The British Council has announced today that Ruth Mackenzie CBE will join the organisation as Director of Arts from Monday 16 June.
Ruth joins the British Council from her previous role as Program Director, Arts Culture & Creative Industries Policy for the Government of South Australia.
Ruth began her career in various theatre positions and at Arts Council England before taking on senior roles including Head of Strategic Planning at South Bank Centre, Executive Director of Nottingham Playhouse and Director of Scottish Opera.
She has also served as Special and Expert Adviser for DCMS, Co-Artistic Director at Chichester Festival Theatre and General Director of Manchester International Festival.
Ruth gained national recognition as the Director of the London 2012 Festival, the Cultural Olympiad linked to the Olympic & Paralympic Games. In acknowledgment of her contribution to the Games, her appointed OBE from 1995 was elevated to CBE.
In 2017, Ruth became the Director of Paris’s Théâtre du Châtelet, introducing bold programming aimed at diversifying audiences and artists. She held this position until 2020.
Between 2014-18 Ruth was Artistic Director of the Holland Festival, the oldest and largest performing arts festival in the Netherlands. In 2020-21 she worked on ‘Let’s Do London’ with the Major of London, Sadiq Khan, on the city’s biggest ever domestic tourism campaign following the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2022, she was appointed Artistic Director of the Adelaide Festival in Australia and in August 2024, transitioned to Program Director for Arts, Culture and Creative Industries Policy within the Government of South Australia.
On her new appointment Ruth said: “The British Council’s mission for peace and prosperity is inspiring for creatives, artists and communities round the world and I am honoured to be joining as the new Director of Arts to build on the important cultural soft power they achieve.”
Mark Stephens, Director Cultural Engagement at the British Council added:
"Ruth brings extensive and impressive experience of both the arts and government sectors around the world including Artistic Director at both the Adelaide and Holland Festivals and Director Cultural Olympiad for London 2012. We are delighted to be welcoming Ruth as our new Director of Arts for the British Council."
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