Through the exchange of art and music for medicine, O+ empowers communities to take control of their collective wellbeing.
O+ Festival Kingston
October 9-11, 2026
Submissions for the 16th Annual O+ Festival are now open!
Applications Open March 20th, 2026 All submissions due by May 1st, 2026 at 11:59p.m.
The O+ Festival is a celebration of art, music and wellness that offers access to health care for participating artists while providing the community with an opportunity to experience the healing and transformative power of art in all its forms. O+ (pronounced Oh Positive) fosters physical, mental and social well-being by connecting artists and musicians directly with a coalition of healthcare/wellness providers and resources in a shared vision to nurture both the individual and the community. By exchanging the art of medicine for the medicine of art, O+ empowers communities to take control of their collective wellbeing. Click HERE for detailed information on our mission.
O+ Festival Kingston is now accepting submissions from artists of all styles, practices, identities and levels of experience to create public murals that add new perspectives and visual language to O+'s beloved Mural Program. The O+ Art Committee aims to curate work from these submissions, to be produced in and around the Kingston area, that reflects the meaningful juxtaposition between Kingston’s dynamic, multicultural neighborhoods and compelling, radical, relevant contemporary artwork.
We invest in murals because public artwork provides communities with broad, inclusive and positive representation of the human experience while producing chance encounters with the transformative power of art in our everyday lives. Since its first public mural in 2013, the O+ Mural Program prioritizes the expression of women, BIPOC, nonbinary, trans and queer folk, and is committed to the continued expansion of representation, especially from a first person perspective, made possible through public art. All artists will be considered on the merit of their work and we are proud to provide intentional opportunities to amplify the stories and voices of historically marginalized people through the occupation and reclamation of public space that muralism provides.
O+ Festival builds its program around a new theme each year and we ask writers to consider the theme in their proposals. In a time marked by political turbulence and division, art emerges as a potent instrument of the people—a medium through which voices are amplified, dissent is visualized, and collective resilience is forged.
The theme for the 2026 O+ Festival is MONUMENTS.
O+ Festival 2026 welcomes artists, musicians and writers who approach the theme of monuments as both a question and a form. They resist the singular, the simply heroic, or the permanent. Their work turns toward the work done, sometimes at the margins, that moves everyone forward. The labor of everyday heroes, the persistence of communities often excluded from dominant narratives, the culture of care that sustains life, one person at a time. These are monuments that breathe—temporary, participatory, and permeable–and connect us to the collective.
Learn more about this year’s theme HERE.
This year, we are approaching the production of O+ Festival murals in a new way while maintaining the priorities stated above. We ask that each artist select one of the possible walls found HERE and respond to the prompts therein, in whatever way(s) feels relevant to the artist in the scope of their current work. Within the wall options found HERE, please take note of the various approaches to the theme- whether political, regional, environmental, community driven and/or memorializing- welcomed at each location and use those insights as guidance towards the best wall layout and parameters for your work. We do also welcome wildcard mock-ups, not inherently tied to one of these wall options, but encourage you to consider a specific wall option offered as you develop a mock-up and proposal for consideration.
In your submission, and in addition to your mock-up, we also request images of previous work that express the formal, conceptual and/or stylistic approach you intend to employ in your mural. We do not require O+ muralists to have previous mural making experience but do look to the work samples provided, in addition to the mock-up, for proof of your ability, your approach and the nature of your work as it moves from concept, through process to a resolved work.
Building owners will be presented with the top three proposals selected by the O+ Art Committee for their respective site and will choose which artist's work they wish to steward from those finalists. Building owners may ask for limited changes to be made to the initial proposal - like an inquiry about a specific detail or inclusion of a color - but will not be in the position to significantly steer the content of the work. In this way, the model does not resemble a commission. Artists will be selected based on the proposal they set forth and will be provided with supportive direction and production assistance from the organization's Art Director and Committee.
The O+ Mural Program has grown significantly over the last decade and we now have approximately 70 existing murals in the Kingston area alone. Beyond the quality of the artists' work, we consider what walls are available, city and historic area regulations, neighbors living in a given location, representation, budget and more. We hustle to find the best possible locations for O+ murals based on these myriad factors but cannot promise artists their ideal/preferred location, scale or surface quality. We ask that artists who apply do so with an openness to producing their work in the locations available to us with the understanding that we will work to support their success every step of the way while we navigate the complex considerations of producing public art. O+ reserves the right to shift an accepted artist's work towards a new wall if necessary and/or to discontinue a project all together if the piece cannot be successfully produced in an appropriate location within the mural production season for any reason.
All submissions will be reviewed, and the festival art program will be curated, by the O+ Art Committee - a group of O+ alumni, practitioners, industry professionals, and community members representing different practices, identities and perspectives. Accepted submissions will be invited to participate at this year’s festival in exchange for access to care in the O+ Artists’ Clinic which is the primary compensation for sharing your work with the public.
