Professor Michael Hitchcock

16 January 1954 – 10 January 2025

Colleagues will be shocked and saddened to learn of the sudden passing of our esteemed colleague and friend, Prof Mike Hitchcock. Mike joined ICCE as Professor of Cultural Policy and Tourism in 2014, continuing as Emeritus Professor after his formal retirement in 2021. He will be remembered for his positive, can-do attitude, the perpetual smile on his face, an ever-so-slightly-mischievous glint in his eye, a selfless willingness to get involved, and a scholarly contribution to the work and reputation of ICCE that evidenced a long, distinguished and eclectic academic career.

Born in Nelson, Lancashire, Mike was quickly whisked off to Germany where his academic father had a teaching position, and where Mike’s multilingual journey had its foundations: I personally observed him communicating in at least ten languages, and with a vocabulary that would make even Gordon Ramsey blush, courtesy of an ethnologist’s ear for the everyday vernacular, embellished by the colourful language acquired while working on a building site in the Netherlands. But this was also symptomatic of both a person and an academic who was interested in the real lives of real people, who he wanted to interact with on their terms and at their level. His cheerful conviviality unlocked barriers of reticence, and I have no doubt that there are people in every corner of Asia, and many more besides, whose lives have been touched by their association with Mike and who, like all of us in ICCE, will be deeply desolated by his passing.

After completing his schooling at Kenilworth Grammar School in the West Midlands, Mike’s academic journey started on the still-troubled streets of Belfast, where he read for a B.A. degree in Social Anthropology at Queen’s University from 1974 to 1978. A D.Phil. in Ethnology followed at Linacre College and the Department of Ethnology and Prehistory at the University of Oxford (1979-1983), where he researched (under the guidance of Prof. Rodney Needham, one of the UK’s greatest social anthropologists) the social and cultural identity of the Bimanese (Mbojo) people of Sumbawa island, eastern Indonesia, through the lens of their material culture, with a particular focus on their textiles and house-building styles. Mike’s association with the Pitt Rivers Museum at Oxford then led to appointments at the Museum of Liverpool and then the Horniman Museum in south London, where he was Assistant Keeper of Ethnography. During this time Mike started his prolific profile of academic publications with numerous works on Balinese textiles, the Bimanese kris, house-construction styles and other forms of material culture, as well as Islam and identity in eastern Indonesia.

The first of my enduring interactions with Mike came 35 years ago when he was appointed to a lectureship in the Sociology of South-East Asia at the University of Hull in 1989. Having mastered Bimanese, Balinese, Javanese and Bahasa Indonesia whilst researching for his D.Phil., Mike was instrumental in establishing a very successful Indonesian language teaching programme in the multi-disciplinary Centre for South-East Asian Studies, to which Thai language was added shortly afterwards. But perhaps the most important contribution that Mike was able to make during his time in Hull was the suggestion of and work to consolidate a multidisciplinary programme of research on tourism and development in South-East Asia, which certainly put the Centre on the international map, and led to a series of publications on both tourism and heritage involving Mike, myself and Prof. Terry King. These books were always listed as Hitchcock, King and Parnwell, but recently Mike and I had been discussing the possibility that I could change my name to Aaron Aardvark in any future publications so I would not always be listed last, bless him.

After Hull, Mike moved to the University of North London (now London Met), where he was appointed Director of the International Institute for Culture, Tourism and Development from 1995 to 2008, and where he achieved a Professorship in Tourism. Thereafter, Mike took on several senior administrative roles: in Lucerne, where he was Dean of the International Hotel Management Institute; Chichester, where he was Deputy Dean for Research and External Affairs; and the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST), where he was Dean of the Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Management, and where he kindly arranged for me a year-long Distinguished Visiting Professorship. We had a wonderful time together in Macau, where Mike was also learning Mandarin and Cantonese in his spare time. His most memorable contribution to the social life of MUST, sadly (fortunately) now expunged from the internet but still indelibly embedded in my mind, was a rendition, along with two female Korean colleagues, of Gangnam Style, complete with swivelling hips and simulated horse-riding.

As we all know, Mike’s contribution to the work and identity of ICCE was immense. He was involved in a long-term project on urban craft-based industries in Viet Nam with Gerald Lidstone, and together with Gerald suggested the establishment of the very successful Luxury Brand Management programme based on some ideas that had been germinating in Mike’s entrepreneurial mind since his time in Macau. The list of pies that Mike had his fingers in is too long to detail here, but it provides further evidence of the enthusiasm, energy and endeavour that he brought to everything he did and everywhere he went. Sadly, this academic life and journey has now come to an end, but Mike’s legacy and aura will endure. Mike, you will be sadly missed.

Deep condolences to Mike’s wife and long-term companion, Dinah, who shared many of his adventures in Asia.

Salamat jalan pak Prof.

