Gregory Alan Mackie is a

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

n cultural advocate and entrepreneur who has worked to promote the

arts The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both hi ...

and culture in Australia. He was an elected Councillor at the

Adelaide City Council The City of Adelaide, also known as the Corporation of the City of Adelaide and Adelaide City Council is a local government area in the metropolitan area of greater Adelaide, South Australia and is legally defined as the capital city of Sout ...

(2000-2003, May 2020 - June 2022). He was co-founder and was managing director of independent bookshop Imprints Booksellers (1984–2007), served on many public bodies, including Arts SA and

Adelaide Writers' Week Adelaide Writers' Week, known locally as Writers' Week or WW, is a large and mostly free literary festival held annually in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. Considered one of the world's pre-eminent literary events, it forms part of the ...

, and founded the

Adelaide Festival of Ideas The Adelaide Festival of Ideas (AFOI) is a festival held in Adelaide, South Australia since 1999, usually biennially. It aims to foster the public promulgation, discussion and critique of culturally and socially relevant ideas from around the wo ...

in 1999. he is

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of the

History Trust of South Australia The History Trust of South Australia, sometimes referred to as History SA, was created as a statutory corporation by the ''History Trust of South Australia Act 1981'', to safeguard South Australia’s heritage and to encourage research and public ...

, after being appointed to the position in 2016.

Career

From 1984 until 2003 Mackie was director and co-proprietor of Adelaide's leading independent literary book retailer, Imprints Booksellers. Mackie served for a decade with the Adelaide Writers' Week literary festival Advisory Committee, including four years as its chair (1994–98), and in 1999 he founded the Adelaide Festival of Ideas. During his years of running Imprints, he also served in many board and other advocacy roles in the community and cultural benefit sectors, including as President of the Adelaide West End Association, the FEAST Adelaide Lesbian and Gay Cultural Festival, as a Trustee of the Adelaide Festival Centre Trust, and member of the Libraries Board of South Australia. He has also served on the Council of the

University of South Australia The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...

, and was an inaugural member of the Dame Roma Mitchell Trust Fund for Children and Young People. Working with the

Premier of South Australia The premier of South Australia is the head of government in the state of South Australia, Australia. The Government of South Australia follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of South Australia acting as the legislature. The premier is ...

Mike Rann Michael David Rann, , (born 5 January 1953) is an Australian former politician who was the 44th premier of South Australia from 2002 to 2011. He was later Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 2013 to 2014, and Australian am ...

and the Minister for Disability, Mackie established the Richard Llewellyn Arts and Disability Trust Fund. He also served on the Board of Management of the

Don Dunstan Donald Allan Dunstan (21 September 1926 – 6 February 1999) was an Australian politician who served as the 35th premier of South Australia from 1967 to 1968, and again from 1970 to 1979. He was a member of the House of Assembly (MHA) for th ...

Foundation, and later as one of its patrons. In May 2000 he was elected to the Adelaide City Council and served in that capacity until May 2003. During that period Mackie developed the first Adelaide City Arts and Living Culture Strategy and played a leading role to improve relations with the Aboriginal community. He developed a City Flags Policy that ensured the permanent flying of the Aboriginal Flag alongside the

national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and symbolizes a given nation. It is flown by the government of that nation, but usually can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanings for its colours ...

in Victoria Square, and became a leading proponent of the Victoria Square and Central West Redevelopment Strategy. In May 2003 local government elections Mackie contested the Lord Mayoralty of the City of Adelaide. Mackie commenced service as executive director of Arts SA in January 2004, a role in which he worked hard to grow the state's festivals culture. During this time the state government's annual investment in the arts and culture increased from to more than per annum. In September 2008 he became acting Deputy Chief Executive of the Department of Premier and Cabinet. He was appointed Acting Chief Executive for two extended periods. In January 2009, Mackie chaired the State Emergency Management Committee, co-ordinating the state's response to a major

heatwave A heat wave, or heatwave, is a period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity, especially in oceanic climate countries. While definitions vary, a heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in the ...

emergency. As Deputy Chief Executive, his responsibilities included Arts SA, SafeWork SA, Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Capital City Committee Directorate, the Adelaide Thinkers in Residence Program and

State Records State Records is a British independent record label, established by Wayne Bickerton, Tony Waddington and John Fruin in 1975. The label released hits by many successful artists including The Rubettes, Mac & Katie Kissoon and Delegation. In ...

