RAM Artist Fellowship and Emerging Artist Exhibition 2023

Opening at Racine Art Museum’s (RAM’s) Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts (Wustum) on August 23, the RAM Artist Fellowship and Emerging Artist Exhibition 2023 offers a series of concurrent solo shows featuring the work of five Racine and Kenosha artists—Peter F. Aymonin, Lisa Bigalke, Maureen Fritchen, Jojin Van Winkle, and Kelly Witte. This exhibition will remain on display through November 25, 2023.

Sponsored by a grant from the Osborne and Scekic Family Foundation, the RAM Artist Fellowship Program highlights the diversity and vitality of the Racine/Kenosha visual arts community. Now in its sixth biennial exhibition, this program increases critical attention and exposure for recipients and fosters their continued creative professional development.

The five award recipients were chosen based on how well their work will present individually and as a group, among other criteria. According to Lena Vigna, Curator of Exhibitions at RAM and Wustum, jurors consider several aspects of the artists’ work and careers throughout the selection process:

“There is a conscious effort to try to represent multiple genders and age ranges. In addition, there is an attempt to reflect commonalities or dynamics among artists. In 2022-23, for example, both Peter F. Aymonin and Maureen Fritchen address the natural world without directly representing it. Maureen Fritchen and Lisa Bigalke, in their own ways, address the environment and sustainability. Lisa Bigalke and Emerging Artist Kelly Witte both use printmaking processes and colorful patterns but to two very different ends. And, Jojin Van Winkle sets a totally different tone with video work that addresses everyday life but brings nature in via imagery of the outdoors. As a whole, there is a give and take between the work even when individual bodies of work also stand up on their own.”

Opening Reception 

The public is invited to meet the artists featured in the RAM Artist Fellowship and Emerging Artist Exhibition 2023during the Opening Reception on Tuesday, August 29, 6:00 – 8:00 pm. Attendees can chat with these five exceptional artists about their work and creative processes as they view an intimate glimpse of the exhibition at Wustum, located at 2519 Northwestern Avenue in Racine.

About the Artists

Peter F. Aymonin is originally from Miami, Florida; presently he lives in Sturtevant, Wisconsin. He received his BFA in 1991 from the Rhode Island School of Design. Much of Aymonin’s professional career was spent in journalism where he worked as a reporter for the Chicago Tribune in Illinois and the Sun Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. His articles covered topics such as art, culture, and law. Ultimately, Aymonin advanced to serve as a junior level editor. Exhibiting throughout Wisconsin and Florida, Aymonin was recently honored in 2022 with a First Prize award from a national juried exhibition in Coral Gables, Florida. He also received an honorable mention in 2022 for a piece included in the University of Wisconsin–Parkside’s exhibition, Together Again. Aymonin’s work is included in Marquette University Neuro Recovery Clinic’s collection as well as in several private collections.

Throughout her career, printmaker Lisa Bigalke has exhibited her work in 17 solo, 99 national, and four international biennial exhibitions. In 1996, Bigalke earned her BA from the University of Wisconsin–Parkside, Somers. In 2000, she received her MFA in Studio Art, with a concentration in printmaking, from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. Currently she teaches printmaking and crafts at Carthage College, Kenosha. In both 2016 and 2022, Bigalke was awarded a RAM Artist Fellowship. For the last six years, she has co-organized Full Steam Ahead, an annual steamroller printing project that occurs at RAM’s Wustum Museum. Bigalke formed Rudbeckia Press, a bookbinding business using archival and eco-friendly materials, with her sister, Becky, in 2007. 2022 career highlights included being interviewed for the ArtSpace podcast hosted by Lemon Street Gallery, Kenosha, Wisconsin. 

