Author: Lauren Gill

O+ North Adams Announces Art, Music Lineup for May 10-11 Festival

Les Nubians photo by Mikeal Beland — Les Nubians (photo by Mikeal Beland)

French-Cameroonian duo Les Nubians, known for a singular blend of warm R&B and francophone hip hop, will headline the inaugural O+ North Adams festival of art, music and wellness (May 10-11). MASS MoCA and O+ (pronounced O Positive) co-present Les Nubians’ performance at the museum’s Hunter Center on Saturday, May 11. The musician Spero (Burlington, Vt.), whose music is a blend of jazz, folk and world rhythms, will open for Les Nubians.

Spero is among nearly 20 musical acts and nine visual artists (mural, installation and performance) confirmed to participate in the festival’s unique exchange of the “art of medicine for the medicine of art” at a variety of North Adams venues. Creatives and festival volunteers who donate their time and talent to the weekend receive free health and wellness care in an Artists’ Clinic staffed by local providers across disciplines.

The public can order all-access festival wristbands and merchandise online or make a donation for a wristband in person at Common Folk, 73 Main St., North Adams.

The initial music lineup includes Brooklyn-based Blood Blush (post-punk/dream-goth), who will kick off the festival Friday, May 10, as well as beloved North Adams band Quincy, who will treat festival audiences to their genre-blending mix of country, folk, bluegrass and indie rock on May 11.

North Adams-based painter Danielle Klebes will create a mural that focuses on the history of the mill town, its proximity to the Berkshires and its reputation as a burgeoning arts mecca. Other local artists participating in O+ North Adams include: Montague, Mass.-based B Kline (“Rage Drumming” participatory performance); and North Adams artists Daniel O’Connor (“Homies” paintings and hometown postcards); Erica Barreto (“Creativity Capsule” participatory arts event); John Ryan (“Baggage” cabaret style puppet performance); Petros Chrisostomou (“Still Here/Still Alive” exhibition of large-scale photographic works); and Dalton James (“Objects of Significance” installation). Zoe Villane will design a commemorative T-shirt for the inaugural festival.

Alumni of other O+ festival cities are among the participating artists: Vince Ballentine of Brooklyn, N.Y. will paint a mural inspired by the Hoosac Tunnel and Jessica Poser of South Hadley, Mass. will present “Rupture and Repair,” a participatory installation exploring some of the psychological aspects of creativity.

A number of music alumni from other O+ festivals will play the first O+ North Adams, including Frenchy and the Punk (cabaret/folk rock, New Paltz, N.Y. — pictured at top); Home Body (electronic/experimental pop, Greenfield, Mass.); JB!! aka Dirty Moses (hip hop/rap, Albany, N.Y.); Kortnee Simmons (R&B, Kingston, N.Y.); and MSL (dream pop, Beacon, N.Y.).

O+ alumna MSL will play the first O+ North Adams festival of art, music and wellness.

O+ North Adams’ initial music lineup spans genres and geography: Belle-Skinner (rock/indie, Delmar, N.Y.); Matthew Fowler (singer-songwriter, Gainesville, Fla.); Erica Eso (synth pop, Brooklyn, N.Y.); Hill Haints (post-punk/no wave, Berkshire County); Jagweed (banjo punk, Ludlow, Vt.); Julia Caesar (indie femme rock, Burlington, Vt.); Mamma’s Marmalade (newgrass, Northampton, Mass.); Mutant Forest (immersive electronic, Brooklyn, N.Y.); Nick Stanley (singer-songwriter, North Adams); and Weege and The Wondertwins (hot jazz circus rock, Westfield, Mass.)

Venues include Common Folk, The Green, Elks Lodge and Hunter Center.

An all-access festival wristband includes admission to all the concerts (including Les Nubians) and art happenings as well as an EXPLO+RE series of classes that include meditation, stress management, Tai chi, Pilates and more.

Wristbands and merchandise are available for order online or at Common Folk, 73 Main St. The first 250 people to order a wristband will have access to a secret show on May 10.

MASS MoCA is opening up its doors to volunteer providers, who will build and staff the Artists’ Clinic on May 11 of the festival weekend.

Berkshire Health Systems is the lead sponsor of O+ North Adams. The growing list of partners include the City of North Adams, Common Folk, Golden Paintworks, The Green, Mass Cultural Council, MASS MoCA, MCLA Design Lab and Northern Berkshire Community Coalition.

To stay up-to-date be sure to follow O+ North Adams on Facebook and Instagram.