. During this period he also established The Australian Centre for Social Innovation (TACSI) and the Integrated Design Commission SA. In 2008, Mackie was appointed by

Quentin Bryce Dame Quentin Alice Louise Bryce, (née Strachan; born 23 December 1942) is an Australian academic who served as the 25th governor-general of Australia from 2008 to 2014. She is the first woman to have held the position, and was previously the ...

Governor-General of Australia The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.Hon John Hill MP, Mackie took on the role of "ageing provocateur" as executive director, Office for the Ageing. In February 2013 he left the SA Public Sector and from September 2013 to August 2014 served as CEO with Sydney-based

not-for-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

network, Place Leaders Asia-Pacific Ltd. He has served as a member of the board of Volunteering SA&NT and of Soundstream New Music Collective, was Chairman of the board of Festival Fleurieu (a biennial arts festival in the district of Yankalilla) and from July 2015, as chair of the board of

Association Inc. In June 2014 he was appointed a member of the

Australia Council for the Arts The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austra ...

' Major Performing Arts Panel. In March 2016 Mackie was appointed

of the

(formerly History SA), with effect from the end of April 2016.Former arts chief Greg Mackie to head History SA
''The Advertiser'', 11 March 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2016. He is still in the position . He is (was?) a Trustee of Palya Fund and a member of the Ngeringa Arts Advisory Board. Mackie has also been a member of the external advisory panel to the Assemblage Centre for Creative Arts at

Flinders University Flinders University is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across 11 locations in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of British navigator ...

, headed by

Garry Stewart Garry Stewart (born 1962) is an Australian dancer and choreographer. He was the longest-serving artistic director of the Australian Dance Theatre, taking over from Meryl Tankard in 1999 and finishing his term at the end of 2021. He is renowned f ...

, along with

Jo Dyer Jo Dyer (born 1969) is an Australian theatre and film producer, and director of Adelaide Writers' Week from 2019 to 2022. She is known for the films ''Lucky Miles'' (2007) and '' Girl Asleep'' (2015). In 2021 she was involved in a legal case re ...

Wesley Enoch Wesley James Enoch (born 1969) is an Australian playwright and artistic director. He is especially known for ''The 7 Stages of Grieving'', co-written with Deborah Mailman. He was artistic director of the Queensland Theatre Company from mid-2 ...

Rebecca Summerton Closer Productions is a film and television production company founded by filmmakers Sophie Hyde and Bryan Mason in Adelaide, South Australia, in January 2004. It is known for award-winning feature films such as ''52 Tuesdays'' (2013) and ''An ...

, and others. In May 2020 Mackie was once again elected to the City of Adelaide council, this time as a result of a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

. He resigned in June 2022, citing the “corrosive nature” and “relentless domination of the Team Adelaide faction”.

Honours and awards

*2002 – Medal of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

, "For service to the community through the promotion of the arts, particularly the Adelaide Festival of Ideas." *2006 – Flinders University Distinguished Alumni Award *2007 – Australia Business Arts Foundation (AbaF) Dame Elisabeth Murdoch Cultural Leadership Award, in recognition of his efforts to promote business partnership with the arts *2015 – Inaugural

Jim Bettison and Helen James Award The Adelaide Film Festival (AFF, formerly ADLFF) is film festival usually held for two weeks in mid-October in cinemas in Adelaide, South Australia. Originally presented biennially in March from 2003, since 2013 AFF has been held in October. ...

Career

Honours and awards

References

Further reading