Clive Parkinson  

CLIVE PARKINSON

Clive Parkinson is the Director of Arts for Health at Manchester Metropolitan University; the UK’s longest established arts and health unit. He was project lead on the HM Treasury funded; Invest to Save: Arts in Health Project and is a passionate advocate for culture and the arts. In 2009 he was awared an Enterprise Curriculum Fellowship to develop bespoke arts/health training. This continues on a regular basis and is investing in a new generation of practitioners.

Through facilitated networking, practical support, training on the ground and high level political lobbying, he has succeeded in gaining strategic support and a greater understanding of the potency of the arts in the UK.

He is working to further understand the potential impact of the arts on public health, in partnership with Arts Council England, North West and the Department of Health, Public Health Team, North West. He is currently facilitating a series of participatory workshops with those interested in the impact of the arts on wider society. Under the banner of M A N I F E S T O he is working towards a distinctly proactive approach to the arts/health agenda in relationship to the ongoing financial 'down-turn'.

After leaving art-college, he began his career as a visual artist, working in a hospital for people with learning difficulties and during this time, undertook a degree in Independent Studies at Lancaster University where his research focused on the relationship between creativity, culture the arts and health. Employed variously by the NHS and voluntary sector, Clive has led on mental health promotion for an NHS Trust and managed day services for people affected by schizophrenia in the seaside town of Morecambe.

Before taking up his current post, he lived in Cornwall and was the development director of Arts for Health Cornwall, where he established one of the countries leading edge projects, with the support of the inspirational James Sargent. http://www.artsforhealthcornwall.org.uk

He sees the importance of popular culture as a vehicle for widening the participation of those who wouldn’t normally want to get involved in the arts.

He is a regular speaker at regional, national and international conferences and sits on a number of advisory groups.

He is currently looking to develop core elements of the work the department undertakes with specific focus on taught modules at under and post graduate level; enterprise and innovation, and research and evaluation; and with colleagues in the department, is looking to further develop the strong track record that Arts for Health holds.

In November 2009 and 2010 Clive gave keynote papers at The Art of Good Health and Well-being conferences in Australia. In 2011 he was given the International Leadership in Arts and Health Award. http://www.artsandhealth.org/

He is currently working with the Asia Europe Foundation on Global Pandemic Preparedness and has played an active role in the ASEF University in Poland over 2010. He is working closely with partners from around the UK to develop a national forum for arts and health.
http://www.cultureandwellbeing.org.uk

Over 2012 he is working with an NHS provider, to develop radical and innovative approaches to dementia services. Details of this work will be available online in 2012. He is part of an AHRC Connecting Communities funded research project with partners from across the UK. Further details will be available soon.

A visual artist, keen collector and family man, he is a passionate collector of the minor English artist and writer, Denton Welch.

He regularly BLOGS at http://artsforhealthmmu.blogspot.com