Now in its 53rd year, the exhibition was started in 1966 to honor the depth and breadth of watercolor in the State of Wisconsin. While Watercolor Wisconsin has necessarily changed in certain ways over the years, the core dedication to exploring aqueous media on a paper surface has not been modified. Contemporary artists bring both traditional and experimental approaches to the established guidelines—resulting in a varied and dynamic exhibition even this many years later.

For 2018, this annual exhibition at Wustum, 254 works by 145 artists were submitted for consideration. Jurors, Chicago area art appraiser Gretchen Burch, and Beth Shadur, Artist-in-Education for the Illinois Arts Council in Chicago, selected 85 works by 108 artists.  Similar to previous years, RAM Executive Director and Curator of Collections Bruce W. Pepich will be able to use memorial purchase award funds to obtain works from this exhibition to add to RAM’s watercolor holdings. Thanks to generous donors over the years and the ability to use specified funds to acquire work, RAM can count over 150 watercolors by Watercolor Wisconsin participants as part of its venerable works on paper collection.