As O+ artists receive access to no cost healthcare, of all kinds, through our exchange, we are not a typical mural festival. Muralists are provided with paint and standard supplies, lifts/scaffolds and/or ladders (when relevant), transportation support, housing support in town (if needed), an intern to assist them on site (if desired) and a modest, flat stipend of $500 to compensate for their time. Additional support comes through the prepping of walls in advance of an artist's arrival including cleaning, priming and base coating as well as projection support to jumpstart the project and documentation of the process. O+'s Art Director will secure walls, mediate the building owner relationships and secure a building agreement with them upon mock-up approval that seeks to protect the artist, O+ and the property during production and beyond. Muralists will also be supplied with an artist agreement to ensure understanding of the terms, the approved mock-up and to protect their efforts.
You can expect to be notified regarding your submission by mid-June. This year, we expect to receive dozens of submissions for a finite number of mural locations. Capacity for mural production each year is limited to less than 10. The number of walls produced each year is determined by many factors including budget, walls available, capacity to produce the work in addition to all other artists/projects included in the festival, and how the work proposed might add to the collection of public art that exists through the Mural Program.
We ask for your patience and understanding should your submission not be accepted for this year and encourage all who are not chosen for O+ Festival 2026 to reapply in the years ahead.
A note to O+ Alum: Lower priority may be given to muralists who have produced large scale murals in previous O+ Kingston Festivals, though we encourage all to apply. Building owners are asked to agree to a minimum of three years commitment to steward the work of our muralists and we seek to have as many perspectives available through the public art in Kingston at any given time. As our mission is centered in cultivating a diverse community of artists to whom we are offering access to healthcare, we also want to make sure we reach those who have yet to participate and may have a need to acquire care.
We continue to expand our model of care through the year round O+ Exchange Clinic. Through art and wellness programming in that space, we are constantly looking for new ways provide care and opportunities to artists. If you aren’t accepted for this year’s festival, you may be contacted over the year ahead with additional ways to connect you with O+. We thank you in advance for your understanding.
Thank you for your interest in O+ Festival and support of our mission.
We look forward to the opportunity to review your submission!
Positively,
The 2026 O+ Kingston Art Committee
Please do not let any barriers, personal, perceived or technical, get in the way of submitting your work. Reach out to us for assistance in applying if you need support of any kind at info@opositivefestival.org or by phone at (845) 399-5343.
O+ Festival Kingston
October 9-11, 2026
Submissions for the 16th Annual O+ Festival are now open!
Applications Open March 20th, 2026 All submissions due by May 1st, 2026 at 11:59p.m.
The O+ Festival is a celebration of art, music and wellness that offers access to health care for participating artists while providing the community with an opportunity to experience the healing and transformative power of art in all its forms. O+ (pronounced Oh Positive) fosters physical, mental and social well-being by connecting visual artists and musicians directly with a coalition of healthcare/wellness providers and resources in a shared vision to nurture both the individual and the community. By exchanging the art of medicine for the medicine of art, O+ empowers communities to take control of their collective wellbeing. Click HERE for detailed information on our mission.
O+ Festival Kingston is now accepting submissions from artists of ALL mediums and modalities including (but not limited to) 2D or 3D visual art, sculpture, temporal work, installation, film, animation, projections, sound-based work, dance, performance and large-scale murals* in public spaces to transform the city into a shared art experience. The O+ Art Committee aims to curate work that contributes to or reflects the meaningful juxtaposition between Kingston’s dynamic, multicultural neighborhood communities and compelling, radical, relevant contemporary artwork.
*ATTENTION MURALISTS: There is now a separate Submittable form for mural proposals and the process has changed in notable ways from previous cycles. PLEASE head back to the O+ Submittable Project page and click on O+ Festival Kingston 2026 MURALS for more information and to submit your mural proposal.
O+ Festival builds its program around a new theme each year and we ask writers to consider the theme in their proposals. In a time marked by political turbulence and division, art emerges as a potent instrument of the people—a medium through which voices are amplified, dissent is visualized, and collective resilience is forged.
The 2026 O+ Festival theme is MONUMENTS.
O+ Festival 2026 welcomes artists, musicians and writers who approach the theme of monuments as both a question and a form. They resist the singular, the simply heroic, or the permanent. Their work turns toward the work done, sometimes at the margins, that moves everyone forward. The labor of everyday heroes, the persistence of communities often excluded from dominant narratives, the culture of care that sustains life, one person at a time. These are monuments that breathe—temporary, participatory, and permeable–and connect us to the collective.
Learn more about this year’s theme HERE.
Please remember that the festival takes place in traditional and non-conventional venues, both indoor and out. MOST art submissions will be presented in non-traditional venues and we strongly encourage submissions that are site specific, nomadic or amenable to non-traditional or outdoor exhibition, installation or performance spaces. We cannot guarantee the ideal setting for every accepted artist's work, and certainly cannot guarantee traditional gallery or stage/performance space but we will work with you after acceptance to secure a venue for sharing your work that will support its integrity and success within the festival setting.
