Heathcote then worked for twenty years in Zimbabwe and Nigeria, an experience that would contribute significantly to his creative output.
He then obtained a part-time post at Christ Church College, later becoming a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Art and Design.
[2] Heathcote's PhD dissertation on The Embroidery of Hausa Dress is deposited in the archives of the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, along with other related material.
He mounted a full-scale Hausa exhibition at the Commonwealth Institute in 1976, writing the catalogue and creating a documentary film.
The British Museum subsequently acquired many of the objects from the exhibition, which was also covered by the BBC's African Service.