John J. Smithies

John Geoffrey Smithies (born 1954) is an Australian artist and arts manager. He is a sculptor and installation artist who has been director of the State Film Centre of Victoria, but is best known as the founding director of the Australian Centre for the Moving Image.

Early life Smithies was born in Tasmania in 1954.

After a period of turmoil, with the organisation over budget, Smithies resigned from the Victorian Public Service in 2004. He later said the facility had been forced to open while "under-funded" by the Victorian Government.

In December 2005, Smithies joined the Cultural Development Network (CDN), an independent non-profit organisation that links individual practitioners, community organisations and government across Victoria, as director. About the same time, he recommenced working as an artist (painting and sculpture) with an ongoing interest in digital media and interactive broadcasting.