Born in Chicago, Maureen Fritchen currently lives and works in Racine, where she has had a studio at the 16th Street Studios for the past 15 years. Fritchen took a self-directed approach to art scholarship, focusing on painting at various institutions including the American Academy of Art in Chicago, Illinois; University of Wisconsin–Whitewater; and Boise State University, Idaho. She regularly shows in regional juried, invitational, and biennial exhibitions such as the Wisconsin Artists Biennial, Rockford Art Museum, Illinois. Most recently, beginning in 2022 and extending into 2023, her work was featured in the Museum of Wisconsin Art’s exhibition Magical Wilderness. Fritchen’s community art activism has spanned the last 25 years, earning her the Volunteer of the Year Award for Art and Culture from the Volunteer Center of Racine County, Inc. She was founder and co-chair for ArtSite and Get Behind the Arts Studio Tour and the chairperson for the 16th Street Studios annual open house. Fritchen served on the Racine Arts Council board as the gallery chair and on the University of Wisconsin—Parkside Arts and Humanities Advisory Board. She is currently involved with ArtRoot, a Racine organization building arts infrastructure and community connections.  

Jojin Van Winkle is a multimedia artist, experimental filmmaker, and screenwriter based in southeastern Wisconsin. As Assistant Professor of Art at Carthage College, she directs the Photography and Film and New Media Program. She has a BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois; an MFA, and an MA from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Van Winkle is also a National College Art Association’s Professional Practices Committee Member. Van Winkle has undertaken international and national artist residencies and received numerous grants and awards, including Chicago’s Community Arts Assistance Program (CAAP); WAICU’s 2019 Equity in the Classroom, and faculty research grants. She has had multiple solo exhibitions and has had work screened globally at festivals and museums. Van Winkle worked on the 2016 Liberian land rights documentary titled The Land Beneath Our Feet as the Associate Producer with additional camerawork. She was the United States-based cinematographer for the 2015 PBS/Independent Lens documentary, In the Shadow of Ebola. Both award-winning documentaries were screened at international and national festivals. 

Racine-based artist, Kelly Witte, graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Parkside, Somers, in 2010 with a BA in Studio Art with concentrations in printmaking and painting. Witte takes a maximalist approach—creating kitschy and vividly colored pieces inspired by vintage clothing, classic television sitcoms, and frequent excursions to thrift shops and flea markets. Witte has volunteered her talents to public art exhibitions and large-scale mural projects in the Racine and Kenosha communities. In addition to exhibiting extensively in Southeastern Wisconsin, she has exhibited across the United States and in international venues, including the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands, Sweden, Poland, and Australia. Witte’s artwork is held in several private collections throughout the United States and she has had her artwork featured in publications such as Teen Vogue, Huffington Post, and The Columbia Chronicle. 

Further information about this year’s featured artists as well as general information about the RAM Artist Fellowship and Emerging Artist Awards are available on the RAM website, ramart.org. 

Exhibitions at Racine Art Museum are made possible by: Platinum Sponsors—The Estate of Karen Johnson Boyd, David Charak, Judith and David Flegel Fund, Institute of Museum and Library Services, Ron and Judith Isaacs, Nicholas and Nancy Kurten, Racine Community Foundation, Windgate Foundation; Diamond Sponsors—City of Racine’s Grow Racine Grant, Osborne and Scekic Family Foundation, Ruffo Family Foundation, Ruth Arts Foundation; Gold Sponsors—Anonymous, Tom and Irene Creecy, Richard and Patricia Ehlert, Herzfeld Foundation, Reliance Controls, Trio Foundation of St. Louis, W.T. Walker Group, Inc., Wisconsin Arts Board; Silver Sponsors—Anonymous, Art Bridges, Baird, A.C. Buhler Family, Lucy G. Feller, Ben and Dawn Flegel, Jim Harris, Sharon and Tom Harty, Lise Iwon, J. Jeffers & Co., Johnson Bank, Dorothy MacVicar, Jan Serr and John Shannon, Visit Racine County; Bronze Sponsors—Ellen and Joseph Albrecht, Andis Foundation, Susan Boland, Virginia Buhler, Butcher & Barrel/Amos Los Tacos, Educators Credit Union, Express Employment Professionals, Tony and Andrea Hauser, Bill and Debbie Keland, Susan Manalli, Jean and Alex Mandli, Jr., The Prairie School, Cathy Stanghellini, Georgiana Treivush, Twin Disc, Inc.; Media Sponsors—88Nine Radio Milwaukee, Wisconsin Public Radio.