The Racine Art Museum (RAM) is located in downtown Racine, Wisconsin. RAM defines its mission as “to elevate the stature of craft to fine arts by presenting collections of ceramics, fibers, glass, metals and wood alongside painting and sculpture based on similarities in artist’s concepts, rather than strict media categorization. The museum plans to continue to collect work of artists who illustrate the diversity of expression and culture. By focusing on education and community outreach, RAM works to present visitors with opportunities to understand, experience and learn about the value of contemporary craft as fine art.”
RAM was first conceived when Wustum’s galleries could exhibit no more than just 10% of the growing collection a year. The construction of RAM was facilitated by two large donations from the SC Johnson Fund and M&I Bank of Racine. The RAM Museum Store opened on November 17, 2002 and the grand opening of the entire museum was May 11, 2003.
RAM’s architecture is a continuation of a rich architectural tradition in the city of Racine. Designed by the award-winning firm, Brininstool & Lynch, the museum features 46,000 square feet (4,300 m2) of space devoted to galleries, an art library, a sculpture courtyard and a collections storage and care area. The outside of the building features an exterior clad in translucent acrylic panels. The panels are an interesting architectural point of interest and create an aesthetic “exoskeleton” for the building. The acrylic facade is lighted from dusk until 10 p.m. The building’s architecture also features qualities meant to interact with the larger community, such as large frameless windows along the sidewalks to accommodate displays of artwork, which stimulate the public to interact with the artists’ work. The building also was created with environmentally friendly concepts, such as the floor backing being created out of recycled rubber from automobile tires.
The two museum campuses are still an integral part of Racine’s community. RAM’s Wustum Museum continues to feature regional and local artists while carrying on the tradition of hosting the museum’s arts education and community out-reach programs – the largest of its kind in the state of Wisconsin. RAM features artists with national and international reputations and rotating exhibitions from its collection of contemporary crafts and works on paper.
Read more about this topic: Racine Art Museum
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