Mark Thompson
Darwin born Mark Thompson has an extensive career as a painter and ceramic sculptor, and as an event and theatre designer. In 1975 Mark became established as a successful sculptor with his work collected, published and represented in 25 State and public Art Museums including The National Gallery of Australia. In 1984 he began designing for live performance and has worked across all art forms; opera, music theatre, circus, dance and theatre, as well as corporate/event designer. Mark has been the Artistic Director at JamFactory; Curator of Exhibitions at the Art Gallery of South Australia; Head of Department for Production and Design at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts and continues his event and theatrical work on a freelance basis.
"As a theatre practitioner and painter, fields of research and discovery are as serendipitous as life. A curiosity for the strange and bizarre coupled with a need to examine and explain the human condition leads one into the realm of the extraordinary. Recent events in this world demand some kind of contextualisation and the scattered symbols are signifiers of a world view.
My professional production design practice, amalgamated with investigations into theatre and costume design, historical art practice and social comment, has led to several areas of creative investigation. These all inform current works based on identifiable iconography, both international and Australian in origin."
Mark Thompson, 2017
DESIGNER (EXHIBITIONS / PUBLICATION / CONSULTANCY)
Mark Thompson has designed more than 50 exhibitions for the Art Gallery of South Australia and the JamFactory Gallery, Adelaide including: Leonardo da Vinci - Anatomical Drawings from the Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Visions After Light, Adelaide AD 1881, Image and Idea - British Contemporary Ceramics, One Man’s Vision - Odilon Redon, The Cinzano Glass Collection, The World of Edward Hopper (1982 Adelaide Festival), Treasures of the Forbidden City, Bustles and Beaus - A History of Fashion in South Australia, Goya’s Los Caprichos, Wassily Kandinsky, Japan - Idemitsu Collection, Italian Old Master Prints, The Entombed Warriors, International Photography, 4000 years of Rings and Arthur Boyd.
For the Art Gallery of South Australia and other publishers, Mark Thompson’s Publication Design credits include: The World of Edward Hopper, Leonardo da Vinci Catalogue, Italian Old Masters Printers, Recent Australian Painting and Omnibus Books – Australia.
Mark Thompson has provided consultancy to the History Trust of South Australia, National Trust of South Australia, Maritime Museum of South Australia and Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs.
For the Government of South Australia, he designed/developed and supervised overseas trade fairs, including the Asian Trade Fair.
Mark Thompson designed and supervised the installation/fit of restaurants in Hong Kong and Singapore for the Igors Restaurant Group, Hong Kong.
ART DIRECTION / GRAPHIC DESIGN
Graphic Design credits include campaigns for Crafts Board of the Australia Council for the Arts, State Opera of South Australia, State Theatre Company of South Australia, International Cultural Corporation of Australia, Art Gallery Director’s Council of Australia, Come Out Festival (1985, 1987, 1989), South Australian Ceramics Guild, Association of Professional Performances Arts South Australia, The Hole in the Wall Theatre Western Australia, Western Australia Theatre Company, Spare Parts Theatre, Patch Theatre South Australia and The Western Australian Association of Professional Performing Arts.
Mark Thompson has provided Art Direction for the International Craft and Fabric Arts Magazine Inspirations.
THEATRE / PRODUCTION / EVENTS
In 1984 Mark began designing for theatre and has designed over 60 productions for most of Australia’s leading theatre companies including Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide Festival of Arts, Australian Dance Theatre, CDP Theatre Productions, Come Out Children’s Festival, Ensemble Theatre, Hayes Theatre Company, Monkey Baa Productions, Nimrod Theatre Company, Opera Australia, Sport for Jove Theatre Company, State Opera of South Australia, State Theatre Company of South Australia, Sydney Theatre Company, The Hole in the Wall Theatre Company, Western Australian Theatre Company, Soft Tread Productions and Windmill Theatre Company.
Mark was in the creative design team for the Opening and Closing ceremonies for the DOHA Asian Games in 2006. In 2015 Mark designed the set and costumes for the Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour (Opera Australia) production of Aida and for Carmen On Cockatoo Island in 2023 for Opera Australia
For the Adelaide Festival Centre Trust Workshop, Mark Thompson has provided Production Sculpture, Supervision and Design consultancy for commercial theatre productions of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Orient Express, South Pacific, Me and My Girl, The Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon (re-fit) and Les Miserables (build). He was the site-specific designer for the Australian touring production of CATS – tent tour.
Mark Thompson’s corporate event design consultancy clients include: Adelaide Festival Centre, Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Aotea Theatre Centre Auckland, The Gordon Frost Organisation, Jon Nicholls Productions, Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Perth Theatre Trust, Intercontinental Adelaide, Grand Hyatt Melbourne, Four Points by Sheraton Brisbane, Four Points by Sheraton Perth, Sofitel Sydney Wentworth and The Hotel Windsor Melbourne, The City of Sydney New Years Eve Celebrations.