Through the exchange of art, music and wellness, O+ empowers communities to take control of their collective wellbeing.
What is O+?
O+ is a nonprofit healthcare access organization powered by communities who share the belief that healthcare is a community responsibility, and creativity is essential to collective health. O+ was founded by artists, doctors, dentists, and wellness
practitioners who joined forces to acknowledge that art and medicine are of equal value in a community, and to forge a new system of equitable access to care.
Today, O+ makes healthcare more accessible to artists by enabling an exchange of creative work for care and helping people use existing resources, insurance, and referrals more effectively.
Exchanging Art & Music for Healthcare Since 2010
Treatments in Clinic
4000
Dental Treatments
1000
What we do
Healthcare Access
Our brick-and-mortar Exchange Clinic in Kingston and our virtual care hub and telemedicine program is built to expand healthcare options for artists and to connect artists and care providers in a wellness exchange that strengthens communities throughout the year.
Annual O+ Festival
An annual arts festival showcases the exchange in action. Each fall, O+’s home city of Kingston, New York hosts the weekend-long O+ Festival of music, art, and wellness. Artists and volunteers can access healthcare services via the exchange, while the community gathers to celebrate art as medicine, and medicine as art.
National Model
The Hudson Valley is our home base. Cities across the U.S. have hosted their own O+ Festivals and community-powered pop-up clinics, exchanging the art of medicine for the medicine of art. O+ offers a playbook that empowers other communities to bring O+ home.
Our Impact
- Millions of dollars saved via the exchange
- Over 7,000 clinic and dental appointments facilitated for working artists and community members
- Hundreds of providers involved: doctors, dentists, therapists, specialists, and more
- 6,000+ – person alumni network of artists eligible to access care year-round
- 15 years of O+ fostering healthier, more resilient communities and building a culture of care
There’s just something being created here that makes me feel like we’re going to be OK. We’re going to take care of each other.
~ Jesse Scherer, LMT, O+ Kingston Clinic Coordinator
How we're funded
Healthcare for thousands of people, no co-pays or medical bills? How does that work? O+ is sustained by a balance of:
- Revenue from the annual O+ Festival. Every by-donation festival wristband purchase helps fund an exchange — of art for medicine and medicine for art — at Kingston’s annual artists’ pop-up clinic and the year-round exchange program.
- Donors and sponsors. Local businesses, foundations, and institutions underwrite services, public programs, and festival production. Monthly and annual contributions from individuals and institutions help cover clinic operations, provider partnerships, and community care.
- Institutional giving and grant funding. Grants and partnerships support programming that creates new entry points for care access.
Every dollar supports a revolutionary, community-driven care exchange and expands healthcare access.
Our partners include:
