{{short description|Australian artistic director and curator}} {{Use Australian English|date=September 2014}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}} {{Infobox person | name = Brett Sheehy |honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=AUS|AO|size=100%}} | image = Photograph of Brett Sheehy 2014-07-06 05-00.jpg | caption = Sheehy in 2012 | birth_place = Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | occupation = Artistic director | known_for = – Artistic director & CEO of <br />Melbourne Theatre Company<br /> – Artistic director & Co-CEO of <br />Melbourne Festival<br /> – Artistic director & Co-CEO of<br /> Adelaide Festival<br /> – Artistic director & CEO of<br />Sydney Festival<br /> – Various mentoring roles nationally | partner = Steven Nicholls (1994–present) }} '''Brett Joseph Sheehy''' {{post-nominals| country=AUS|AO}} an Australian artistic director, producer and curator. He has been director of international arts festivals in Australia's state capital cities, Sydney Festival, Adelaide Festival, and Melbourne Festival.
== Early life and education == Sheehy was born and raised in Brisbane, Queensland, one of five children of Gabriel Joseph Sheehy, a retired civil and structural engineer, and founder of the consulting engineering firm, Sheehy & Partners Pty Ltd.,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://architectureau.com/organisations/sheehy-partners-pty-ltd/|title = Sheehy & Partners}}</ref> and Joan Sheehy (née O'Sullivan), a homemaker and charity worker, particularly with the Vietnamese refugee community who arrived in Brisbane following the Vietnam War.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}
Sheehy was educated at St. Joseph's Christian Brothers College, Gregory Terrace, Brisbane and then at University of Queensland where he studied arts/law. Several of his family have been involved in law and public service in Queensland. His grandfather Sir Joseph Sheehy KBE<ref>[https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1082149 Awards] pmc.gov.au</ref> served as senior puisne judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland, as administrator of the State of Queensland in 1965 and 1969, and as deputy governor<ref>{{cite web|title=Queensland Parliamentary Record, the 53rd Parliament|pages=107–108|publisher=Governors and Deputy Governors of Queensland|url= http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/explore/parliamentaryrecord/sections/Part%202.1.pdf|access-date=16 October 2014}}</ref> and acting governor.<ref>{{cite web|title=Supreme Court Library Queensland, Judicial Profiles, Sir Joseph Sheehy KBE|url=http://www.sclqld.org.au/judicial-papers/judicial-profiles/profiles/jsheehy|publisher=Sclqld.org.au|access-date=16 October 2014}}</ref><ref name=Lim>Lim, Anne (August 2009) "Defining Moments: Brett Sheehy, Festival Director", ''Wish Magazine'', ''The Australian'', p. 62.</ref>
As a boy, Sheehy lived with an uncle, property developer Rick O'Sullivan, and his family on several occasions when Sheehy's mother endured lengthy illnesses.<ref name=Lim /> O'Sullivan was co-owner of the racehorse Think Big which won the Melbourne Cup in 1974 and 1975.<ref>Cummings, J. B. (2009) ''Bart: My Life'', Pan Australia, pp. 150-151.</ref>
Despite several family members' legal background, Sheehy completed only three years of his law studies and his articled clerkship at Short, Punch & Greatorix Solicitors on Queensland's Gold Coast, before abandoning law and moving to Sydney in 1983.<ref name="The Highway Man">Neill, Rosemary, "The Highway Man", ''The Weekend Australian'', ''Review'', 22 September 2012, cover and pp. 8/9.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://origin.www.theaustralianls.com.au/arts/review/arts-festival-boss-brett-sheehy-is-the-highway-man/story-fn9n8gph-1226477944522 |title=Arts festival boss Brett Sheehy is the highway man | the Australian |access-date=2014-09-06 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140907032639/http://origin.www.theaustralianls.com.au/arts/review/arts-festival-boss-brett-sheehy-is-the-highway-man/story-fn9n8gph-1226477944522 |archive-date=7 September 2014 |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref name="Dow, Steve 2005">Dow, Steve, (2005) 'Questions for Brett Sheehy', ''The Sun-Herald'', 2 January 2005</ref><ref name="smh.com.au">{{Cite web|url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2005/01/02/1104601229814.html|title=Questions for Brett Sheehy|date=2 January 2005}}</ref>
