Christopher Johns Tone Poems1 Crop

RAM Artist Fellowships and Emerging Artist Award

Presented by the Osborne and Scekic Family Foundation

Digital Entry Deadline: 4:00 CDT on Monday, January 22, 2024

The Mission

To showcase the diversity and vitality of the Racine/Kenosha visual arts community by supporting the professional development of its artists.

The Goal

To distinguish the region as a place that values the arts, and enhance the area’s desirability as a place for artists to work and live.

If you have questions or want to be placed on a mailing list, please contact RAM Curatorial Assistant Katelyn Mitchell at [email protected] or by calling 262.619.3541.

2022–23 Recipients

The four Fellowship recipients and the Emerging Artist were selected based on quality of artwork submitted representing a range of styles and media.

Congratulations to:

Peter F. Aymonin, Racine, Ceramics

Lisa Bigalke, Kenosha, Printmaking

Maureen Fritchen, Racine, Mixed Media

Jojin Van Winkle, Racine, Film and Photography

Kelly Witte (Emerging Artist), Racine, Printmaking and Painting

2022–23 Recipients

Photography: Varitay Studios

The four Fellowship recipients and the Emerging Artist were selected based on quality of artwork submitted representing a range of styles and media.

Congratulations to:

Peter F. Aymonin, Racine, Ceramics

Lisa Bigalke, Kenosha, Printmaking

Maureen Fritchen, Racine, Mixed Media

Jojin Van Winkle, Racine, Film and Photography

Kelly Witte (Emerging Artist), Racine, Printmaking and Painting

Fellowship and Emerging Artist Awards

These competitive awards recognize artists, at all stages of their careers, who are creating outstanding work in all media including painting/drawing, printmaking, photography, bookmaking, sculpture, installation, film/video, fibers, glass, metals, wood, and ceramics.

By increasing critical attention and exposure for recipients, the fellowships seek to foster their continued artistic and professional development.

Four $3,000 Artist Fellowships and one $1,500 Emerging Artist Award will be presented, which may be used for any expenses that will assist in the development of new work and advance their artistic careers, e.g. equipment and supply purchases, studio rental, travel, etc.

All five recipients will be featured in solo exhibitions presented concurrently at RAM’s Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts. A full-color exhibition catalogue will be printed to accompany the RAM Artist Fellowship and Emerging Artist Exhibition 2025, August 20 – November 22, 2025.

Fellowship 2024 25 Postcard
(Left to right) Kimberly Greene, Equilateral Brick Series 1 (detail), 2013; Diane Levesque, Dissolution of His Complexities (detail), 2015; Martin Antaramian, Cherry Waltz II (detail), 2015; Marilyn Propp, Free Fall X (detail), 2018; Marc Travanti, Don Lemon drawn on Female Terracotta Head (detail), 2020

Fellowship and Emerging Artist Awards

Fellowship 2024 25 Postcard
(Left to right) Kimberly Greene, Equilateral Brick Series 1 (detail), 2013; Diane Levesque, Dissolution of His Complexities (detail), 2015; Martin Antaramian, Cherry Waltz II (detail), 2015; Marilyn Propp, Free Fall X (detail), 2018; Marc Travanti, Don Lemon drawn on Female Terracotta Head (detail), 2020

These competitive awards recognize artists, at all stages of their careers, who are creating outstanding work in all media including painting/drawing, printmaking, photography, bookmaking, sculpture, installation, film/video, fibers, glass, metals, wood, and ceramics.

By increasing critical attention and exposure for recipients, the fellowships seek to foster their continued artistic and professional development.

Four $3,000 Artist Fellowships and one $1,500 Emerging Artist Award will be presented, which may be used for any expenses that will assist in the development of new work and advance their artistic careers, e.g. equipment and supply purchases, studio rental, travel, etc.

All five recipients will be featured in solo exhibitions presented concurrently at RAM’s Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts. A full-color exhibition catalogue will be printed to accompany the RAM Artist Fellowship and Emerging Artist Exhibition 2025, August 20 – November 22, 2025.

Artist Eligibility and Selection

The eligibility requirements for applying have changed over time as new dynamics emerge. For this reason, interested artists are encouraged to review the criteria for each cycle as an aspect previously rendering someone ineligible may have changed.

  • Four fellowship recipients will be selected based on the quality of artwork submitted and will represent a range of styles. Applicants must be over 21 years of age and not currently enrolled in a degree program.