For general festival information or to discuss sponsorship opportunities email: northadams@opositivefestival.org

For press inquiries, email Makayla McGeeney: mmcgeeney@opositivefestival.org

Wellness Team Tours Artists’ Clinic Footprint

O+ North Adams wellness team members on Jan. 16 toured the Artists’ Clinic space at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA). The clinic, spearheaded by director Amanda Chilson, will be coordinated by Berkshire Health Systems and Northern Berkshire Community Coalition.

MASS MoCA will house the green room, Artists’ Clinic and Saturday night show for the festival. The green room, equipped with a large-scale kitchen, spacious gathering areas and plenty of private rooms for health screenings, will be located in Building 6 on the museum campus. All O+ North Adams volunteers, musicians and artists can participate in the Artists’ Clinic, which will be open all day May 11.

While various EXPLO+RE programming and live music performances will take place throughout downtown North Adams, the headlining performers, Les Nubians, will take the Hunter Center stage on Saturday night at MASS MoCA.

O+ North Adams is still accepting submissions for artist housing, Artists’ Clinic providers, mural walls and EXPLO+RE wellness classes. Visit opositivefestival.org/north-adams/#submit

YES! Magazine Highlights O+’s ‘Quietly Radical’ Mission

The “quietly radical” mission and work of O+ is featured in a story for YES!, which aims to provide rigorous reporting on the positive ways communities are responding to social problems.

“The Unique Arts Festival Where Performers Play for Their Health Care” includes interviews with a number of underinsured or uninsured musicians for whom access to the health and wellness services in the O+ Artists’ Clinic “was paramount.” It also features insights from some of O+’s on-the-ground providers, including Dr. Mark Josefski, Dr. Tom Cingel, Cynthia Kim, LCSW-R, and nurse Shannon Light, who directs the Artists’ Clinic.

The article looks back at the nonprofit’s yearround efforts in Kingston, Poughkeepsie and Newburgh and ahead to the May O+ Festival in North Adams, MA, where organizers aim to replicate the impact of O’s work and mission with a locally-based team of activists, artists and providers.

Art, Music, Volunteer Submissions Open for Inaugural O+ North Adams

Art and music submissions are now open for the first O+ North Adams, which takes place May 10-11, 2019. The festival theme is “Home.”

Creatives chosen to install artwork or play a concert during the festival will receive health and wellness care at an Artists’ Clinic staffed by art-loving volunteer providers. O+ (pronounced O Positive) calls this exchange: the art of medicine for the medicine of art.

Bands, ensembles and solo artists should apply for music here.

Artists: submit here to propose a public mural. For other art-related work such as community conversation, exhibition, film/video, installation, performance or workshop, submit here.

O+ North Adams organizers are also seeking general festival volunteers and EXPLO+RE wellness class teachers.

North Adams building owners who have a wall that would be the perfect canvas for an O+ mural should submit here.

Submissions for music and mural art / other art proposals close on the evening of Jan. 5, 2019. The O+ North Adams curatorial team looks forward to reviewing them!

O+ North Adams is sponsored by Berkshire Health Systems. The growing list of festival partners include: Common Folk, City of North Adams, Northern Berkshire Community Coalition, Golden Paintworks and MASS MoCA.

Submissions Open Nov. 15 for Inaugural O+ North Adams

Art and music submissions for the inaugural O+ North Adams festival (May 10-11, 2019) will open Nov. 15. The festival’s theme is “Home” to celebrate the first year of the event.

Those chosen to install artwork or perform a music show during the festival will receive access to the complimentary health and wellness Artist’s Clinic, staffed with more than a dozen providers from Berkshire County.

Submissions will also open Nov. 15 for those interested in being general festival volunteers.

Do you own/operate a gallery, bar, restaurant or raw space that you would like to offer as a potential venue space? Building owners who have a wall that would be the perfect canvas for an O+ mural should submit a request as well.

Submissions for artists and musicians close on the evening of January 6, 2019. Those selected will be notified once the O+ North Adams curatorial teams review them.

Follow O+ North Adams on Facebook to be alerted to the launch of submissions.

North Adams Visits O+ Kingston

Before O+ North Adams team members could envision how an O+ Festival could look in their city, it was apparent they needed to experience the signature festival in Kingston, N.Y., where the nonprofit O+ is headquartered. They traveled to Kingston to volunteer at the ninth annual O+ Kingston (Oct. 5-7, 2018).

The North Adams representatives helped check in musicians and artists, shadowed volunteers in the Artists’ Clinic, sold tickets at venues and the box office/home base area, and helped photograph bands and live art exhibitions. Volunteers knew where to be and there were plenty of hands to help in case anything happened.

“Volunteering for O+ Kingston was energizing!” said Suzy Helm, O+ North Adams city liaison. “Seeing the positive response their community has to the festival, how invested they are in it, and how appreciated the festival and the services it provides were, solidified my belief that North Adams is ready for our own O+ Fest, and we have the support and enthusiasm to make it a new annual event embraced and celebrated by our community.”