==Career== === Sydney Theatre Company === In Sydney, Sheehy became a theatre critic for the now defunct ''Sydney City Express'' newspaper and in late 1984 joined the Sydney Theatre Company (STC) under the stewardship of Richard Wherrett.<ref name="The Highway Man"/> At STC he held various positions over a ten-year period, including artistic associate, literary manager and deputy general manager, and he was dramaturg of a dozen productions.<ref name="Art's New Golden Boy">Dean, Alison, (13 May 2009) "Art's New Golden Boy", ''Melbourne Weekly Magazine'', p. 21.</ref>
While at STC, Sheehy is credited<ref>{{cite book|last=Wherrett|first=Richard|author-link=Richard Wherrett|year=2000|title=The Floor of Heaven|publisher=Hodder Headline|location=Sydney|page=213}}</ref> with helping give Sydney the now often-used moniker and nickname of "Emerald City" by suggesting this as the title for playwright David Williamson's 1987 play about the city, which Williamson accepted, adding a line of dialogue "The Emerald City of Oz. Everyone comes here along their yellow brick roads looking for the answers to their problems and all they find are the demons within themselves." The play ''Emerald City'' was produced nationally and later toured to the West End in London.{{sfn|Wherrett|2000|pp=213/214}}
In 1991 Sheehy was involved in challenging the automatic attribution of world-wide English-speaking rights in American plays to US producers, which could prevent their presentation in Australia for several years following their Broadway premieres.<ref>Neill, Rosemary, "Taking on the Big One: An Issue of Rights", ''The Australian'', 4 July 1991, p. 9.</ref>
=== Sydney Festival === [[File:Images from 'The Flood Drummers', Theatre du Soleil's Australian debut at 2002 Sydney Festival.png|thumb|''The Flood Drummers'', Théâtre du Soleil's Australian debut at 2002 Sydney Festival]] [[File:Michael Riley's 'Cloud' at the 2003 Sydney Festival.jpg|thumb|Michael Riley's ''Cloud'' at the 2003 Sydney Festival]] [[File:Nam June Paik's 'Transmission' & '32 Cars for the 20th Century'at the 2004 Sydney Festival.JPG|thumb|Nam June Paik's ''Transmission'' and ''32 Cars for the 20th Century'' at the 2004 Sydney Festival]] In 1995 Sheehy left STC to become administrator of Sydney Festival under the leadership of Anthony Steel<ref>Sheehy, Brett, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110813124443/http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,22370328-5006348,00.html "The Big Steel"], ''The Advertiser'', (Adelaide), 8 September 2007 [accessed 2 July 2014].</ref> and in 1997 became deputy director to Steel's successor, Leo Schofield. Sheehy completed four Sydney Festivals as Schofield's deputy (1998 to 2001) and succeeded Schofield as festival director and CEO in February 2001.<ref name="Arts Supremo">Esau, Christine, (28 February 2008) "Arts Supremo; Brett Sheehy", ''The Adelaide Magazine'', p. 90.</ref>
Sheehy's four Sydney Festivals (2002 to 2005)<ref name="The Highway Man"/> included 37 world premieres, saw the festival double its box office attendances, posted four successive financial surpluses, recorded a 30% increase in attendances to free outdoor events, established satellite festival precincts at Fox Studios Australia and in Greater Sydney, developed a following in the 18 to 35 age group, was voted Sydney's Best and Most Popular Event by the Sydney Chamber of Commerce, and was twice named the Best Event in New South Wales (2003 and 2005) by NSW Tourism (since renamed Destination NSW).<ref>Usher, Robin (28 November 2007) "Sydney, Adelaide; Now Sheehy Takes on Melbourne's Festival", ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', p. 18.</ref><ref name="australianstage.com.au">Australian Stage, 28 November 2007 http://www.australianstage.com.au/20071128918/news/melbourne/melbourne-international-arts-festival-appoints-next-artistic-director.html</ref>
Sheehy's final Sydney Festival event at the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall, the ''Came So Far For Beauty'' Leonard Cohen tribute concert starring Jarvis Cocker, Beth Orton, Nick Cave, Rufus Wainwright, and Antony Hegarty, among others, was filmed and recorded for the international documentary and album ''Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chrisspedding.com/review/sydney/sydney.htm|title = Came So Far for Beauty / Sydney Festival 2005 / Chris Spedding}}</ref>
=== Adelaide Festival === In 2003 Sheehy was appointed artistic director of the then-biennial Adelaide Festival, to succeed Stephen Page following Page's 2004 festival.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}} He directed the festival from 2005 to 2008.<ref name=changes2024/>
The reception of the 2006 festival was positive. Australian media claimed Sheehy had restored Adelaide Festival's status as the pre-eminent arts festival of Australia.<ref>McDonald, Patrick (2005), "Program 'a work of genius{{'"}}, ''The Advertiser'', 11 October 2005, p. 7.</ref> News Limited press headlined "Festival baHeck as best in nation",<ref>{{cite web | last =Starick | first =Paul | access-date =13 June 2006 | url =http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,18505821%255E30877,00.html | title =Festival back as best in nation | date =18 March 2006 | work =The Advertiser|location=Adelaide| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20060523233851/http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/common/story_page/0%2C5936%2C18505821%5E30877%2C00.html | archive-date =23 May 2006 | url-status =dead}}</ref> and the Fairfax Media echoed these sentiments.<ref>[http://www.adelaidemusic.com.au/adelaide-music-articles/2007/12/8/the-futures-looking-festive/ "The Future's Looking Festive"] by Penelope Debelle, ''The Age'', 8 December 2007. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141222090614/http://www.adelaidemusic.com.au/adelaide-music-articles/2007/12/8/the-futures-looking-festive/ |date=22 December 2014 }}; Retrieved 22 December 2014</ref> The subsequent 2008 festival broke box office and attendance records for Adelaide Festival's 48-year history,<ref>Usher, Robin (15 March 2008) "Directing Festival to Record High", ''The Age'' (Arts & Culture), p. 25.</ref> and was claimed to have been the world's first carbon-neutral international arts festival, achieved in concert with the South Australian Government.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}
[[File:'Nora' - Schabuehne's & Thomas Ostermeier's Australian debut at the 2006 Adelaide Festival.png|thumb|''Nora'' (''A Doll's House'', Schaubühne's and Thomas Ostermeier's Australian debut at the 2006 Adelaide Festival]] thumb|''Ainadamar'' by Osvaldo Golijov at the 2008 Adelaide Festival thumb|One of the multiple ''Northern Lights'' installations by Electric Canvas at 2008 Adelaide Festival
In Adelaide, Sheehy's team secured with Adelaide Bank the largest arts sponsorship in the State of South Australia, at A$3 million over three festivals, with an option on a further two festivals.<ref>Usher, Robin (28 November 2007) "Adelaide Festival Director Heading to Melbourne", ''The Age'', p. 9.</ref>
In August 2024, after current director Ruth Mackenzie was appointed to a senior government role, it was announced that Sheehy would again take assume the role of AD of Adelaide Festival until a new one is appointed for the 2026 festival.<ref name=changes2024>{{cite web | title=Changes at the helm of Australia's leading international arts festival | website=Adelaide Festival | date=3 August 2024 | url=https://www.adelaidefestival.com.au/news/latest-news/changes-at-the-helm-of-australia-s-leading-international-arts-festival/ | access-date=7 August 2024}}</ref>
=== Melbourne Festival === In 2008 Sheehy was appointed artistic director and co-CEO of the annual Melbourne International Arts Festival<ref name="Art's New Golden Boy"/> where he directed the 2009 to 2012 festivals.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}} thumb|{{lang|de|Körper}} (bodies), Sasha Waltz's Australian debut at the 2009 Melbourne Festival In 2011 the premiere production of ''Notes from the Hard Road and Beyond'' by the Indigenous music ensemble Black Arm Band, directed by Steven Richardson, was commissioned and performed.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130410095757/http://www.blackarmband.com.au/about/company/ About Black Arm Band]. [archived 2013].</ref>
The 2009 Melbourne Festival saw a 55% increase in the festival's economic impact on the city of Melbourne, with his subsequent festival programs growing that figure by another 41% to $39.5 million, resulting in an overall increase of 120% (independent figures by Roy Morgan Research and Sweeney Research).{{quote without source|date=March 2023}} ''The Age'' newspaper claimed that in 2009 the festival "regained much of the tensile strength it lost in recent years (with a program which) made this year's festival special and so beguiling".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/festivals-are-proving-grounds-20091021-ge85ij.html|url-access=limited|title=Festivals are proving ground|author=Michael Shmith|newspaper=The Age|date=21 October 2009|access-date=1 April 2023}}</ref>
[[File:'Manganiyar Seduction' at the 2011 Melbourne Festival.jpg|thumb|''The Manganiyar Seduction'' by Roysten Abel at the 2011 Melbourne Festival]] Sheehy's 2011 Melbourne Festival broke box office records for that festival's 27-year history.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}} In Melbourne Sheehy programmed his first composer-in-residence suite of works, with British composer Thomas Adès,<ref>[http://www.fabermusic.com/composers/thomas-ad%C3%A8s Faber Music, Thomas Adès]; Retrieved 20 November 2014</ref> as well as the London Philharmonic Orchestra (hosting the Orchestra's Patron HRH Prince Edward, Duke of Kent). These and other classical music presentations were in counterpoint to Sheehy's contemporary music programs, curated with Hannah Fox and Tom Supple,<ref name="supplefox.com">Supple Fox, Projects, Melbourne Festival. http://supplefox.com/projects/melbourne-festival {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141204211140/http://supplefox.com/projects/melbourne-festival |date=4 December 2014 }}</ref> mostly staged at Melbourne's historic Forum Theatre. International and national music artists performed in genres as diverse as post-rock, noise rock, psychedelic jazz-hop, R&B funk-rap, synthpop, electroclash and extreme metal, with geographic surveys from Palestinian hip-hop to Chinese indie rock, hardcore and punk to Sri Lankan heavy metal.<ref name="supplefox.com"/>
[[File:'An Enemy of the People' by Schaubuehne Berlin at the 2012 Melbourne Festival.png|thumb|''An Enemy of the People'' by Schaubühne Berlin at the 2012 Melbourne Festival]] thumb|''Swanlights'' starring Antony, at the 2012 Melbourne Festival For the opening weekend of Sheehy's final Melbourne Festival program he returned to an artist from the Sydney Festival's ''Came So Far For Beauty'' concerts, Antony Hegarty, and presented the Museum of Modern Art commission ''Swanlights''<ref>{{Cite news|last=Pareles|first=Jon|author-link=Jon Pareles|date=2012-01-28 |title=Cries from the Heart, Crashing Like Waves|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/28/arts/music/antony-and-the-johnsons-at-radio-city-music-hall.html|access-date=2023-03-03}}</ref> – a musical artwork created by Hegarty, Chris Levine and Carl Robertshaw with 44-piece orchestra, based on the Antony and the Johnsons album of the same name. The production ''Swanlights'' had been presented one other night previously, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.moma.org/explore/multimedia/videos/192/videos-all |title=Antony and the Johnsons: ''Swanlights''|website=Museum of Modern Art|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714170226/https://www.moma.org/explore/multimedia/videos/192/videos-all |archive-date=2014-07-14}}</ref> <!--- needs citing == Festival milestones == Australian works that were developed or premiered at festivals Sheehy directed have toured nationally and internationally, including works by the dance ensemble Force Majeure, William Yang's ''Shadows'', Stephen Sewell and Basil Hogios's ''Three Furies: Scenes From the Life of Francis Bacon'', Andrew Bovell's ''When the Rain Stops Falling'', Ranters Theatre's ''Intimacy'', Chunky Move and Victorian Opera's ''Assembly'', Chunky Move's ''Tense Dave'', Australian Dance Theatre's ''Devolution'', Sir Jonathan Mills and Dorothy Porter's opera ''The Eternity Man'' (originally commissioned by Almeida Theatre), the Indigenous music-theatre work ''Crying Baby'', John Romeril and Jack Charles' ''Jack Charles vs The Crown'' and ''Foley'' the autobiographical stage production starring Indigenous activist Gary Foley.
Sheehy's festival programs focus on premiering new Australian works, mounting outdoor productions and installations, programming visual arts and film components, and presenting international artists whose stage work had previously not been seen in Australia.
Companies and artists who made their Australian stage debuts at Sheehy's festivals include Théâtre du Soleil and Ariane Mnouchkine, {{ill|Amsterdam Sinfonietta|nl}}, National Theatre of Colombia, the Schaubühne of Berlin and Thomas Ostermeier,<ref>Debelle, Penelope, "Big-ticket bid to regain lost ground with work for Adelaide's eyes only", ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 11 October 2005.</ref> The Forsythe Company, Ivo van Hove and Toneelgroep Amsterdam, Sasha Waltz and Guests, the National Theatre of China, Hofesh Shechter Company, Shen Wei Dance Arts, the Ballet Boyz, Sir Ian McKellen, Osvaldo Golijov, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Talvin Singh, James Thiérrée, DJ Spooky, Rufus Wainwright and Antony Hegarty (of Antony and the Johnsons) among others. International visual artists receiving their Australian debuts at Sheehy's festivals include Elisa Sighicelli, Francesco Vezzoli, Iván Navarro, Zhang Ga and Guy Ben-Ner.
The co-commissioning of both the 2004/5 production of ''The Black Rider'' (starring Marianne Faithfull and then Nigel Richards) for Sydney Festival and the 2005/6 production of ''Here Lies Love'' (with David Byrne himself performing) for Adelaide Festival, meant that these festivals staged the Australian debuts of the music-theatre works of Tom Waits, David Byrne and Fatboy Slim (Norman Cook). Another of Sheehy's international co-commissions was the 2007/8 production of Philip Glass and Leonard Cohen's ''Book of Longing''. Sheehy's Adelaide Festival and Melbourne Festival programs in particular featured international contemporary operas, and the 2009 Melbourne Festival co-commissioned Rufus Wainwright's first opera production ''Prima Donna'', but to date it has not been presented in Australia.---> Sheehy has been variously dubbed "Mr Sydney"<ref>Clark, Chelsea, "Mr Sydney's Festival Aims for Under 35s", ''The Daily Telegraph'', Sydney, 2 November 2001.</ref> and Australia's "Mr Festival"<ref>Strickland, Katrina & Plane, Terry, "Mr Festival Makes a Capital Move", ''The Australian'', 3 September 2003</ref><ref>McMahon, Neil, "Meet Mr Festival", ''The Sunday Age''/''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 7 October 2013.</ref> due to his extensive festival career which began with his ten-year tenure at Sydney Festival.
=== Melbourne Theatre Company === In February 2011 Sheehy was appointed artistic director and CEO of Melbourne Theatre Company, to succeed Simon Phillips.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mtc.com.au/about/media/pressdetail.aspx?id=9478|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130427145208/http://www.mtc.com.au/about/media/pressdetail.aspx?id=9478|url-status=dead|title="MTC's new Artistic Director"|archivedate=27 April 2013}}</ref>
At Melbourne Theatre Company, Sheehy's inaugural season in 2013 included MTC's first presentation of an international West End production (with Arts Centre Melbourne), the Royal National Theatre's ''One Man, Two Guvnors''; Australia's first festival of independent theatre NEON;<ref>[https://issuu.com/melbournetheatrecompany/docs/mtc-season-2013-brochure/33 New Light MTC Season 2013]. [accessed 26 June 2014]</ref> the first stage-play by singer, songwriter, author and actor Eddie Perfect; the MTC debut of director Simon Stone; film and stage actor David Wenham in ''The Crucible''; the family production ''The Book of Everything''; the Company's inaugural Women Directors Program; and the inaugural MTC CONNECT Diverse Artists Program with Multicultural Arts Victoria. This resulted in MTC's highest box office in its 60-year history, with attendances of 263,000 and 19,800 subscribers, the largest theatre subscriber base in Australia.<ref>[https://issuu.com/melbournetheatrecompany/docs/2013_annual_report_fa_hr MTC Annual Report 2013]. [accessed 3 July 2014]</ref> ''The Age'' newspaper's end-of-year editorial claimed the 2013 program was jointly responsible (with National Gallery of Victoria's 2013 program) for Melbourne's cultural renaissance in that year.<ref>[http://www.theage.com.au/comment/the-age-editorial/culturally-a-year-of-revitalisation-20131227-2zzo5.html ''The Age'', 28 December 2013]; Editorial: "Culturally, A Year Of Revitalisation", Retrieved 4 January 2015.</ref>
