The Hidden Gardens is thrilled to welcome its new Chief Executive, Mahri Reilly, who has taken up her new role this week.
Mahri brings a wealth of experience in Glasgow’s third sector and performing arts worlds, most recently with the award-winning youth arts organisation Toonspeak. Her priorities will be to develop the Gardens’ role as a cultural and community hub, deepening its impact and building ever stronger partnerships. She takes over from Amanda Patterson, who led the Hidden Gardens brilliantly for the last 17 years.
Chair of the Hidden Gardens Trust, Cllr Jon Molyneux, said:
“We are really pleased to welcome Mahri to the Hidden Gardens. Her energy, vision and commitment will be vital as we move into the next phase of the Gardens’ journey. Over the past 20 years the Gardens has been a place for people to come together, make memories and share great moments. We are now looking to the future with a real desire to increase our impact, especially by forging really strong partnerships with different communities that can benefit from what the Gardens has to offer. We are really excited to have Mahri join us to drive that work.”
Mahiri Reilly said:
“I am deeply honoured to step into the role of Chief Executive at The Hidden Gardens. From the moment you enter, the Gardens feel like a quiet heartbeat in the centre of the city. A place where art, nature and community breathe together. It is a sanctuary shaped by creativity, peace and care, inviting us to imagine what a more compassionate world might look like.
Throughout my career I have witnessed how participatory arts can nurture connection, healing and growth. I am inspired to deepen the Gardens’ role as a cultural and community home rooted in peacebuilding, where people can gather, celebrate creativity, and make space for both reflection and joyful expression. Here, we are invited to tend the land gently and to practise a more thoughtful coexistence with nature and with one another. I look forward to working with the team, our partners and the people of Glasgow and beyond, to help the Gardens continue to flourish, offering beauty, belonging and inspiration for many years to come.”
Mahri Reilly is a multidisciplinary artist and cultural leader whose practice is rooted in socially engaged arts, creative wellbeing, and community collaboration. She has held senior leadership roles across the arts: Artistic Director at Toonspeak Young Peoples Theatre, Associate Producer at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Creative Director at Scottish Youth Theatre, Head of Learning and Participation at Ovalhouse Theatre London, and Learn Project Manager at the National Theatre of Scotland. She serves as a Trustee for Loop Theatre, a disability-inclusive theatre company, and has worked across festivals and events throughout the UK with Surge Scotland. She champions Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, creative participation, and values-driven community engagement in cultural leadership, and is a recipient of the RCS Innovation Studio Award for her practice-based research project, The Winter Grief Retreat.
Trained in Contemporary Theatre at RCS, Mahri performed with traditional travelling circus before re-training in Physical Theatre. A qualified complementary therapist specialising in massage and bodywork, and certified Yin Yoga instructor, she integrates wellbeing, creativity, and meaningful connection into all aspects of her leadership practice.
We look forward to introducing Mahri to The Hidden Gardens community in 2026!