Mike Parnwell (aka Aaron Aardvark)

New Territories

Creative Poster Exhibition 2024

MA Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship

20 – 27 September 2024

ICCE MA Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship students will be presenting a poster exhibition of their ideas and enterprise ambitions from 20 – 27 September 2024, in the Weston Atrium of the Professor Stuart Hall Building, Goldsmiths, University of London.

The exhibition will offer insight into a diverse range of creative concepts and solutions, including the evolving role of traditional Craft in urban environments, empowering Arab women into leadership qualifications through supporting their menstrual health and cultural and creative innovation in the UK live music industry.  The exhibition gives students the opportunity to present and test their ideas in person and use the feedback to further refine them in preparation for their final projects or dissertation. It’s also a valuable chance to celebrate the work that they’ve already put into their projects and recognise how far the process has already taken them.

Everyone is welcome to attend and see first-hand the innovation being developed by this year’s cohort.

The private view will take place from 5.30pm – 8pm on 20 Sept in the exhibition space and will then be open during college hours until 27 Sept. Tickets are not required.

On day 8 of the Festival we were joined by Alexandra Strelcova (Sash) from https://www.haenke.cz/ – she spoke about her collaborations that work to raise awareness of biodiversity for medicine and    health of people and    the planet. She spoke about the complexity of developing relationships that were respectful of all involved, including plants and    the planet, and    how her work included public space art installations, forums for debate, workshops, education and    combined traditional plant knowledge with evidence-based research and    innovation. The work she and    her partner Julian do in using arts, design and    creative expression as a way of interpreting and    communicating complex messages and    as a vehicle for social change is incredibly impressive.

Sash gave insight in to the fragility of their business model, and   how they continuously reviewed whether their business model met their values and worked to find a way in their cultural context to ensure a thriving and    anti-fragile model.

Guy Baron – Semiprecious – spoke of his work in founding a record label and    creating his own music. He talked of his aesthetic of the work having a “bedroom production” feel, and that this together with his collaborators’ in the label Squareglass values and    aesthetic led to the business model for the label. One focus for their label was how to create supportive opportunities for artists who were either marginalised because of their approach to music or their protected characteristics. Finding ways to support artists in a sector that is often brutal and    pushes artists is rare. Guy spoke about how he had worked to find his place in performance, collaborating with museums and    Queer artists to create the best space for his live work.

Both of the talks gave insights in to interdisciplinary work, and    how to look for new opportunities rather than be nostalgic for a past that perhaps didn’t exist.

Frances du Pille and  Gabriella Román González spoke about their work, sharing their successful models for collaboration, creating teams and    facilitating talent.

BAFTA award winning Fran, shared how she had started her Higher Education in her late 20’s and    worked to make every role she gained as an opportunity to understand more about the sector, the business models and  how to build strong networks. She talked about how she had seen how to move from performing arts to producing TV series as a puzzle, that she approached with curiosity, and    found ways to learn while doing as well as taking formal learning. Fran showed her humility in terms of what elements of her work required creative risk-taking and  how she supported her team to be in service of great creative products. Fran expressed her approach to creating trusting, comfortable work environments that enabled people to create strong work that met their passion.

Fran also reflected on the need to remove work emails when on holiday, to have the support of her social network and  the importance of nature (particularly the sea) as something that restored her. There was further reflection on the role of connectors in the creative industries, and    for Fran, gaining an agent had been key. In reflecting on common themes in the work she is drawn to producing, the theme of human fragility is clear and  the desire for connection.

Gabriella spoke about her two enterprises, Mentoras Creativas – an organisation in Havana founded to support female artists to gain the skills, confidence and    needed to successfully navigate the art market and    Not The Owners – a curator-led gallery presenting work made by Latin American artists and    artists from the global majority.

She spoke about the business models she had developed for each organisation, and  how her financial model for Not The Owners enabled her to not only pay artists appropriately but to give donations to further the work of minoritised artists.

Gabriella reflected on how artists from the global majority and    Latin America are often expected to make work that reflects very stereotypical views of these artists living conditions, and    how she was working to show art that has a strong aesthetic rather than a feed in to cultural tropes. She spoke of the time she took to build trust with artists, government departments, and    the wider ecosystem needed. How that investment in people led to the successful work, risks and    impact.

On the face of it Kosby Fu and Drew McOnie are very different, but they shared their experiences of running their own companies and then taking on leadership roles with organisations and  adapting their entrepreneurial approaches and  creative skills to leadership and  intrepreneurial approaches.

Kosby spoke about the way he had developed understanding collaboration and  the power of diversity of thinking in teams. How he deliberately learns something new each year, leaning in to “megatrends” and    asking himself “what opportunities does this give me?” and   “how can I be art of supporting positive change. His work in moving from branding and    as a designer to an expert in innovation, scaling and    supporting social change inspires.

Drew gave us insights in to his moves from self-employment in his teens, to founding his company when he was 20 to now being Joint CEO and  Artistic Director of Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. He reflected on the work he does to shift the centre of power, to create environments and  schedules that enable a broader more inclusive for performers and  those involved in making work. He spoke about his original motivation in founding his own company was to tell stories for audiences and    provide sustainable careers for dancers.

