Feature image: Courtesy of the Racine Art Museum.
Submitted
Racine, WI – The Racine Art Museum (RAM) is hosting an unconventional community art exhibition centering the iconic PEEPS® Brand marshmallow candy! RAM PEEPS® Brand Art Exhibition 2026, the 17th edition of this annual tradition, features works by creatives of all ages and abilities that either incorporate or represent the sweet—and sometimes divisive—springtime treat. Visitors can immerse themselves in this combination of creativity and confection through Saturday, April 18.
On Tuesday, March 31, RAM hosted The Golden PEEPS® Awards, a celebratory opening reception that rolled out the orange carpet for the stars of the show—the artists whose work makes the RAM PEEPS® Brand Art Exhibition possible. During the event, awards in multiple categories were presented to artists who went above and beyond with clever and skilled use or representation of PEEPS® marshmallow candy.
Congratulations to the following award winners:
Adult Division
• First PEEP: Julie Palmer, Racine—Happy Birthday, PEEP Jr.
• Second PEEP: Beatrix W. Leach, Milwaukee—Victorian Peeps
• Third PEEP: Jessica Schuerman, Mount Pleasant—Peep Where You’re Planted
• Honorable Mentions:
o Brenda Raab, Racine—The Bride of FrankenPeep
o Connie Reeves, Wauwatosa—Peeps Mittens
Young PEEPle’s Division (Under 13)
• First PEEP: Charlotte Barnes, Racine—Peep Scouts Go Camping
• Second PEEP: Azariah Niles, Racine—Peep, The Weaving
• Third PEEP: Harrison Averkamp, Spring Prairie—Peep Haring, Barking Dog
Group Division (Under 13)
• First PEEP: Laura Grayson and Steve Grayson, Racine— The Peepeux Tapestry: An Epic Bunny Adventure
• Second PEEP: Addi Cooke, Haily Cooke, Nana Julie Swanson, Auntie Jojo, Baba Del Swanson, and Auntie Hannah, Racine—The Three Little Peeps
• Third PEEP: City of Racine Public Library—Having Fun Isn’t Hard…
Honorable Mentions
o City of Racine MIS Department: Abigail Hall and Connor Rasch— Mount Peepmore
o Jon Leach and Laura Leach, Wauwatosa—Spring Dance
RAM PEEPS® Postcard Award
• Lynn R. Peters, Green Bay—Chick ‘n’ Little
RAM Staff Choice Award
• Hollace Graves, Racine—Edwin Aster’s Curated Cabinet of Curiosity
Each of the talented artists received a framed certificate acknowledging their exceptional work. First-place award winners in each category and the recipient of the RAM Staff Choice Award also received a golden glass PEEPS® Bunny sculpture that was handcrafted by Hot Shop Glass, a glass art studio and gallery in downtown Racine. The RAM PEEPS® Postcard Award recipient had their entry reproduced as a souvenir postcard and received a stack of them alongside a framed certificate. Postcards from the 2026 exhibition are available for purchase in the RAM Museum Store alongside a limited number of prints from past exhibitions.
“Each year, we are presented with truly exceptional artwork submissions, which makes selecting award winners incredibly difficult,” said Katelyn Mitchell, RAM Assistant Curator. “Several factors were taken into account when selecting the prize winners, including creativity, presentation, and, of course, use of PEEPS® marshmallow candy either as art media or inspiration. It’s always wonderful to see artists transform this unusual material into something novel.”
In addition to the awards selected by RAM, museum visitors are invited to select their own award winner. Guests are allowed a single vote per visit for their favorite creation in the exhibition, naming one popular artwork worthy of the coveted PEEPle’s Choice Award. The award will be announced after the exhibition closes, and the recipient will receive a framed certificate and a golden glass PEEPS® Bunny sculpture.
