Remembering Clive Parkinson: A Pioneer in Arts and Health

Clive Parkinson, who has passed away at the age of 63, served as a reader in arts, health, and social justice at Manchester Metropolitan University. Having worked across the NHS, higher education, and the voluntary sector, Clive emerged as a leading advocate for arts and health in the United Kingdom.

Born in Morecambe, Lancashire, Clive was the son of George, a lorry driver, and Betty (née Thurlby), a shop worker. Both parents fostered the compassion and community spirit that would define his life. Leaving school at 16 in 1979 with limited qualifications, Clive attended Lancaster & Morecambe College before founding an art studio for residents of the Royal Albert, a grand Victorian hospital for adults with learning disabilities—an experience he later deemed the most formative of his life. During this period, he completed a part-time degree in independent studies and visual art at Lancaster University, focusing his research on the intersections of creativity, culture, the arts, and health.

After the hospital closed in 1996, Clive spearheaded mental health promotion efforts for the Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust, where he also managed day services for individuals dealing with addiction and schizophrenia in Morecambe and Lancaster.

I first met Clive in 1988 when I was a freelance drama worker at the Royal Albert. In 2002, we relocated to St Ives, Cornwall, with our children, and he took on the role of director at the newly established Arts for Health Cornwall & Isles of Scilly. Shortly thereafter, the family returned to the north-west, marking the beginning of Clive’s 20-year tenure at Manchester Metropolitan. There, he founded the Manchester Institute for Arts, Health & Social Change and authored several highly influential publications, such as the Manifesto for Arts & Health, the Recoverist Manifesto, The Manchester Declaration, and A Social Glue. His vision profoundly shaped the health agenda in Manchester and far beyond.

He also collaborated with an all-party parliamentary group on arts, health, and wellbeing, and became deeply involved in arts and health initiatives across the UK, Europe, Australia, and Japan. In 2018, he earned a doctorate by published work titled Social Justice, Inequalities, the Arts and Public Health: Weapons of Mass Happiness? In 2022, his exceptional vision and leadership were honored with an honorary chair in creative health and social change at the University of Manchester.

In early 2020, Clive was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, an incurable blood cancer, which he wryly described as “an inconsiderate lodger.” Shortly after stepping away from academic life in 2021, his keynote address at the Culture, Health & Wellbeing International Conference explored his reflections on power, inequality, and sustainability—drawing from his experiences with treatment and his walks through the hills and woods behind his hometown. Clive continued to pursue independent passions, including writing, painting, filmmaking, and traveling with our family.

Clive is survived by me and our children, Jesse, Charlie, and Jack.

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