Drew spoke about how he was using the opportunity that working in an open air theatre gave him to embed concerns about the climate in every part of his work. He reflected that he was constantly asking “what space do I take up in the system. He expressed his approach to making work and bringing teams together with strong authenticity, constantly asking “what if”.

Powerfully Drew said that “risk taking is a privilege” – encompassing both that you are often in a position of privilege and    one he wants to provide people with an opportunity to have.

As themes of fragility, the complexity of remaining optimistic and    the importance of curiosity in creating sustainable enterprises inch change emerge, we step in to week 2.

Monday sees Kosby Fu talking about his work in innovation, and  his journey from designer to leading the development of community programmes for DBS bank.

Drew McOnie will talk about how he has evolved an inclusive, decanted approach to leadership, and    how he balances his creative work.

The week continues with contributions from speakers on how art, nature and  science can collaustainable enterprises. collaborate, and  need to, approaches to bringing more diversity to the art world, producing award-winning work for the BBC as well as poetry, theatre writer and  so so much more as we explore how to created sustainable enterprises. Tickets free – events on and    offline information via Eventbrite.

Composer Anna Meredith talked with great honesty and  shared the fragility of her work as a composer and  collaborator with commissioners and  the work she does as leader of her band. She talked about her approach to composition as knowing the final feeling or goal that her work has and  her work, then, is to choose and   find the most surprising way to reach that. She spoke about how curiosity was key to her approach.

Her music is always created with authenticity, and    she told us how she finds ways to find empathy with the subject and    people that she is commissioned to work with. There was much in the way she spoke about collaboration, power, the sense of self and    her creative output that encouraged reflection on McRobbie’s work on creatives, as well as Foucault’s writing on power and  authorship. Anna also shared the need for strong social networks – social and cultural capital, and    how her collaborations relied on this.

Amir Rizwan completed our first week of the Festival speaking about the work he is leading to develop social ventures from London universities. He gave detailed insights in to the way  impact investment works, but also how impact investors work with founders. He spoke with passion about the potential of the social innovation and    enterprise sectors, the need to find new ways of creating change, and how business models were key to sustaining and    developing this form of societal change.

Amir also spoke about the importance of curiosity to his work – “how we collectively solve problems – collaboration is motivating”.

Both Amir and    Anna spoke about reasons for optimism being few and    far between, but within this, both saw that great ideas continue to grow, that Festivals and  opportunities to talk together such as SELFestival helped fuel their optimism. We are so grateful to them for their insights.

We will reflect on the complexity and  fun of being a composer with Anna Meredith  and    her ability to straddle contemporary, classical, pop music as well s work in collaboration with film-makers, creating rich and    vibrant scores, to making work for site specific art work and    dodgems.

Amir Rizwan will join us to talk about the new London Studio Venture Fund, and    his experiences in impact investment. This week has already prompted us to consider the balance of profit and    purpose, what makes a business a social enterprise, and    also the curiosity around how many creative enterprises have social purpose at their core.

More to come tomorrow.

Norma Banton joined the SELFestival and spoke about her work to change systemic inequalities through the craft of her work as a jeweller, and in developing new jewellers and providing training and    sales points for Black jewellers as well as opportunities to address the injustices of the value chain.

Giving clear advice on the finances of a jewellery business and    how she had started with the business model, rather than the work as well as having the ambition and    willingness to employ others.

Memories, telling histories and    recontextualising storied is part of Rezia Wahid’s practice as w weaver, teacher and    performer. She reflected on how her work balanced the fragility of materials while using the threads to show human vulnerability and    how her work was about different forms of visibility. How “the red thread of fate sometimes created work that could be perceived as damaged, but was work that was made the way it was meant to be – that mistakes bring a different quality to work.” Her work shows how identities are connected and  woven together.

Day 3 of the Festival began with Daniel Carpenter outlining hhis work on safeguarding heritage crafts – and    working to celebrate skills of artisans as well as pass them forward to the future. The complexity of making when using materials can mean that everything doesn’t go to plan, and    yet makers are perfectionists was explored, together with the societal benefits of craft.

So many crafts are now endangered and    becoming extinct in the UK, the session left us questioning how to innovate in the business of craft and    develop new audiences as well as financial models for it.

Rose Kue spoke of her work as a researcher and    user designer for Care and    as a death doula. She talked about how curiosity was a key skill and    approach in all of her work, that curiosity is the root of empathy, and    that she then worked to move from empathy to equitable experiences for others. She asked us to question what it might be that prevents us from being curious – whether there is fear, or unwillingness to step in to optimism and    connection with the world. She talked about how she is driven by what she can do to reduce individuals suffering.

Rose articulated good leaders as being able to constantly confront their own fears and    not shy away from being shown the truth, to not see people as broken but see the potential. She also reflected that leadership is different to power and  power exchanges.