Background

Richard Brecknock’s early career was in the film, arts and cultural sector including as a professional documentary film director in the 1960-70s, a professional sculptor and craftsperson through the 1970-80s and since 1988 as a Cultural Planner and a Director of Brecknock Consulting P/L.   

 

In the 1960’s Richard trained as a sculptor at the National Art School in Darlinghurst, Sydney.  He exhibited in major group exhibitions in Sydney, Adelaide and Mildura,  including one person exhibitions at the Bonython Gallery in Paddington Sydney.  In parallel with his sculptural work Richard was working full time in film production as a film director at Concept and Pilgrim Films in Sydney.  He directed educational films for secondary schools and documentary films for public and private sector clients.  A selection of these film productions were screened on TV and through cinema release. In the early 1970’s Richard, in partnership with Dilys Brecknock, managed a textile printing and dying studio at Sturt Workshops in Mittagong, NSW.  After moving to Adelaide in 1978 Richard combined his skills as a textile printer and dyer with his sculptural training resulting in the creation of site-specific sculptural textile artworks.  He has artworks in the collections of the National Gallery, Canberra and the Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane.  Richard in collaboration with Sue Rosenthal, completed commissions for civic, retail and commercial buildings in NSW, Victoria and South Australia.  Involvement in creating these artworks for architectural spaces led to interaction with the South Australian chapter of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) and the formation of the ‘Collaborations Committee’ of which he was the founding Chair.  This ground-breaking committee forged relationships between architects, interior designers, landscape architects and the arts community through a range of training and advocacy activities.

 

Professional Experience

In 1988 Richard established a consultancy in Adelaide to provide advice to the planning and design sector on how to integrate artworks and source appropriate artists and crafts people.  Over time Brecknock Consulting P/L expanded from its Adelaide base to open offices in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne managed by a team of four directors.

 

The consultancy (see History page) provided both public art curation and project management services and cultural policy and planning services to the public and private sector across Australia at both state and local government levels.  Richard was able to draw on his years as a professional artist/craftsperson and his experience working with architects to provide guidance and management to support both the commissioning organisations and for the commissioned artists.  Between 1998 and 2000 Richard undertook study for a Master of Arts at Griffith University, Brisbane, receiving his MA [Cultural & Media Policy] in 2000.  As a cultural planner he has undertaken research, consultation and strategic projects in Australia, New Zealand, England and Abu Dhabi.   

 

Planning & Design Sector Involvement

Throughout his career, Richard has been an active contributor to the planning and design sector through his involvement in professional organisations, committees, conference planning, education and advocacy.

 

Since 2005 Richard has been a Member of the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA). Over the years he has also been an Affiliate member of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA); and active with the Urban Design Forum (UDF), the Urban Design Alliance and the Australian Institute of Urban Studies.  Richard has also served as the President of the Crafts Council of South Australian between 1989 and 1992.  He has also served on design review panels for both the City of Adelaide and South Australian governments.  Between 2011-2017 he was a Design Review Panel member, appointed by the South Australian Government Architect and the Office of Design & Architecture in South Australian.

 

In 1991 Richard and a committee of key urban thinkers and practitioners from across the country, established Partners for Livable Australia, an Australian affiliate of the US Partners for Liveable Places organisation, which is a now called Partners for Livable Communities, a non-profit leadership organization working to improve the liveability of communities by promoting quality of life, economic development, and social equity.  He has, since 2002, had a close working association with Charles Landry and the team at the UK ‘Think Tank’ COMEDIA https://charleslandry.com/.  His work with COMEDIA has focused on research relating to planning culturally and urban creativity through creative city strategy initiatives such has the Creative City Strategy for the Brisbane City Council in 2003.  This association includes Richard’s involvement in the international “Intercultural City” project, which was funded by the UK Rowntree Foundation,  https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/how-can-we-unlock-potential-cultural-diversity-cities.  The Intercultural City concept has subsequently been adopted by the Council of Europe with a network of 153 cities in Europe and beyond. https://www.coe.int/en/web/interculturalcities/home  He has also contributed to Charles Landry’s exploration of the “Creative City Index” and most recently the “Creative Bureaucracy” project in Adelaide, South Australia.

 

Details of Richard's publications and conference presentations can be found under the Research and Writing page.

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