SEATTLE, WASH.- Jo-Anne Birnie Danzker, Director of the Frye Art Museum, announced today the appointment of Scott Lawrimore as Deputy Director, Collections and Exhibitions, effective October 15, 2012. Lawrimore and Birnie Danzker will jointly research, conceive, and develop the Museum’s exhibitions program, and guide scholarship and development of the Frye Art Museum’s collections.

“Scott Lawrimore brings to the Frye Art Museum an unflinching eye for exceptional talent, a penchant for the unexpected, and the strong sense of adventure that made him an important figure in the Seattle cultural community,” said Birnie Danzker. “We are tremendously pleased to have Scott join our leadership team. He shares the Frye Art Museum’s commitment to new concepts of the role of the museum in the twenty-first century and will bring his passion and energy to our unwavering dedication to artists of our region and to the Founding Collection.”

Lawrimore comes to the Frye Art Museum from Lawrimore Project, a gallery dedicated to contemporary art that he founded in Seattle in 2006. He is widely credited for establishing a daring and conceptually rigorous exhibition program and for supporting ambitious artistic production by leading artists from Seattle and beyond. Gallery artists realized more than twenty solo museum exhibitions; had their work placed in more than thirty museum collections; and were included in more than sixty group exhibitions at galleries and museums around the world. Lawrimore Project closed on June 30, 2012.

Lawrimore holds a B.A. from the University of California, Davis, and an M.A. from California State University, Sacramento; both degrees are in art history. He has taught at Cornish College of the Arts and Seattle University, and in the spring of 2013 he will teach a course in the M.F.A. program of the School of Art at the University of Washington.

“The paradigm shift at the Frye in recent years towards greater civic and international relevance has been exciting to witness,” said Lawrimore, “and has deepened and gained momentum under Jo-Anne’s leadership. It is a privilege to join such a talented team of colleagues devoted to strengthening our community by providing free access for everyone, especially in this time of economic, social, and cultural volatility. As the Museum honors the legacy of Charles and Emma Frye with innovative and influential historical and contemporary exhibitions, I am equal parts humbled and emboldened by this opportunity to play a role in establishing the Frye as a leading center of ideas, and as a museum of the future.”

Since 2007, Lawrimore has hosted Art Klatch, a weekly salon, that is open to the public and regularly draws local artists, writers, collectors, curators, and out-of-town visitors for debate and discussion on topics he described as having both “fleeting urgency and lasting importance.” Birnie Danzker noted, “This dedication to open dialogue and collegiality aligns perfectly with our belief that the Museum should reach beyond its walls. We are pleased to announce that Scott will continue to lead this popular forum in his new role at the Frye.”

Lawrimore will participate in a press conference at 11am on Thursday, July 12, 2012 at the Frye Art Museum. This event is part of the media preview for the Frye’s 60th Anniversary exhibitions opening July 14: “The Perfection of Good-Nature”: Frye Founding Collection, Liu Ding’s Store: Take Home and Make Real the Priceless in Your Heart, and Ties That Bind: American Artists in Europe.

The Frye Art Museum is celebrating 60 years as Seattle’s only free art museum. It is a living legacy of visionary patronage and civic responsibility, committed to artistic inquiry and a rich visitor experience. A catalyst for the Museum’s engagement with contemporary art and artists is the Founding Collection of Charles and Emma Frye, access to which shall always be free.