In 2014 MTC toured its production of ''Rupert'', David Williamson's satirical bio-play about the life of Rupert Murdoch, to Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. Sheehy's 2014 program also included the second NEON Festival of Independent Theatre; the first stage-play by Australian film and television artists Working Dog Productions ''The Speechmaker''; MTC's co-presentation of musical ''Once'' with Gordon Frost Organisation; and a regional tour of its education production ''Yellow Moon''. 2014 also saw MTC's first mainstage multi-artform production, with dance ensemble Chunky Move, of Falk Richter and Anouk van Dijk's ''Complexity of Belonging''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mtc.com.au/plays-and-tickets/mainstage-2014/complexity-of-belonging/ |title=Add On: ''Complexity of Belonging''|website=www.mtc.com.au |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927173426/http://www.mtc.com.au/plays-and-tickets/mainstage-2014/complexity-of-belonging/ |archive-date=2013-09-27}}</ref> which opened the 2014 Melbourne Festival and opens the Spring Festival in Utrecht, Netherlands, in early 2015, followed by seasons at Schaubühne Berlin and Théâtre national de Chaillot in Paris.
== Other appointments == {{BLP unsourced section|date=August 2024}} *Mentor, Foundation for Young Australians' ''World of Work Program'' (2014) *Mentor, Australia Council's ''Emerging Leaders Development Program'' (since 2012) *Judge, Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards (since 2012) *Board member, SBS (Special Broadcasting Service) Subscription TV Ltd. (2011 to 2012) *Artistic director, Cultural Program, ''5th Biennial World Summit on Arts and Culture'' presented by the 76 country alliance of the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (2011) *Mentor and selector, Harold Mitchell Foundation Fellowship (2009 to 2012) *Member, artists' advisory panel, Bell Shakespeare Company (2009 to 2012) *Founding ambassador, Australia Council's ''We All Play a Part'' initiative encouraging nationwide community involvement in the arts (since 2008) *Member, Creative Australia, Australia 2020 Summit (2008) *Member, Power Panel, ''Australian Financial Review'' Magazine (2005 to 2008) *Member, Arts Advisory Group, ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (2003 to 2005) *Member, Committee for Sydney (2001 to 2005) *Board member, Australian Theatre for Young People (1999 to 2003) *Member, Arts and Events Committee, NSW Centenary of Federation (1998 to 2001) *Member, Sydney Carnivale Council (1996 to 1998) *Member, Sydney Writers' Festival Committee (1995 to 1997) *Script assessor, Australia Council (1989 to 1990) *Reader, Australian National Playwrights' Centre (1988 to 1989) *Judge (with Glenn A. Baker), Sydney Rock and Roll Eisteddfod (1986 to 1988)
== Recognition, awards and honours == In 2012 the second highest civilian honour in Australia, Officer of the Order of Australia (AO), was awarded to Sheehy.<ref>The Queen's Birthday 2012 Honours, [http://www.gg.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/honours/qb/qb2012/Gazette%20QB12%20(1)%20Order%20of%20Australia.pdf the Governor-General's Announcement], 11 June 2012. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140213091012/http://www.gg.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/honours/qb/qb2012/Gazette%20QB12%20%281%29%20Order%20of%20Australia.pdf |date=13 February 2014 }}</ref><ref>Queen's Birthday 2012 Honours Lists, Governor-General of Australia: The Australian Honours Secretariat</ref><ref>[https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1145776 Awards] pmc.gov.au</ref> With this appointment he became one of the few Australians to have received a national honours citation for distinguished service to both artistic disciplines of the performing arts and the visual arts.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/ |title=It's an Honour has a new home |access-date=6 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816194502/http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/ |archive-date=16 August 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Sheehy's other awards have included:{{citation needed|date=August 2024}} * Twice winner (with Geoffrey Gifford), International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA) Award – Best Design Direct Mail Sales Brochure (1993 and 1994) * Winner, the 1991 Mobil Fellowship in Arts Administration (1991) * Winner, the 1987 Qantas International Theatre Scholarship (1987)
