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.
(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
(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.
Application Requirements
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
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.
Photography: Kevin J. Miyazaki
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 Artists of the Year 2022 award from the Milwaukee Arts Board. She collaborates with other artists and strongly believes in investing energy into her immediate community while also considering the global. She a mentor for the Milwaukee Artists Resource Network. She periodically curates exhibitions that bring people from different cultures and backgrounds together.
Photography: Camela Langendorf, Varitay Studios
Lena Vigna is currently Curator 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.
