Schmeater Schnannouncement: Almost exactly a year ago, Theater Schmeater got kicked out of its basement home on Capitol Hill, where it had produced scrappy basement performances—sometimes deadly serious, sometimes terminally goofy—for 21 years. On June 6, the Schmee will bust open its new space in Belltown (at 2125 Third Ave) with Gala Schmala: six short works by six Seattle playwrights about the perils of making theater. (Example from their announcement: "Man Make Story, by Keiko Green explores the hurtles of the first (cave) man explaining the concept of his newly invented activity, writing a story, to his doubting, pragmatic wife.") More schmeetails here. (And that is officially the last time we'll use a schm- construction to discuss Theater Schmeater on Slog. We wanted to burn up our entire quota in one post and get it over with.)

Lawrimore to Jacob Lawrence Gallery: We got this press release this afternoon:

Incoming Director Jamie Walker is pleased to announce that the University of Washington School of Art + Art History + Design has named Scott Lawrimore as the first Director of the Jacob Lawrence Gallery, effective 01 July 2014.

The rest of the press release can be found after the jump. Congratulations to Scott Lawrimore, and we'll have more news on this development in the coming days.

Behind the Reams: The New York Times interviews Julie Furer Knutson about her poster design—blue, fabric-textured, silhouetted, booze-centric—for the Rep's production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. (Click the poster to enlarge it.) The first step, she said, was to Google the play.

Get Your Short Run On: Short Run, the wonderful small press festival that happens in the fall, opened their application process today. If you'd like to be a part of the festival, you can apply here from now through July 31st.

Don't Work for Amazon: Gawker continues to run nightmarish stories about working for Amazon.

Lucky 13: Paste Magazine profiles the last self-identified feminist bookstores remaining in the United States and Canada.

Pilot Season: All week long, TV networks have been announcing which pilots they're picking up to series and which pilots they're dropping by the wayside. Local director (and Stranger-certified film Genius) Lynn Shelton tweeted her contribution to the frenzy earlier today. Due to autoplay issues, you can find the trailer for the pilot to Fresh Off the Boat after the jump, just before the aforementioned Lawrimore press release.

Here's the Fresh Off the Boat trailer:

Here's the entirety of the Lawrimore announcement:

May 14, 2014 Seattle — Incoming Director Jamie Walker is pleased to announce that the University of Washington School of Art + Art History + Design has named Scott Lawrimore as the first Director of the Jacob Lawrence Gallery, effective 01 July 2014.

Lawrimore comes to the Jacob Lawrence Gallery from the Frye Art Museum, where he was Deputy Director of Collections and Exhibitions. In his new position, he will be responsible for the development and presentation of exhibitions and programs at the Jacob Lawrence Gallery, stewarding the School’s art collection, and will also be a part-time lecturer.

“Adding Scott to the staff of the School of Art + Art History + Design is a coup,” said Walker. “This new position marks a turning point in the history of the Jacob Lawrence Gallery. Scott has a record of shifting paradigms, so as the School begins to reimagine how the Gallery can contribute to the intellectual life on campus, and achieve greater local, national and international relevance, his vision, leadership, and collaborative spirit will be key moving forward.”

Chair of the search committee, Professor Ellen Garvens, commented: “We wanted someone who could broaden the audience for The Jake, re-brand it as a vital space with increased programing, activities and events, while magnifying its main objective as an active site for student learning. We were very excited with Scott's candidacy as a respected contributor to our arts community and a demonstrated ability to make things happen on all of these fronts — who clearly sees the potential of the Gallery and is passionate about the possibilities for the future.”

Lawrimore has dedicated his career to championing Seattle artists and institutions as a curator, writer, art historian, and gallerist, and he looks forward to reinventing the Jacob Lawrence Gallery as its director. “We’re going to blow the roof off this place,” said Lawrimore of his new role. “Conceptual permits are pending, but my curatorial and intellectual heroes’ blueprints for affecting radical change and making significant contributions were all drawn up in university contexts. As the leading site of experimentation and knowledge production in the region, I’m privileged to be working with the students, faculty and staff of the University of Washington. It will be an honor to lead a gallery with such a distinguished namesake, and I hope to extend Lawrence’s legacy of testing art’s capacity to teach and engage the community.”

Lawrimore holds a Bachelor of Art Degree in art history from the University of California, Davis, and a Master of Art Degree in art history from Sacramento State University. In Seattle, he held positions with Art Access Magazine, Foster/White Gallery, Davidson Galleries, and Greg Kucera Gallery before opening his own space, Lawrimore Project, in 2006. He has also taught professional practicum classes for graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Washington, Cornish College for the Arts, and Seattle University.
In 2012, he was appointed Deputy Director of Collections and Exhibitions at the Frye Art Museum where he curated historical exhibitions drawn from their collection, Helmi Juvonen: Dispatches to You (R.S.V.P.); horizon (featuring a video by Paul Pfeiffer); The Hudson Flows West; and 36 Chambers (co-curated with the thirty six members of the museum staff); and contemporary exhibitions including, Chamber Music; Jason Hirata: Optium LH-3m; Aaron Flint Jamison: Veneer 10 of 18; and the forty-year retrospective, Buster Simpson // Surveyor.

About the Jacob Lawrence Gallery

The Jacob Lawrence Gallery, also known as The Jake, is an exhibition space and laboratory for learning that seeks to deepen the educational experience of students of the University of Washington School of Art + Art History + Design. In respect to its illustrious history, the Jacob Lawrence Gallery additionally seeks to showcase the work and talent that has made and continues to make the School of Art one of the top programs in the nation.