In 2005 Sheehy was named by the ''Australian Financial Review'' Magazine as one of the 20 Australians to be watched for their impact on society up to the year 2020,<ref>Cornell, Andrew (et al.) (25 April 2005) "20 for 2020; People", ''Australian Financial Review''.</ref> and in 2007 he was named by ABC's ''Limelight'' magazine as one of the five most influential arts figures in Australia,<ref name="Arts Supremo"/><ref name="australianstage.com.au"/> an attribution repeated in 2011 when the AFR Magazine named him as one of Australia's five leading arts identities – with then-Federal Arts Minister Simon Crean, National Gallery of Victoria director Tony Ellwood, actress Cate Blanchett and Sydney Opera House CEO Louise Herron.<ref>Turner, Brook (30 September 2011) "Arts A-Listers", ''Australian Financial Review''.</ref>
In 2002 Sheehy was painted by artist Paul Newton<ref>Paul Newton – [https://www.flickr.com/photos/68403727@N03/7531832872/ Portrait of Brett Sheehy], Flickr</ref> for the Archibald Prize,<ref>Guinness, Daphne, "Fit Enough to Tackle the Competition", ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 20 May 2002</ref> with the painting subsequently being a finalist<ref>Paul Newton: [http://paulnewton.com.au/ "Career Highlights 2004 – Finalist in the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize, portrait of Brett Sheehy, Director of The Sydney Festival"]</ref> in the 2004 Doug Moran National Portrait Prize,<ref>Verghis, Sharon, "Reputation Restored in Leaner Frame", ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 28 July 2004.</ref> the richest portrait prize in the world.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/Article/256402,baz-luhrmann-writ-large-on-canvas-wins-moran-portrait-prize.aspx|title=Baz Luhrmann writ large on canvas wins Moran Portrait Prize|magazine=Limelight|access-date=7 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141107223140/http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/Article/256402,baz-luhrmann-writ-large-on-canvas-wins-moran-portrait-prize.aspx |archive-date=7 November 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Sheehy was again painted for the Archibald Prize in 2012 by artist Caroline Thew.
== Publications == * Willsteed, T. & Sheehy, B. (eds.) (1989) ''Sydney Theatre Company 1978 to 1988'', Focus Books {{ISBN|1 875 359 001}}
== Personal life == Sheehy's former partner, medical practitioner Paul Weber, suicided on 28 May 1989. Weber left a message on Sheehy's phone indicating he was about to take his own life.<ref name="Dow, Steve 2005"/><ref name="smh.com.au"/><ref name=Lim /> Sheehy and Richard Wherrett, who had both been working at a preview performance of Sydney Theatre Company's ''Romeo and Juliet'' at the Sydney Opera House that night, together found Weber's body. Weber's medical practice had been devoted almost exclusively to treating AIDS patients, and the consistent loss of his patients' lives drove Weber into deep depression. While Sheehy has only twice publicly alluded to the events of that night,<ref name="smh.com.au"/><ref name=Lim /> Wherrett described them in some detail in his autobiography ''The Floor of Heaven''.{{sfn|Wherrett|2000|p=242}}
In 2009, Sheehy's partner since August 1994, was chef Steven Nicholls.<ref name=Lim />
==References== {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheehy, Brett}} Category:Australian theatre managers and producers Category:Living people Category:Officers of the Order of Australia Category:Australian gay men Category:20th-century Australian LGBTQ people Category:21st-century Australian LGBTQ people Category:Australian art curators Category:People educated at St Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace Category:Year of birth missing (living people)