  • An Emerging Artist Award will be given to an artist who is between the ages of 21 and 39 on January 13, 2024 and cannot be currently enrolled in a degree-granting program.

    • Applicants must specify during the application process whether or not they would also like to be considered for the Emerging Artist Award.
  • Visual artists at all stages of their careers who reside anywhere in Racine and Kenosha counties are eligible. All art media are eligible.

  • RAM full-time employees are not eligible to apply.

  • Past RAM Artist Fellowship/Emerging Artist Award recipients are welcome to apply again but not for the term immediately following the term during which they won (i.e. if an artist was an award winner in 2022, they cannot apply again until 2026).

  • Jurying results will be publicly announced on April 8, 2024.

Application Requirements

  • Include artist statement (no more than 300 words).

  • Include artist resume (no more than 600 words).

  • Upload 10 .JPG images of your artwork saved at 300 dpi resolution, at least 1800 pixels on the longest side, and with a file size no larger than 3 MB each.

    • RAM staff will request re-submission for any images that fall below these requirements.
    • Each image must be labeled according to the instructions on the application.
    • Jurors select winners based on submitted digital images—no physical artwork is judged.
    • All submission materials become the property of Racine Art Museum.
  • All application materials must be received no later than deadline date.

  • Incomplete applications will be disqualified.

As this is all a digitally-oriented process, good photography of work submitted is an absolute must. Applicants need to present their work in its best light to jurors who may not be familiar with it. In addition, the quality of the initial photography speaks to the capability of the applicants to provide publishable quality photography of their work at various stages during the process leading up to the RAM Artist Fellowship and Emerging Artist Exhibition. This does not mean that the artists must pay to have their work professionally photographed at every stage—there is a photo studio at RAM’s Wustum Museum that can be scheduled for a small fee if an artist wants to begin and/or develop their skills for documenting their own artwork.

2024 Jurors

Mutopejj Headshot 2023 Sm
Photography: Courtesy of the Artist

A Milwaukee Bronzeville native, Mutòpe J. Johnson has been deeply involved in the visual arts, while simultaneously producing art in the interest of the African Diaspora, African American History, and the preservation of culturally relevant built environments. Johnson currently serves as Director of Creative Engagement and Partnerships for Bronzeville Center for the Arts, where he helps shape the organization as an artist and cultural leader. A nationally recognized figurative painter, Johnson’s body of work elevates historical traces of African American individuals and culture through imagination, archival research, and creative storytelling. He is also a former arts educator at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater in the arts + communications department.

Johnson has been commissioned by corporations, private collectors, and museums, and has exhibited his work extensively throughout the country.

2020 Nohlfellows Headshots Larsen
Photography: Vaughn Larson

Nirmal Raja is an interdisciplinary artist living and working in Milwaukee, She had lived in India, South Korea, and Hong Kong before immigrating to the United States thirty years ago. She holds a BA in English Literature from St. Francis College in Hyderabad, India; a BFA from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, and an MFA from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. She has participated in solo and group shows in the Midwest, nationally, and internationally. She is the recipient of several awards including “Graduate of The Decade” from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Raja received the Mary L. Nohl Fellowship for individual artists for the year 2020 and the Mildred L. Harpole Artist of the Year 2022 award from the Milwaukee Arts Board. She is currently an artist-in-residence at the 2023 John Michael Kohler Arts Center Arts/Industry Residency Program. She collaborates with other artists and strongly believes in investing energy into her immediate community while also considering the global. She is a mentor for the Milwaukee Artists Resource Network and periodically curates exhibitions that bring people from different cultures and backgrounds together.

Lena Vigna By Camela Langendorf
Photography: Camela Langendorf, Varitay Studios

Lena Vigna is currently Director of Exhibitions at the Racine Art Museum, where she curates and oversees the production and implementation of 10-15 exhibitions per year and heads the department. Vigna has a particular interest in the contemporary fields of adornment, sculpture, fiber, and installation.

Robert Osborne is co-founder of OS Projects, a contemporary art gallery in downtown Racine, Wisconsin. He is also a founding member of ArtRoot, a Racine grassroots initiative seeking to build arts infrastructure, foster connections, and facilitate collaborations among local creatives.

Vera Scekic is the director of OS Projects, a founding member of ArtRoot, and a respected visual artist. Scekic has exhibited her paintings, drawings, and installations at art centers, galleries, and museums throughout the US.

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