He is perhaps Scotland's greatest architect, and one of the leading figures of Scottish culture, but he has never had a regular celebration of his ground-breaking life and work.
Now a new annual festival celebrating the life and works of Charles Rennie Mackintosh is to be launched.
The art and design of the architect and artist is the inspiration for the Creative Mackintosh Festival, which will run from October 15 to 29 and is planned to be an annual event.
Mackintosh, who lived from 1868 to 1928, left an influential imprint on Glasgow's cityscape with buildings such as the Glasgow School of Art's Mackintosh Building, his church at Queen's Cross and the Scotland Street School, but his life and legacy remained unacknowledged until a revival in the 1990s.
There was a one-off Mackintosh festival in 2006, with more than 100 events, but until now there have not been plans for an annual celebration of the artist.
The festival, which is being funded by Creative Scotland and Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, will include a show at The Lighthouse titled Unbuilt Mackintosh, comprising a series of detailed models depicting unrealised architectural competition entries by Mackintosh, including a new train station for Glasgow and a model of Liverpool Cathedral.
The festival will also feature a play, When the Moon was Overhead, written to commemorate the life and work of Frances MacDonald McNair, the younger sister of Margaret MacDonald Mackintosh, at the House for An Art Lover.
Scotland's national poet, Liz Lochhead, will be in residence at Scotland Street School presenting Aff by Heart, and a theatrical version of Mackintosh himself will appear courtesy of interactive performance company Mischief La Bas.
The festival, organised by Susan Garnsworthy for the Mackintosh Heritage Group, is hoping over the years to exploit the international draw of the Mackintosh name and brand. A recent study showed that nearly 30% of visitors to Mackintosh buildings were from overseas.
The largest group of foreign visitors were from the US and Australia, who in particular visited Glasgow School of Art and the Mackintosh House at Glasgow University.
Ms Garnsworthy said: "There really is an opportunity in Glasgow for more events, and a festival built around Mackintosh.
"It is very much saying that Mackintosh was this amazing person, Scotland's greatest architect who has been an inspiration to so many and was really there at the birth of the modern style.
"He has been slightly underdeveloped in the past [as an attraction] and this is our chance to celebrate him and his work.
"The Mackintosh Style, the Glasgow Style is so well known and we estimate the Mackintosh buildings attracted 500,000 visitors last year. The intention is for this to be an annual festival, with plans for at least three, but we would like it to be an annual event in October."
Iain Munro, director of creative development at Creative Scotland, said: "This will be a fabulous celebration of one of Scotland's most treasured architects, designers and artists in the Year of Creative Scotland."
Councillor Gordon Matheson, leader of Glasgow City Council and chairman of Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, said: "We are delighted to be supporting the inaugural Creative Mackintosh Festival, which will be a fantastic showcase of one of Glasgow's most influential and innovative design talents.
"There is a great diversity in the festival's programme, which features a range of talented writers, artists, musicians and performers. And with workshops and events on offer, there are plenty of opportunities for people to really discover Mackintosh."
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