O+ Festival’s annual arts takeover of Kingston has become a hallmark of fall in the Hudson Valley. For three days every October, artists, both local and non, flock to Kingston to paint murals, perform live music, dance, and exhibit throughout the city in exchange for medical care and wellness treatments. From general checkups to dental care to massages and energy healing, the spirit and mission of O+ is eloquently embodied in their tagline “the exchange [of] the art of medicine for the medicine of art.”
The O+ team has been dreaming of scaling their care model since the organization was founded 13 years ago, and this year the dream finally becomes a reality. The team is currently in the early stages of opening a brick-and-mortar healthcare clinic in Kingston that will be in operation 365 days a year for O+ alums.
In an economy that systematically under-rewards art makers, both the O+ festival and clinic seek to underscore the importance of art to our collective humanity and wellbeing. “While there’s an impulse to think of art and music as a hobby, I want to highlight the fact that making art and music is essential to the people that make it, it’s essential to the communities that they make it in,” says Lindsey Wolkowicz, the O+ Art Director, of the ethos behind O+. “And the impact of making it on our bodies is something that is rarely considered.”
The process of opening a medical clinic is multi-step. Since securing a lease on a small space across the parking lot from Keegan Ales this past spring, the team has spent months reaching out to healthcare practitioners in the O+ network to see who might want to become involved with the project.
Participating practitioners will donate supplies and time. As a nonprofit, O+’s funding for overhead comes from a variety of sources, including grants, donor contributions, and festival proceeds, but Dr. Lizette Edge, a hospitalist and the Wellness Director for O+, emphasizes how crucial the support from the local community itself is to a model that removes money from the equation. “Once they clue into what this is, it’s really amazing how people are excited to work with us and to volunteer and to participate,” she says.
The clinic operators have filed for licensure with the state of New York, which will allow them to run a professional limited liability company, or PLLC. “That provides a bigger umbrella of protection for the organization,” Wolkowicz explains; it also allows them to offer a wider range of services. Though O+ will officially have access to the space beginning August 1, the team is still waiting on paperwork to begin booking appointments. “It’s new and there is a lot of potential, but we have to start really small,” says O+ Communications Director Erin Edge.
At first, the clinic will start with a small cohort of O+ alumni, who will participate in the exchange platform alongside the healthcare practitioners. Further specifics on artist eligibility and participation requirements will be fine-tuned in an ongoing conversation with participants on both ends. “It’s not one-to-one, but everyone will have an opportunity to exchange through the platform.” clarifies Erin Edge. The structure of the exchange isn’t rigid but rather designed to evolve fluidly as the number of patients grow and the needs of the participants becomes clearer.
The services offered at first will be in the primary care sphere, from annual wellness visits to getting your vitals checked and making a long term health plan with the physician. “Primary care is about empowering people to take ownership of their health,” says Dr. Edge, who equates primary care with preventative care.
For other care needs, O+ will refer patients to doctors in their larger network of contacts, cultivated through 13 years of working in the community, ideally recruiting an expanding community of satellite specialists who are willing to participate in the nonmonetary exchange. “We recognize that is more difficult and may not always be doable for those physicians, in which case we would still try to refer folks to providers within our existing networks to help people find lower cost care,” Erin Edge says.
The goal for the future is to have full-time care medical providers working at the clinic and to be able to expand to include some of the additional services offered during the festival. These include dental care and mental health services, as well as modalities like acupuncture and massage therapy, which are often not even covered by insurance. For now, ticket sales and money raised through events help sustain the resources provided at the festival, while the clinic will depend on doctors’ donations of time and supplies.
Clinic Benefit Concert
In order to fundraise for the project and introduce the public to the year-round clinic space, O+ will host a benefit concert on August 11.
At the benefit, attendees will be able to see the newly renovated clinic space, which is located on Saint James Street in Kingston in a former storeroom for Keegan Ales brewery and, serendipitously, the birthplace of O+. Over a decade ago, friends who were passionate about equitable healthcare came up with the idea for the festival over pints of beer at Keegan. After a moderate renovation, the 800-square-foot clinic space will include private exam rooms and a front area for hosting events like the benefit, as well as showcasing the work of their artists year round.
The benefit will feature live music from multiple bands that have previously performed at the O+ Festival. Dream rock band Tiny Blue Ghost will open the evening, performing around 8pm. The headliner, Sacramento-based rock group !!! (Chk Chk Chk), will take the stage around 9pm. !!! previously opened up the 2019 O+ Festival. Both bands will be set up outside under a tent. At 10:15pm, attendees can move inside for a dance party with music from the local DJ Red Lion.
The food will be provided by Ram’s Valley BBQ and Samosa Shack food trucks. Both trucks will be parked outside during the music acts. Ram’s Valley makes Caribbean barbeque, while the Samosa Shacks serves creative samosa flavor pairings, like potato and peas with a lemon cilantro masala and roasted cauliflower with sun-dried tomato. The vendors, as well as an O+ merch stand, open at 6pm. Throughout the night, attendees can also participate in a live or silent auction, both running from 6pm to 8pm.
News from the Festival Front
The 2023 O+ Festival will take place as usual from October 6-8. The Wellness ExpO+, which typically allows healthcare practitioners to engage directly with festivalgoers, has been expanded this year into a street fair with food, performances, family activities, and wellness information readily available.
This year, the festival will be headlined by indie blues and rock singer Amythyst Kiah; stand-up comedian and Syracuse native Bobcat Goldthwait; and poet, educator, and organizer Mahogany L. Browne. In addition to concerts and performances, art will be on display for festival goers to see, including a mural dedicated to Sojourner Truth’s legacy made by the artist and activist Chip Thomas. In keeping with O+’s commitment to uplifting the local community, 60 percent of the artists are from the Hudson Valley.
Festival passes are available online, and O+ is determined to keep the event accessible—those who may find the entrance fee too steep are encouraged to reach out to an O+ coordinator.