Suzy Helm files a document after checking in artists and musicians at the ninth annual O+ Kingston.

The North Adams team learned some valuable lessons from the Kingston festival’s footprint: the farmers’ market ran into the health expo and the O+ office and green room (which featured healthful food offerings, including shrimp, naan and spicy peppers, fresh salad and more) were situated so close to everything for easy access.

Events were able to run without interrupting normal weekend traffic flow in establishments such as Rough Draft Bar & Books for the literary salon. Whether folks came for the readings or not, business continued.

Benjamin Lamb, O+ Ambassador, enjoyed O+ Kingston’s health and wellness EXPO+. “Something I found extremely exciting was speaking with local business owners,” Lamb said. “Each of them, whether they had been open for 10-plus years, or just opened this summer, spoke positively to how O+ has become a catalyst for growth in downtown businesses, and rehabilitation of both commercial and residential properties in close proximity to the economic corridors.”

Benjamin Lamb watches his son during the O+ Kingston health and wellness EXPO+.

It was incredible to see how many community members were familiar with O+, and the North Adams team hopes the same energy is recreated in their community. Members left motivated, inspired with ideas and eager to get to work.

North Adams Joins O+ Lineup

The inaugural O+ North Adams festival of art, music, and wellness will take place May 10 and 11, 2019 in the heart of the city on Main Street. Participating visual artists and musicians will receive complimentary health and wellness care from art-loving volunteer providers in an Artists’ Clinic that will be installed in MASS MoCA.

Main Street in North Adams’ downtown is where several annual festivals and community events occur. There will be a kick-off show on the evening of May 10 followed by a wellness exposition, various art, and music events and more on May 11.

Spearheading the initiative includes Jessica Sweeney, festival director; Nico Dery, music director; and Ashley Strazzinski, art director. Berkshire Health Systems has joined as the lead sponsor and will provide healthcare providers for the Artists’ Clinic.

Those interested in volunteering for the inaugural community celebration should reach out to Volunteer Coordinator Bri Rousseau at brousseau@opositivefestival.org.

North Adams is the second city in Massachusetts to join the O+ lineup. O+ Haverhill was celebrated May 6, 2017. O+ Festivals have previously taken place in Kingston, Poughkeepsie and The Bronx in New York, as well as San Francisco, Petaluma, Calif., and Chicago.

Ninth Annual O+ Kingston Broadens Reach

Nearly 4,200 residents and visitors experienced the ninth annual O+ Kingston festival of art, music and wellness, which was the largest and most diverse to date.

The beloved kickoff parade featured Mayor Steve Noble, Esther Gin, The Bottoms Up Dixieland Jazz Band (who also performed at Keegan Ales), Tin Horn Uprising, Rosendale Improvement Association Brass Band, Uptown Lowdown, Possibility Studios, The Secret City, POOK (who also performed at EXPO+), Broadway Arts, Center for Creative Education (CCE), Amy Trompetter Puppets, High Falls Hoopers, Hudson Valley Queer Conspiracy, Anna Hafner’s “flower monster psychedelic animal spirits” and more!

The Artists’ Clinic, this year staffed by 113 volunteer providers, is the heart of every O+ festival. During the festival weekend, 21 artists, 96 musicians and 56 festival volunteers received 465 clinic visits, which included: nursing, primary care, integrative medicine, acupuncture, addiction care, breathwork, Oriental medicine, chiropractic, craniosacral therapy, homeopathy, clinical hypnosis, integrative Reiki, massage, mental health, naturopathy, neurofeedback, ortho bionomy, reflexology, Reiki, sound healing, spacious heart guidance and Thai yoga massage. In addition, the Cingel and Viglielmo dental practices saw 70 patients Friday and Saturday. Post-festival, Dr. Bruce Milner has donated 10 more dental appointments and the Institute for Family Health has donated 8 dental vouchers. New this year: speech-language pathologists from Northwell Health’s Lenox Hill Hospital traveled to Kingston to provide videostroboscopy (testing for vocal cord conditions and abnormalities), vocal consultation and coaching for O+ musicians.

Artists added seven murals to the Kingston landscape, bringing the total to 36 in the small Hudson River city. They are Lindsey Wolkowicz at Anne Hebard School of Ballet (795 Broadway), boogieREZ at Eddy’s Restaurant (742 Broadway), La Morena at Lite Brite Neon (26 Downs St.), Samantha French / Aaron Hauck at Keegan Ales (Prospect Street side), Dina Kravtsov / Mat Schulze at the future home of the Radio Kingston Annex (693 Broadway) and Thorneater Comics in the alleyway next to Citizens Bank (273 Wall St.). The seventh mural is the first of the national Survivor Love Letter project by Tani Ikeda, Jess X. Snow and Layqa Nuna Yawar at Family of Woodstock’s Darmstadt Shelter (40 Thomas St.). In addition to murals, O+ artists offered audiences workshops, installations and experimental videos.

