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For Immediate Release
Price Tower Arts Center Curator Joins Conservancy Board
BARTLESVILLE, OK – The curator of the Price Tower Arts Center is being recognized for his expertise by the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy. The organization has named Scott W. Perkins to its board.
He was elected as a director to a three year term at the conservancy’s 2009 Annual Meeting held in conjunction with the fall conference, “Wright in the Drafting Room: Drawings for the Built and the Unbuilt,” held in Buffalo, NY, October 7-11, 2009.
“It is quite an honor. The board is comprised of nationally and internationally recognized preservationists, public site administrators, homeowners, architects, designers, and scholars. It is quite something to be part of a group that includes those whose work I studied in school,” said Scott W. Perkins, board member, Frank Lloyd Wright Conservancy.
The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy is an international preservation group, founded in Chicago in 1989 with the goal of preserving and maintaining structures designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Wright is widely considered to be America’s greatest architect and one of the nation’s most significant artists. During his career, which spanned seven decades, Frank Lloyd Wright created over 1,000 designs. Of those, 500 were realized, including the Price Tower in Bartlesville, OK.
Perkins, who is a PhD candidate in History of Decorative Arts, Design and Culture at the Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture, New York, NY, has served as the Curator of Collections and Exhibtions for the Price Tower Arts Center since 2006. He says he is looking forward to serving on the board of the Frank Lloyd Wright Conservancy.
“Joining the Board of Directors is a wonderful opportunity to expand upon the preservation and advocacy of Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture that we have done at Price Tower Arts Center. The conservancy’s sole mission is to protect and preserve Frank Lloyd Wright’s nearly 400 works still standing, and carry on his vision through its educational and public programs, homeowner resources, and conferences and tours. Price Tower is one of two tall buildings realized by Wright, and the only that can be considered a skyscraper. That said, we have a unique role within the collection of his buildings open to the public and see approximately 27,000 visitors annually. My role within the conservancy will be to help connect the public sites into a cohesive unit, and work with those owners of Wright designed homes to network on building and maintenance issues, material resources, and sharing of histories,” said Perkins.
Since the conservancy’s formation, its constituency has grown to include thousands of members and supporters worldwide. Membership is open to anyone interested in Wright, including architects, scholars, preservationists, architecture buffs, artisans and, especially, Wright building owners.
“Scott Perkins will be a valuable contributor to our board, “said Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy President Susan Jacobs Lockhart. “He brings a wide range of knowledge of Wright and his architecture through his academic studies, archival research, contributed essays, and exhibitions. Previously Scott has been active in the conservancy through membership, attendance at conferences, special events and public sites meetings. We are delighted he is joining us in the capacity of a board member, where he will co-chair the Public Sites and Homeowners Committee.”
Recently, the conservancy prepared, and had accepted, a serial nomination of 10 Wright structures of universal value for the U.S. World Heritage Tentative List. Bartlesville’s Price Tower is being considered for a World Heritage designation by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
“Since my tenure at Price Tower Arts Center began in 2006, I have worked stridently to promote not only the Arts Center but Bartlesville within the Frank Lloyd Wright community. While most people often think of the clusters of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings in Illinois, Wisconsin, Arizona, or New York, few realize that there are three Wright buildings in Oklahoma! My efforts to have Price Tower designated a National Historic Landmark, which we received in 2007, and a possible World Heritage Site speak to the importance of working with the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy and it is a role that I hope to carry on,” said Perkins.
About Price Tower
The landmark destination for art, architecture and design, Price Tower Arts Center, a 501(c) 3 nonprofit, provides local, regional and global audiences with the experience of great art, architecture and design in an arts complex whose centerpiece is Frank Lloyd Wright's only skyscraper, the Price Tower.
This National Historic Landmark building, completed in 1956, contains a museum with permanent and changing exhibition galleries; original and restored historic Wright interiors (available by tour); and The Wright Place museum store.
Visitors may also experience Wright's masterpiece as guests of Inn at Price Tower, a high-design hotel that the Arts Center has created within Wright's skyscraper, along with the Inn's eclectic Copper Bar.
Historic tours are available with advanced reservations. Admission is $10 adults, $8 seniors (65+), $5 students and children 16 and under and includes admission to the museum exhibitions (tax not included as may be applicable). For more information, the public may call 918.336.4949 or visit the web site at www.pricetower.org.
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