Arts & Health

Arts & Health has provided literary, performing, and visual arts programming to Duke University Hospital and its hospital-based clinics since 1978. We believe that access to the arts is essential to the health and well-being of you and your loved ones, as well as our staff, volunteers, and visitors. Our services include activity kits and in-room musical performances.

Arts & Health at Duke is one of the oldest and most comprehensive hospital arts programs in the United States and is a recognized leader in the international arts and health movement.

Contact Us
Phone: 919-684-6124
Email: artsandhealth-duh@dm.duke.edu

We offer a variety of activity kits to patients in Duke University Hospital, Duke Central Tower, and Duke Medicine Pavilion. You may request:

• Coloring books
• Puzzle books, including crossword puzzles, Sudoku and Word Seek
• Journaling kits
• Playing cards

Use this form or call 919 684-6124 to request one or more kits in English and Spanish be delivered to your room free of charge. You can also ask a staff member to request it for you. 

Arts & Health helps bring a little bit of fun and normalcy to the hospital experience by offering free art kits and visits for pediatric patients at Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Center.

Our pediatric visual arts coordinator facilitates art sessions for children in their hospital rooms and in our outpatient clinics. Art projects include paper art, watercolors, and mixed media. These requests are limited to the Pediatric Inpatient Units, first 4 floors of Duke Central Tower (DCT).

Use this form or call 919 684-6124 to request a free art kit be delivered to your child's room. Use the same form and phone number to request a visit from our pediatric visual arts coordinator. You can also ask a staff member to request a kit for your child. 

View How-To Videos
Our pediatric visual arts coordinator created a series of videos that offer ways you can create artwork at home.

Performers in the Artist in Residence program bring a quality musical experience to patients, families, and staff at Duke University Hospital. These accomplished performers possess compassion and exceptional interpersonal skills and are trained in hospital protocols and procedures. Our team of professional musicians visits patients Monday through Friday. We make every effort to work around your availability to fulfill bedside music requests within 24 hours.

Use this form or call 919 684-6124 to request a musician perform in your room, or ask a staff member to request it for you. Staff can put in requests for bedside music in Epic/Maestro by searching “Musician To Bedside.”

Arts & Health showcases artwork by individual artists and groups in the following exhibit spaces:

• Arts & Health Main Gallery - Duke Central Tower Concourse
• Clinic 1A Exhibit Gallery - Duke Clinics South Concourse
• Clinic 1D Gallery - Duke Clinics South Front Hallway
• Duke Eye Center Concourse Gallery - Duke Hospital North Concourse

Use this Arts & Health link to learn about current exhibitions featuring local artists, view artwork in public spaces within the hospital, and learn about previous artists who have displayed their work at Duke University Hospital.

Apply to Exhibit Your Artwork
Painters, photographers, sculptors, and other creatives are encouraged to apply to exhibit artwork in our showcases. Use this form to apply. 

Our reading cart provides entertainment, comfort, and a way to pass the time for adult inpatients during their stay. We are seeking new and gently used books in good condition. Your donations can make a meaningful difference.

Please consider these guidelines when donating books. 

• Adult books only. Children's material is not needed at this time.
• No mold, smoke, or liquid damage.
• No missing, torn, or loose pages.
• No torn spines or excessive markings.

Please drop off donations in the designated collection bins at:

• Duke Clinic: near the Pick elevator.
• Duke North Lobby: near the elevator.

For questions or large donations, please contact us by email or phone: 919-684-6124

Thank you for supporting our Reading Cart program!

Your donation to Arts & Health at Duke will help support future programming for patients at Duke University Hospital.

Use this link to make a gift to Arts & Health.

Arts & Health at Duke is pleased to announce Winterfest Marketplace 2025. During six Thursdays in November and December, local North Carolina artisans will display and sell their creations to Duke Health employees, visitors, and patients in the main concourse of Duke University Hospital.

If you are interested, or know of a local NC artisan who may be, please encourage them to complete the 2025 Winterfest Marketplace Application. Watch for more information on dates and artisans as November approaches. For questions, contact us at winterfest@dm.duke.edu.