Jason Kimelman says his sister Marnie loved kids, and he imagines she would have become a doctor or a teacher.
Marnie Kimelman, for whom a new, non-clinical healing space at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) has been named, was killed at age 17 in a terrorist attack on a Tel Aviv beach in 1990 while on a teen tour of Israel.
July 28 marked the 26th anniversary of her death.
Marnie’s Studio, which officially opened in the spring, is a 1,400-square-foot space located on the hospital’s fourth floor that has been transformed into a multi-dimensional hub where young patients and their families can play and express themselves through art, music and dance.
Funding for the newly renovated space comes from the Kimelman family and Louis and Sidney Reznick, the brothers of Jason’s mother, Linda.
The studio is across the hall from Marnie’s Lounge, built shortly after Marnie’s death with money raised by the Kimelman and Reznick families. The lounge, which serves as a space for patients and their families to relax, houses a pool table, television and an assortment of games.
The hallway leading to the studio was also dedicated by members of the Kimelman and Reznick families and is named the “Sam and Dora Reznick Hall” after the parents of Linda, Louis and Sidney.
“[Marnie’s Studio] is really a beautiful legacy to my sister,” said Jason, who was 14 when his sister was killed.
He added: “Obviously, these kids are going through things that kids should not be going through. Just to get them out of their rooms to paint or sing a song, I think, is cathartic and necessary.”
He noted that music and art have always been important to his family, and that his brother, Marc – the youngest of the three Kimelman siblings – is a choreographer in New York.
The room, whose inauguration was celebrated with an open house June 10, comprises four distinct areas: a recording studio complete with instruments, where patients can record songs or videos; a stage for live or recorded performances; an art bar featuring drawing, painting and photography; and a partitioned, multi-sensory space.
Colin Hennigar, director of major gifts at SickKids Foundation, said the latter is designed for patients on the autism spectrum or those with mental health or learning issues “to have a calm, relaxing space to engage in a tactile way with things on the walls, floors and ceiling” such as a floor-to-ceiling lava lamp.
Hennigar said the idea for Marnie’s Studio came about after consultations with the SickKids patient advisory council, made up of current and former patients, regarding what they wanted to see in a space dedicated to “expressive therapy.”
He said the studio “gives patients, within the walls of SickKids, experiences that are child-friendly and child-like.”
Organized programming such as drum circles take place in the studio throughout the day, but patients can also spend time there on their own, if supervised by family members.
Patients can also come to the studio to work on projects with an art therapist they would have previously seen in their hospital room, Hennigar said.
“At the art bar, they can jump on stools and make art using googly eyes, construction paper… or they can trace themselves on the floor, or they can do a big mural,” he said.
He said the recording studio gives patients and their families the opportunity to create “a great legacy piece to take home with them,” and the stage – named the Dancers for Cancer Stage after a live performance group that helped raise money for the studio renovations – has a green screen behind it onto which different backgrounds can be projected.
Patients who can’t leave their rooms can watch recorded performances on a special SickKids television station.
“We’re the only children’s hospital we know of that has a space like this. We’re hoping other hospitals will come to us to learn how to create something similar,” Hennigar said.
