Photo credit: David E. Jackson
Bruce Pepich, director of the Racine Art Museum
The Racine Art Museum (RAM) has the largest contemporary craft collection in the United States, with 9,500 pieces from internationally renowned artists. Driving the unique collection is Bruce Pepich, who became the museum’s director in 1981. RAM has always been a fixture in Racine, drawing approximately 60,000 visitors annually, according to a recent National Endowment for the Arts article. Along with its sibling—the Wustum Museum of Fine Arts—RAM hosts work by world famous artists such as Dale Chihuly and holds many diverse events. Pepich spoke with Off the Cuff about the museum and his role.
How did you come to join the Racine Art Museum?
Forty-five years ago, I applied for a job at the Wustum Museum. They were looking for someone to organize art exhibits and run the art sales, along with a couple of other programs. I was on my way to graduate school and had finished my undergraduate work early in January. I was looking for a job to tide me over until I returned to school. I applied for the job and got it. I realized I was getting paid for things I would not be paid to do in a graduate school internship. I stayed for a couple more years, and it ended up becoming a lifelong commitment.
What drew you to the world of contemporary crafts in particular?
When I was in college in the early ’70s, there were exhibitions across the country at university campuses, and they would host print drawing and craft competitions. Our student union had one of those competitions every year, and we were buying work from those shows for the university’s collection. I got the job of being curator for the collection, so I had exposure to lots of ceramic, fiber and glass pieces. I became very interested in what was going on in the American craft field.
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What inspired the beginning of your community outreach events?
Even when we were just Wustum Museum with one campus, we were always interested in education. We had studio classes, hands-on opportunities for the public and three shifts of classes for factory workers. In the ’80s, we started doing educational outreach programs with elementary students from both public and private schools. Once we started one program and saw how well it was received, we realized that many didn’t have time to take an eight-week class. You have to go out and find people where they work, learn and play. When we built RAM, it made things like downtown Racine’s “First Fridays” a great opportunity for us to have drop-in work sessions for families—things that would introduce the public to art.
How do special events benefit the museum? Is there an event that you are particularly fond of?
We have one called SAVOUR which started last year. We pair up a local chef with a local artist, and they talk. The chef comes up with a menu item that looks like the artist’s work or has the same feelings. We then have a party where the public can meet the artist and chef. It shows different kinds of visual creativity and shows that both are creative people. We’re trying to have people learn more about what’s in their own community. We do these events to bring people in and make a bigger family of supporters and, hopefully, turn a profit we can use to underwrite our programs.
What do you think appeals to people about the museum?
I think they like the fact that we have things here that show handwork. We all live with pottery and textiles at home. I think we bring a lot of our personal history to what we see, and we have a lot of functional things like teapots and goblets in the collection. You could look at a teapot piece and say, “I know what a teapot looks like, but look what this artist has done with the idea of a teapot.” It brings people into the conversation. People like that; they get to see things they don’t see at other museums in the area.
What are some of the museum’s accomplishments that you’re most proud of?
I’m proud that we have 60,000 visitors every year to the two campuses from a city of 70,000 people; this means we are serving a lot of people in the Racine community and drawing people from the Chicago, Milwaukee and Madison areas as well. We bring people from more than 40 different states and 20 different countries each year to the museum. It introduces Racine to a lot of people and makes people feel more proud to live here.
What are some future goals for the museum? What’s the plan going forward?
We’re looking at ways to make our programs, and what we do, more accessible to more people. We’re trying to organize exhibitions that we think people will find topical but also inspire them to think more. We’re trying to make people think of RAM as the community living room: a place where they can hang out or bring friends from out of town. We want to make it a part of people’s social lives.
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