Michele Angelo Petrone

Michele was a professional artist, who exhibited at The Royal Academy and The South Bank in London. His work was included in The BP Young Europeans Collection in Brussels. He received a Medal of Distinction from The Glogow Museum in Poland.

Following Michele's diagnosis of Hodgkin's Disease in 1994, he painted and wrote The Emotional Cancer Journey. This work is widely used by health organisations and medical institutions in education, and continues to tour hospitals and public centres. In 1998 Michele's first residency, at St. Peter & St. James Hospice in East Sussex, helped patients and carers to 'colour' their feelings through paint. This work, Touching the Rainbow, was published in 1999. 'Moving Pictures', in 2000, extended this work to health professionals.

Michele gave workshops and presentations, around the emotional issues of illness, nationally and internationally. Michele was honorary lecturer at the Royal Free & University College of London Medical School, as well as at the University of Northumbria. He contributed regularly to the King's Fund NHS Chief Executives and Top Managers' Programmes. Michele co-founded the MAP Foundation, to promote expression, communication and understanding of the complex issues of serious illness and dying.