SEATTLE, WA.- The Seattle Art Fair, presented by AIG, announced the renewal of its partnership with the Frye Art Museum, fulfilling a two-year commitment to expand the museum’s permanent collection and further increasing engagement with Seattle’s cultural community year-round. The first year of partnership in 2018 launched the Frye Art Museum’s Contemporary Council, an affiliate group dedicated to expanding the museum’s contemporary art holdings and fostering a new generation of art collectors in Seattle.

In 2018, Frye Art Museum Director/CEO Joseph Rosa and curator Amanda Donnan selected artworks by Toyin Ojih Odutola from Albuquerque’s Tamarind Institute and Ellen Lesperance from Portland-based gallery Adams and Ollman. The acquisitions were made possible by a $25,000 fund from the Seattle Art Fair in support of the museum’s new Contemporary Council. A second gift of $25,000 will also be provided this year so that the Museum may continue to expand and diversify its contemporary collection.

“We are extremely grateful to the Seattle Art Fair for extending this partnership for a second year,” said Joseph Rosa of the Frye Art Museum. “The formation of our Contemporary Council and the acquisitions gift have created an exciting momentum in a relatively short period of time. The initial support from the Seattle Art Fair has already moved us beyond our expectations, so we are thrilled to build on this with additional acquisitions that reflect the abundance of artistic talent present in our region and on display at the Fair, and look forward to sharing these new works with our visitors. Both of the incredible works that were purchased last year will be on view at the Frye in 2019.”

The Frye Art Museum is a free, public museum with approximately 1,500 artworks in its permanent collection. The convergence of internationally significant artists and dealers at the Seattle Art Fair—which come from over 40 cities around the globe, including Berlin, Dublin, Kyoto, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Milan, Montreal, New York, Paris, Seoul, Stockholm, Tokyo, and Vancouver—provides the Frye Art Museum a world-class selection from which to expand its collection.