The health and wellness EXPO+, curated by lead sponsor WMC Health/HealthAlliance, provided an opportunity for locally-based organizations to share their services with the public. This year’s EXPO+ included a performance stage geared toward families and featuring Rhys Ellis, Esther Crow and POOK and Energy Dance. The Comedy Resistance surprised passersby with an impromptu set from Janeane Garofalo, Seaton Smith, Duval Culpepper and Frances Dunn, who advocated for voter registration. Other wellness offerings for the public included five cycling events, healing arts classes in yoga, dance, sound healing, meditation and vegan cooking, Narcan trainings with Keep It Moving and HPV self-testing with Go Doc Go’s The Box.

Bands performed throughout the weekend in Old Dutch Church, front and back of BSP, The Beverly, Keegan Ales, The Anchor, Stockade Tavern and Somewhere Alley. This year’s CO+NFERENCE panels at the Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center were “Radio: The Great Connector,” “Holistic Career Advice for Today’s Independent Musician” and “Art in Public!”

(Photographs by O+ volunteers or staff Mike Amari, Jeff Bisti, Micah Blumenthal, Nicole Digilio, Francesa Hoffman, Brian Mason, Franklin Mattei, Kathleen Murray and Emily Roberts-Negron.)

Poughkeepsie Gateway Unveiling Highlights Art’s Transformative Power

O+ joined its partners from the Poughkeepsie Alliance and Arts Mid-Hudson along with representatives of government, the local business community and city residents to celebrate the unveiling of the 16,000-square-foot Poughkeepsie Gateway mural on Aug. 15. The work of art was made by boogieREZ (Risa “Boogie” Tochigi and Rez Ones) and features whimsical creatures, colorful pop culture imagery and words like “Impact — Inspire — Empower” and Poughkeepsie references like “PKNY — Queen City — 845” on two sides of the Route 9 underpass on Main Street.

Risa Tochigi cuts the ribbon with Mayor Rob Rolison.

“This was once kind of dimly lit. It was rather dark and uninviting, and it was on the busiest corridor probably right here in the city of Poughkeepsie,” said Mayor Rob Rolison. “Now this spot has been transformed into a place of color, and it’s full of life.”

Golden Paintworks, a division of O+ sponsor Golden Artist Colors, donated the gallons of paint needed to transform the underpass and RL Baxter Building Corporation loaned the lift. Sherwin-Williams Paint Store in Poughkeepsie and Rider Painting assisted the project with the priming of the massive mural.

Paul Calogerakis, director of economic development for the City of Poughkeepsie and founding chairman of the Poughkeepsie Alliance (which provided the bulk of the funding for the project), described the mural as “exactly what we envisioned. It’s a bright and colorful entranceway to the city of Poughkeepsie, and we’re just thrilled.”

State Sen. Sue Serino (R-Hyde Park) presented Tochigi with a proclamation from the New York State Senate: “It is the sense of this Legislative Office to honor those individuals of artistic significance which highlight the creative talents that have contributed to the cultural enrichment of our communities and our Nation.”

High school and college-age cast members from the Standing Room Only Theater Company’s production of “Hair” sang iconic songs from the musical while dancing among the mural’s whimsical imagery. (Photo by Zakee White)

In an Instagram post, Tochigi thanked Mayor Rolison, project partners, equipment and paint donors and the Poughkeepsie community for their constant support: “The good vibe we generate and spread is the best medicine for our MIND, BODY and SOUL!!! We are all ROCK STARS!!! Let’s keep on making, imagining and inspiring one another!!!”

Watch a video of the unveiling here:

Partners, City Celebrate Poughkeepsie Gateway Mural Aug. 15

Poughkeepsie Alliance, Arts Mid-Hudson and O+ Poughkeepsie invite the public to the unveiling ceremony for the Poughkeepsie Gateway mural Wednesday, Aug. 15 at 4 p.m. Mayor Rob Rolison will give a keynote as part of the celebration at the Poughkeepsie Train Pavilion, corner of Main Street and Detective John Falcone Memorial Avenue.

The mural encompasses both sides of the nearby Route 9 underpass on Main Street. Poughkeepsie-based artist Risa Tochigi, part of the art duo boogieREZ, has spent a month transforming the underpass into a public artwork.

Special thanks to Golden Paintworks Mural Paints and RL Baxter.