Who We Are
Clive Parkinson Director
Principle Investigator for Arts for Health
Clive Parkinson is the Director of Arts for Health and project lead on the Invest to Save: Arts in Health project. Before taking up this post, he lived in St Ives and was the development director of Arts for Health Cornwall, where amongst other successes he secured a percent for art within primary care new builds NHS LIFT Programme and alongside Cornwall Mental Health Forums, planned delivered and evaluated, The Arts and Mental Health Symposium at Falmouth College of Art.
After 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 Morecambe Bay Primary Care Trust and managed day services for people affected by schizophrenia in Morecambe for the charity, Making Space.
During his time at Manchester Metropolitan University he has developed strategic relationships with Arts Council England and the Department of Health and has had a fruitful relationship with the BBC resulting in the broadcast of a Radio 4 drama exploring the issue of self-harm. He sees the importance of popular culture in the arts and health agenda in widening the participation of those who wouldn't normally want to get involved in the arts. He is a regular speaker at regional and national conferences and sits on a number of advisory groups.
Amanda Kilroy Research Associate
Principle Investigator for The Invest to Save Project
Amanda Kilroy RGN; BSc (Hons); MRes; Cert Ed, is the research lead for Invest to Save arts and health evaluation, a collaborative project exploring stakeholder perspectives of the impact of culture, creativity and the arts on health and well being. Her background is in nursing and complementary medicine, she is also an experienced lecturer, group facilitator and participatory researcher whose work focuses on using action research and collaborative inquiry approaches to engage diverse participants in meaningful and relevant research and organisational and personal development.
Charlotte Garner Research Assistant
Charlotte Garner is the Research Assistant on the Invest to Save Arts in Health Project, a collaboration between Arts for Health at Manchester Metropolitan University, Public Health Northwest and Arts Council England who have come together to evaluate and learn more about the value and impact of arts activities on health and wellbeing. Charlotte's background is in psychology where she focused on sexual health and the health and wellbeing of adults with learning difficulties. Current specialist areas include participatory action research, quantitative evaluation of arts activities and event management.
Anne Kellock PhD Student
Following 6 years as a primary school teacher in both the UK and New Zealand, Anne undertook an MSc in Psychology and Counselling at MMU. Maintaining a strong interest in the well being of children from her teaching, along with a passion for photography and the arts, Anne is now doing a PhD looking at the well being of primary school children from their perspective, using photography and art as communications tools.
Aine Fee Research Student
Aine Fee came to Arts for Health having completed a Law degree in Trinity College Dublin. She comes from a strong background of music and singing and is currently studying for a Masters by Research in Singing for Health within the MIRIAD department of the university.
Peter Senior MIRIAD Arts for Heatlh Research Fellow
Peter Senior is recognised as the pioneer of an international arts and health movement, which introduces the services of artists and designers to the world of healthcare.
This work began in Manchester hospitals in the 1970's and has spread throughout the United Kingdom and abroad. Its effect has been to transform perceptions of healthcare environments both in the UK and Abroad. From 1995 he has advised the French Ministry of Culture on the establishment of their national culture and health "twinning scheme". In 1999 as Director of Arts for Health he curated the Culture, Health and the Arts World Symposium at Manchester Metropolitan University. This seminal event, the first of its kind in the world, drew over 500 delegates from 22 countries to share their experiences of the arts in healthcare and healing. In 2001 he was co-chairman of the first European forum 'The Arts and Culture in Health and Hospitals' and has been instrumental in developing the second one with the Arts Council of Ireland, June 24-26 in Dublin 2004. He has served on a wide range of national committees for the Arts Council of England, the Department of Health and several national charities
