On Wednesday, April 9, the Racine Art Museum (RAM) will present the sixteenth edition of a popular, non-traditional exhibition showcasing art made from or inspired by colorful PEEPS® Brand marshmallow candy. Open through April 26, RAM PEEPS® Brand Art Exhibition 2025 features a record-breaking amount of creative and entertaining entries demonstrating the talent of artists from across the country.

This year, more than 180 pieces will be on display, which RAM Curatorial Assistant Katelyn Mitchell notes is the largest amount the museum has ever received. With pieces spanning a wide range of subject matter, materials, and construction techniques, she guarantees that "visitors of all ages are sure to find something they’ll enjoy in this unique exhibition."

Curating an exhibition that showcases PEEPS® marshmallow candy as subject material and media is somewhat unexpected for a museum. However, the concept of working with unusual materials is supported by RAM's mission to exhibit, collect, preserve, and educate in the field of contemporary craft—a subset of art that focuses on handmade work created traditionally from ceramic, fiber, glass, metal, polymer, and wood. The idea that artists sometimes utilize and experiment with materials produced for purposes other than art-making can be seen throughout RAM's exhibitions and many works in the museum's permanent collection—the largest contemporary craft collection in North America.

Over the years, many PEEPS® Brand Art Exhibition entrants have become experts in creating with marshmallow candy as a material, using methods like carving, painting, hole punching, gluing, and melting to manipulate PEEPS® marshmallow candy into incredible shapes. While the seasonal sugared marshmallow is still the most common material, the sixteenth-anniversary show also includes pieces made in various other media, like repurposed drum kit shells, fiber, photography, and more.

On Tuesday, April 8, at 6:30 pm CDT, RAM will publish a Virtual Awards Presentation on the museum's YouTube channel. Presented by Marketing and Communications Specialist Tyler Potter, these awards are selected based on clever and skilled use or representation of PEEPS® marshmallow candy in adult, children, and group categories.

In addition to the awards selected by RAM, visitors are invited to vote for their favorite creation, naming one popular artwork worthy of the coveted PEEPle’s Choice Award after the exhibition closes.

“Guests are allowed only one vote per visit, which many people take very seriously," says Tyler Potter, RAM Marketing and Communications Specialist. "I have watched people circle the exhibition multiple times, take notes to compare with their family and friends, and even occasionally lobby other visitors to support their favorite piece. Selecting just a single work for your favorite can be a difficult process, and I respect the dedication required to come to that conclusion.”

Out-of-state enthusiasts and other would-be museum visitors are invited to view the exhibition from the comfort of home during a Virtual Tour of RAM PEEPS® Brand Art Exhibition 2025. This intimate glimpse of the show will be published on RAM's YouTube channel at Noon CDT on Thursday, April 17.

Further information and a list of participating artists is available on the RAM website, ramart.org.

RAM PEEPS® Brand Art Exhibition 2025 is made possible in part by PEEPS® Patrons: Action Law Offices, S.C., Megan, Xander, and Athena Bennett, Susan Buhler, Charles Constantine, Dooley & Associates, Karen and Mark Fairbanks, Tom and Cheryl Foley, Ann Henkes, Carl and Susan Hipp, Linda Humphrey, Kewpee, Cherie Lyford, Bob and Betsy Moore, Next Step Life Coach Connie Lelivet, Peaceful Beginnings, Piggly Wiggly—Erie Street, Carol and Jeff Preston, Reefpoint Brew House, Socially Suspect, the Band, Sugar Shack Sweet Shoppe, Cherry Wardrip, Nancy Wheeler, and Nicole L. Zimmer

Image: Georgia Averkamp

Peep Pony Club

PEEPS® Brand marshmallow candy, Easter grass, paint, disco balls, and found objects

Photography: Rachel Comande