Bruce W. Pepich is an American museum director and art curator. He is an expert in American and international craft. He is executive director and curator of collections at the Racine Art Museum and Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts in Racine, Wisconsin.
Early life and education Bruce W. Pepich was born in Elmhurst, Illinois and raised in the western Chicago suburbs. He was introduced to the Art Institute of Chicago as a pre-teen and visited frequently.
Pepich received a BA in Art History with a concentration in contemporary art, from Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois, in 1974.
Career Pepich joined Racine Art Museum (RAM) as a project director after graduation and was appointed director in 1980. During his tenure, he has built RAM into a major museum focusing on contemporary crafts and fulfilling his, "longstanding ambition to direct the most important craft museum in the Midwest." The museum's most significant donor and promoter, Karen Johnson Boyd, played a significant role, working with Pepich in gaining national recognition for its collection and raising more than ten million dollars for the new building in downtown Racine, creating two campuses for art and education. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) also supports Pepich in his philosophy that "serving the community is good for us as an institution."
As of 2014, Pepich had participated on over 135 jury panels for regional, national, and international competitive art exhibitions and fellowship programs. These included the Cotsen Prize for Japanese Bamboo Basketry, the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Artists' Grants, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show, described as being "juried by the most distinguished experts in the various fields of craft art".
Recognition 2010, Ann Koski Professional Excellence Award-Wisconsin Federation of Museums 2010, State of Wisconsin Governor's Award in the Arts from the Wisconsin Foundation for the Arts and Governor Jim Doyle of the State of Wisconsin 2011, Wisconsin Visual Art Achievement Award-Museum of Wisconsin Art 2012, Honorary Fellow in the American Craft Council's College of Fellows in recognition of his contributions to the field of contemporary American crafts
Board appointments
1991–1997 Board of Directors, Taylor Children's Home, Racine, Wisconsin 1992: National Endowment for the Arts, Advancement Program Overview Panel 1992–1996 Fine Arts Advisory Committee, Carthage College, Kenosha, Wisconsin 1993–1996 Professional Advisory Committee, Friends of Fiber International 1994–1996 Board of Trustees, Creative Glass Center of America, Millville, New Jersey 2007–2010 Board of Directors, Cultural Alliance of Greater Milwaukee, Wisconsin 2013 – Present Board of Trustees, American Craft Council
Publications
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References