A stuffed animal with a dress and a red heart sits on top of a cutting board and a book. The book is called "Soft Sculpture from Scraps".
Janet Mrazek
Suzy-Q, I Love You!, 2025
Fabric, polyfil, buttons, thread, wood, and book
Photography: Tyler Potter

Awakening the Senses: Art that Invites Interaction

June 11 – August 9, 2025
at RAM’s Wustum Museum

While traditional museum etiquette expects visitors to observe from a distance, Awakening the Senses: Art that Invites Interaction encourages guests to break from convention. Activating the senses beyond sight alone, these 26 works by artists in RAM’s community encourage close connections through various combinations of touch, sound, and smell.

Explore the galleries by feeling, trying on, adding to or subtracting from, listening to, or smelling works specifically created to awaken the senses.

More About the Exhibition

Exhibition Checklist (PDF)

Press Room

Caledonia: Martha Hawes, Samantha Nelson; Chevy Chase, MD: Rachel Carren; Chicago, IL: Wallace Bowling; Cudahy: Emily Brownell; Ferguson, MO: Betty Jane Lau; Glendale: Fred Stein; Green Bay:Samantha Morgan; Kenosha: Betsy Davis, Carol Klees-Starks, Leah Mathews, Andrea Mickelson, Dyan Tishuk; Milwaukee: Resa Dries, Katelyn Mitchell; Mount Pleasant: Caroline Neal; Racine: Kelly Darrah, Lisa Englander, Alexander Greiveldinger, Ann Henkes, Jennifer Janzer, Karissa Lee, Janet Mrazek, Sarah Russell, Stephen Smiley, Kelly Witte; Spring Prairie: Veronica Gagliano Averkamp

Awakening the Senses: Art that Invites Interaction

June 11 – August 9, 2025
at RAM’s Wustum Museum
A stuffed animal with a dress and a red heart sits on top of a cutting board and a book. The book is called "Soft Sculpture from Scraps".
Janet Mrazek
Suzy-Q, I Love You!, 2025
Fabric, polyfil, buttons, thread, wood, and book
Photography: Tyler Potter

While traditional museum etiquette expects visitors to observe from a distance, Awakening the Senses: Art that Invites Interaction encourages guests to break from convention. Activating the senses beyond sight alone, these 26 works by artists in RAM’s community encourage close connections through various combinations of touch, sound, and smell.

Explore the galleries by feeling, trying on, adding to or subtracting from, listening to, or smelling works specifically created to awaken the senses.

More About the Exhibition

Exhibition Checklist (PDF)

Press Room

Caledonia: Martha Hawes, Samantha Nelson; Chevy Chase, MD: Rachel Carren; Chicago, IL: Wallace Bowling; Cudahy: Emily Brownell; Ferguson, MO: Betty Jane Lau; Glendale: Fred Stein; Green Bay:Samantha Morgan; Kenosha: Betsy Davis, Carol Klees-Starks, Leah Mathews, Andrea Mickelson, Dyan Tishuk; Milwaukee: Resa Dries, Katelyn Mitchell; Mount Pleasant: Caroline Neal; Racine: Kelly Darrah, Lisa Englander, Alexander Greiveldinger, Ann Henkes, Jennifer Janzer, Karissa Lee, Janet Mrazek, Sarah Russell, Stephen Smiley, Kelly Witte; Spring Prairie: Veronica Gagliano Averkamp

Sample of Work in the Exhibition

Click/tap an image for more information

A rain stick with purple cloth and then bedazzled with shiny squares.
A welcome mat with five different kinds of apes' faces, including a human. It reads "GET YOUR FEET OFF ME YOU FILTHY APE!"
A sculpture of a cat. It has many waves and layers but uses minimal color. It mainly has an earthy sand with dripping streaks of red, brown, and orange.
Walace Bowling, Makes Me Laugh
Resa Dries, Coral Reef
A box opens up into a trifold with a fox chasing a rabbit through a forest.

Exhibitions at RAM are made possible by:

Platinum Partners

Anonymous
The Estate of Karen Johnson Boyd
Ron and Judith Isaacs
Racine Community Foundation logo
The Estate of Marilyn Rothschild
Windgate Foundation

Diamond Partners

David Charak
Ruffo Family Foundation
Ruth Arts Foundation
Diane Zebell

Gold Partners

Judith and David Flegel Fund
Osborne and Scekic Family Foundation
Reliance Controls Community Fund
W.T. Walker Group, Inc.

Silver Partners

Anonymous
Anonymous
Bader Philanthropies
Baird
A.C. Buhler Family
Dave’s Wine Garage
Paula and E.L. Donovitz Memorial Endowment Fund
Ben and Dawn Flegel
Tom Harty
Horizon Retail Construction, Inc.
Johnson Financial Group
Robert E. Kohler Jr. Fund
Luanne Frey and Mark Lukow
Sheri and Frank Sullivan
Wisconsin Arts Board

Bronze Partners

Sandy and Gus Antonneau
Carol Baylon
Susan Boland
Rose and Peter Christensen
Educators Credit Union
Carol Griseto
Julia Ann Oas and Don Gloo
Hitter’s Baseball
Debbie and Chuck Hoffman
Susan and Dan Horton
Gary Van Wert and Ronald Jacquart
Paula Kalke
Bill and Debbie Keland
Nancy Kurten
Susan Manalli
Norbell Foundation
O&H Danish Bakery
Rita Petretti
Rasmussen Diamonds
SC Johnson
Harold and Lois Solberg
Twin Disc
Marc J. Wollman
Amy and Robb Woulfe

Media Sponsor

Radio Milwaukee

Stay in Touch

The Racine Art Museum and RAM’s Wustum Museum work together to serve as a community resource, with spaces for discovery, creation, and connection. Keep up to date on everything happening at both museum campuses—and beyond—by subscribing to our email newsletter:

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