2014-605-E Arts - DooR to DooR of UNC Health Care for 2014 Arts Grant Agreement $1,500

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DocuSign Envelope ID:A4D80A45-3D76-49OC-9BAF-5A28959D5D50 Back in my music room, I released this pleasant moment of nostalgia about my instrument, checked it's tuning, and put it into its case. As a musician, I love this time: when you are preparing your tools of the trade for their rendering into people's experiences. Sometimes I pause for a second and think: yes, kora, you are going into a case now, so compose yourself, because soon you will be singing, gliding, sailing the notes into people's ears,into the folds of their skin, and just maybe —into their heartspace. That morning I was headed to UNC Hospitals for the second time to play for patients. The week before, I was a patient. I thought about this as I walked into the hospital to find a bustling holiday market going on in the lobby. Cutting straight through the hubbub to meet me was Joy Javits, the organizer of DooR To DooR, a non-profit that works to bring the arts into UNC Hospitals for patients and staff. Joy is a lovely person that seems to float around ever-so-slightly, like Tinkerbell, ultra- aware of what's happening around her. She's very mindful of people's boundaries and knows how to communicate; she's like a patient-whisperer. She put together DooR To DooR in 1993, which brings in over 200 artists and performers each year. Joy delicately facilitates their contact with patients and staff, setting them up with stage performances or going room to room to perform for patients...... Joy and I decided that we'd go over to the cancer hospital, 3rd floor I believe. Bringing a kora and its music into the hospital is like a scaled-down UFO landing —everyone is intrigued and captivated by this foreign thing. I played for 3 patients in a row: a middle-aged guy who was having his vitals taken, a fella in his 80s from Raleigh who was eating lunch with a shaky hand, and a mother with her daughter who didn't seem sick at all. While Joy was out finding my next patient, I was playing quietly in the hallway when I was approached by a nurse. She said "I know someone who you might could play for. He's 24 and has been in here a week. He has a very bad prognosis and refuses to talk to anyone. He'll probably say no, but I'll ask. I did his intake, so I have an `in' with him." She came back the same time as Joy, and said that the 24-year-old had agreed. We all gave a tiny cheer and then went over to his room together. I sat in the doorway to play because he was under a `Contact Warning', meaning he could easily catch something from me.