“PEEPle’s Choice Award voting brings out a tremendous level of enthusiasm from visitors,” said Tyler Potter, RAM Marketing and Communications Specialist. “Over the years, I’ve witnessed people circle the galleries multiple times to narrow down their choices, lobby for their favorite piece among other guests, and even ask for additional ballots—which we unfortunately had to decline.”
Further information about RAM PEEPS® Brand Art Exhibition 2026 and a season of supplementary programming is available on RAM’s website, ramart.org.
The PEEPS® 2026 season of events is made possible in part by: Silver Sponsor—Baird; Bronze Sponsors—Educators Credit Union, Hotel Verdant, Johnson Financial Group, O&H Danish Bakery, Rasmussen Diamonds, Twin Disc; PEEPS® Patrons—Action Law Offices, S.C.; Nancy Bauer-King; Megan, Xander, and Athena Bennett; Bruce and Barbara Chrisman; Charles Constantine; Design Partners; Janet DiMarco; Erv Keller Guide Service, Boulder Jct. WI; Karen and Mark Fairbanks; Stan and Linda Flashinski; Tom and Cheryl Foley; Deborah Ganaway; Jill and Bob Hartmann; Ann and Peter Henkes; Carl and Sue Hipp; Laura Kapitan; Mary Katayama; Landmark Title of Racine; Carol Preston; Connie Lelivelt; Thomas Meredith; Dr. Robert and Susan Siegert; Sandra Simon in honor of Patricia and Wes Fallon; Stephanie Sklba; Neil and Ashley Staeck; Charlie B. Thorne; Richard Tunkieicz; Karen Verbeten; Janna M. Waldeck; and Nancy Wheeler.
Exhibitions at Racine Art Museum are made possible by: Platinum Partners— Anonymous, The Estate of Karen Johnson Boyd, Ron and Judith Isaacs, Racine Community Foundation, The Estate of Marilyn Rothschild, Windgate Foundation; Diamond Partners—David Charak, Ruffo Family Foundation, Ruth Arts Foundation, Diane Zebell; Gold Partners—Judith and David Flegel Fund, Osborne and Scekic Family Foundation, Reliance Controls Community Fund, W.T. Walker Group, Inc.; Silver Partners—Anonymous, Anonymous, Bader Philanthropies, Baird, A.C. Buhler Family, Dave’s Wine Garage, Paula and E.L. Donovitz Memorial Endowment Fund, Ben and Dawn Flegel, Tom Harty, Horizon Retail Construction, Inc., Johnson Financial Group, Robert E. Kohler Jr. Fund, Luanne Frey and Mark Lukow, Sheri and Frank Sullivan, Visit Racine County, We Energies Foundation, Wisconsin Arts Board; Bronze Partners—Sandy and Gus Antonneau, Carol Baylon, Susan Boland, Rose and Peter Christensen, Educators Credit Union, Carol Griseto, Julia Ann Oas and Don Gloo, Hitters Baseball, Debbie and Chuck Hoffman, Susan and Dan Horton, Gary Van Wert and Ronald Jacquart, Paula Kalke, Bill and Debbie Keland, Nancy Kurten, Susan Manalli, Norbell Foundation, O&H Danish Bakery, Rita Petretti, Rasmussen Diamonds, SC Johnson, Harold and Lois Solberg, E. C. Styberg Foundation, Twin Disc, Marc J. Wollman, Amy and Robb Woulfe; Media Partner—Radio Milwaukee.
he two campuses of the Racine Art Museum—RAM in downtown Racine at 441 Main Street and the Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts (Wustum) at 2519 Northwestern Avenue—are located in Racine, Wisconsin, a historic community on the shores of Lake Michigan. RAM is home to the largest contemporary craft collection in North America and has a reputation for its award-winning architecture and nationally recognized exhibition program. Wustum is home to the organization’s diverse, award-winning art education programs and has presented significant art exhibitions since 1941.
Both campuses of the Racine Art Museum are currently open Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Admission rates are $10 for adults; $8 for students, seniors (62+), and veterans; and free for RAM members, children under 12, active military personnel, and NARM, ROAM, and AAM members.