The idea to exchange visual art and musical performances for healthcare was hatched in a conversation over a beer between a Kingston, NY, dentist and a painter. From that creative brainstorming session a small group of underinsured artists and providers was formed to found the first O+ (pronounced O Positive) Festival in 2010.

The inaugural festival featured a parade, paste-up murals, and concerts in empty storefronts, and volunteer providers built a small pop-up clinic to care for the participating artists and musicians. Their simple idea of exchanging “the art of medicine for the medicine of art” acknowledged the value that everyone brought to their community. The festival was a way to both celebrate that and bring attention to the inequities of the American healthcare system. 

Since that first year, the Kingston festival has grown to a weekend-long community event in October with more than 50 bands, 35 artists (films, installations, murals, performances, multi-site experiential projects, and workshops), cycling events, literary salon, Narcan trainings, and classes in yoga, dance, meditation, sound healing and more.

At the heart of the festival is the Artists’ Clinic and Greenroom. Participating artists, musicians, and volunteers receive care from volunteer nurses, doctors, bodyworkers, and mental health professionals in a clinic we install in a community hall and from dentists in their offices. An insurance navigator from The Actors Fund is on hand to provide information and guidance. The hall also houses our Greenroom, a place for participating artists, musicians, volunteers, and healers to relax over a home-cooked meal.

While O+ is based in our founding city of Kingston, NY, throughout our 10-year-history we have had the opportunity to share our mission and work in other U.S. cities. In partnership with and led by local teams, we have brought O+ festivals to San Francisco and Petaluma, CA; Chicago; Haverhill and North Adams, MA; and in nearby Poughkeepsie, NY.

Each festival has reflected the community in which it takes place, but the exchange of art for healthcare is the common denominator. More than 2,200 creative people, most of whom are uninsured or underinsured, have accessed the services of our Artists’ Clinics and nearly 650 have received dental care.

Growing the movement in other cities has not been without challenges. Based on feedback from local teams and our core crew in Kingston, we realized that we needed a yearlong onboarding process that addressed how art, music, and wellness combined together for both participants and the public; working within the structures of local municipalities and healthcare regulations; connecting with donors and sponsors; and how to organize the Artists’ Clinic (partnering with a federally qualified health center and connecting with providers who wanted to work outside the system to lead it). In 2017 we wrote a comprehensive “launchpad” and implemented it with a team in North Adams, MA, which hosted an O+ festival in 2019.

In Kingston, home of our annual festival (which also serves as an opportunity to try new ideas), we have been listening to our alumni artists, musicians, and providers who have been calling on us to expand the mission beyond a weekend. We want O+’s future to include a year-round clinic and space for creative people and providers to come together in residency. It is our dream and one we are working toward as we embark on decade No. 2.

Want to learn more about how O+ catalyzes healthcare for artists? Register on ArtsU for “Supporting Individual Artists Coffee Chat: Exchanging Art for Medicine to Catalyze Change in Healthcare” to join the discussion live on Aug. 20 or for access to an on-demand recording of the webinar.