Ruth Mackenzie CBE, Artistic Director of Adelaide Festival, has resigned from Australia’s preeminent multi-arts festival in order to take up a new role with the South Australian Government.

Mackenzie was initially hired to program the 2024, 2025 and 2026 Adelaide Festivals, but moves into her new government role today (Monday 5 August).

Mackenzie’s new position as Program Director, Arts, Culture and Creative Industries Policy within the Department of Premier and Cabinet, will see her oversee the development and delivery of the South Australian Government’s new arts and culture strategy, policy and action plan.

Adelaide Festival Corporation Chair Tracey Whiting AM said, ‘We thank Ruth for her incredible service and the difference she has made to Adelaide Festival in her time with us. The record attendance we saw in 2024 is a testament to the public’s engagement in her extraordinary program. We wish her well in this exciting new position.’

Mackenzie said: ‘It has been a joy to develop the Adelaide Festival strategic plan 2024-2027 and begin to deliver its priorities in the 2024 Adelaide Festival, which achieved record audiences of 555,505. The 2024 Adelaide Festival delivered our commitment to First Nations First in the program of world-class artists, a step change in community engagement, and work with and for young people.

‘It is an honour to take up the opportunity to lead the development and delivery of the South Australian Government’s new Cultural Plan, and to continue to be inspired by the values and leadership of the Government to serve all the communities of the State,’ she added.

Mackenzie’s sudden departure from Adelaide Festival has unusual parallels with 2022, when Neil Armfield AO and Rachel Healy also announced they were stepping down as the Festival’s Co-Artistic Directors earlier than expected.

Armfield and Healy’s decision to leave the Festival at that point, as a result of much of their 2023 program being locked in well in advance, enabled Mackenzie to start work at Adelaide Festival early.

She completed programming for the 2023 Festival, before presenting her first – and, as it turns out, only – full Adelaide Festival program earlier this year.

Read: Adelaide Festival midpoint round-up

In addition to announcing Mackenzie’s departure in a media release issued on Saturday 3 August, the Adelaide Festival Board also confirmed that Brett Sheehy AO will return as Artistic Director of the 2025 Adelaide Festival, a role he held previously from 2005 to 2008.

Sheehy, who has previously served as Artistic Director of both the Sydney and Melbourne Festivals, as well as being the Artistic Director of Melbourne Theatre Company, will finalise and oversee the delivery of the 2025 Adelaide Festival program.

He will also continue preparations for the 2026 program until the appointment of a new Artistic Director for 2026 onwards.

Whiting said, ‘In farewelling Ruth, I am delighted to announce that Brett is joining us once again. Known for his previous outstanding leadership of Sydney Festival, Adelaide Festival, Melbourne Festival and Melbourne Theatre Company, Brett will guarantee a vibrant and sustainable future for Adelaide Festival and ensure it remains the pre-eminent, highly successful festival of Australian and international performing arts, as it has been for over 60 years.’

Of his return to Adelaide Festival, Sheehy said, ‘I’m delighted to be able to maintain the delivery of an array of events already planned for 2025 and to be joining the exceptional Festival team.

‘My mission is to ensure that we present Adelaide with an outstanding 2025 Festival, as engaging, challenging, entertaining and irresistible as any before, and to hand over to the 2026 Artistic Director a festival in the best possible health. To be able to return to Adelaide to contribute again to Australia’s greatest international arts festival is an extraordinary privilege and an opportunity that I could not resist,’ he said.

Sheehy’s appointment begins immediately.

Adelaide Festival will launch its 2025 centrepiece opera on 26 August, with the full 2025 program announced on 4 November 2024.

Recruitment for the Artistic Director of the 2026 Adelaide Festival and beyond will commence shortly.