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Press Release                                          FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Racine, WI     February 10, 2010
 
The Racine Art Museum Announces New SPARK Program for People with Memory Loss

The Racine Art Museum is proud to introduce SPARK - a pilot program series that provides cultural programming for people with memory loss along with caregivers. RAM was one of five museums to receive a grant from the Helen Bader Foundation to fund the planning portion of this new initiative through its Alzheimer's and Aging program. The program is modeled after Meet Me at MOMA, a successful outreach effort at New York's Museum of Modern Art.

SPARK Program ImageThe SPARK pilot program will provide enriching experiences at both museums, including monthly hands-on art activities, art conversations, poetry, dance and movement. The goal is to make RAM's collections and exhibitions more accessible to non-institutionalized people with early to mid stage Alzheimer's disease, as well as to their caregivers.

Five to seven couples (caregivers/care receivers) will participate in the initial programs. RAM is working with Racine County's Aging and Disability Resource Center, Lincoln Lutheran and Home Instead to present this opportunity to their clients. This program also gives students majoring in social work, specifically the Gerontology Certificate Program at the University of Wisconsin - Parkside, credited internship opportunities.

The implementation phase, beginning in July 2010, will continue to offer monthly programs at both locations. At that time, SPARK will provide additional activities and events in partnership with other cultural institutions, such as the Racine Public Library, the Racine Arts Council and the Racine Heritage Museum.

For more information about the SPARK Program Series, please contact RAM Curator of Education Tricia Blasko at 262.636.9573.

For more information and complete schedule

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Together, the two campuses of the Racine Art Museum, RAM in downtown Racine at 441 Main Street and the Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts at 2519 Northwestern Avenue, seek to elevate the stature of contemporary crafts to that of fine art by exhibiting significant works in craft media with painting, sculpture and photography, while providing outstanding educational art programming.

Docent led contemporary craft and architectural tours of the museums are available. Both campuses of the Racine Art Museum, are open to the public Tuesday - Saturday 10:00 am - 5:00 pm, and are closed Mondays, Federal holidays and Easter. RAM is open Sunday Noon - 5:00 pm, while Wustum is closed Sundays. An admission fee of $5 for adults, with reduced fees for students and seniors, applies at RAM. Admission to Wustum is free. Members are always admitted without charge to either campus.

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For more information or to request images, please contact:

Laura Gillespie
RAM Marketing Assistant
262.638.8300 x 114