*Work that is a collaboration or hybrid between an art medium or modality AND either music or wellness may choose to submit in either the MUSIC, ART or EXPLO+RE WELLNESS category (ExplO+re opens in May). Please do not submit in more than one category.
All submissions will be reviewed, and the festival art program will be curated, by the O+ Art Committee - a group of O+ alumni, practitioners, industry professionals, and community members representing different practices, identities and perspectives. Accepted submissions will be invited to participate at this year’s festival in exchange for access to care in the O+ Artists’ Clinic.
You can expect to be notified regarding your submission by mid-June. This year, we expect to receive hundreds of submissions for a finite number of artist slots. Capacity is determined, in large part, by the amount of care we are able to provide at our clinic during the festival weekend and the budget we have to produce the work that is accepted. We ask for your patience and understanding should your submission not be accepted for this year and encourage all who are not chosen for O+ Festival 2026 to reapply next year.
A note to O+ Alum: Lower priority may be given to those who participated in the previous four O+ Kingston Festivals (O+ 2025, 2024, 2023 and 2022), though we encourage all to apply. We want to make sure we reach those who have yet to participate and may have a need to acquire care. As our mission is centered in cultivating a diverse community of artists to whom we are offering access to healthcare and to be able to welcome more folks into the year round model of care now available through the O+ Exchange Clinic.
We continue to expand our model of care through the O+ Exchange Clinic. Through art and wellness programming in that space, we are constantly looking for new ways provide care and opportunities to artists. If you aren’t accepted for this year’s festival, O+ may contact you over the year(s) ahead with additional ways to connect you with O+ and access to care.
Thank you again for your interest in O+ Festival and support of our mission.
We look forward to the opportunity to review your submission!
Positively,
The 2026 O+ Kingston Art Committee
Please do not let any barriers, personal, perceived or technical, get in the way of submitting your work. Reach out to us for assistance in applying if you need support of any kind at info@opositivefestival.org or by phone at (845) 399-5343.
O+ Festival Kingston
October 9-11, 2026
Music and comedy submissions for the 16th Annual O+ Festival are now open!
Applications Open March 23, 2026
All submissions due by April 26, 2026 at 11:59pm
The O+ Festival is a 3-day celebration of art, music and wellness that offers access to health care for its participating artists and musicians while providing the community with an opportunity to experience the healing and transformative power of art in all forms. O+ (pronounced Oh Positive) fosters physical, mental and social well-being by connecting visual artists and musicians directly with a coalition of healthcare/wellness providers and resources in a shared vision to nurture the individual and the community. By exchanging the art of medicine for the medicine of art, O+ empowers communities to take control of their collective wellbeing.
O+ Festival Kingston is now accepting submissions from musicians of all mediums and genres including live bands, solo artists, DJs, soundscapes, ensembles/choirs, and comedians. Performances take place in traditional and non traditional venues both indoors and outdoors throughout Kingston. We encourage music submissions that are unconventional, mobile or unplugged as well as those that prefer a typical staged production. ALL genres and forms of music or sound pieces are welcome. Please note, we do not generally book cover bands unless the material is presented with an unexpected/innovative twist or with very original arrangements.
If your submission includes music as part of what is more of a film, visual art, theater or dance presentation, we ask that you submit under O+ Festival Kingston 2026 ART, but if the performance is planned to be presented on a stage with live sound and light elements, continue with this music application. Please do not submit in more than one category.
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All submissions will be thoroughly reviewed by the O+ Music Committee: a rotating group of approximately 6 alumni, musicians, industry professionals and community members representing different genres, identities and perspectives.
Musicians will be notified of acceptance by early June.
Accepted musicians will be invited to perform at this year’s festival in exchange for direct access to health care in the O+ Artists’ Clinic (with options for in-office dental and specialist appointments by request), plus a modest honorarium for travel expenses, homemade food and drink in our hospitality area throughout the weekend, and access to all shows, workshops, and events throughout O+ weekend. O+ Alumni artists also gain access to our year-round Exchange Clinic in Kingston, NY.
We expect to receive hundreds of music submissions for only about 35 available performance slots for which we carefully consider cultural and musical diversity and medical needs. We do not accept acts that have performed in the previous three festivals and give priority to artists that have not performed with O+ before. We ask for your patience and understanding should your submission not be accepted for this year and encourage all who are not chosen to reapply next year. We hope to bring as many artists into our community as we can!
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O+ now provides year-round healthcare options and opportunities for performances, classes and workshops in the O+ Exchange Clinic, event & gallery space in Kingston, NY. Find out more HERE. As O+ alumni, artists who have performed with O+ before have access to an array of specialists, physicians and complementary care providers year round. Alumni can start the process by contacting our Clinic Coordinator Mac@opositivefestival.org.
If you're interested in volunteering for a free festival wristband or in exchange for a clinic visit please click HERE. We are always looking for musicians with experience in production and sound/tech skills to join our team!
Looking forward to reviewing your submission and to another amazing festival!
-The 2026 O+ Kingston Music Committee
Questions or difficulties completing the submission form?
Don't let any barriers, personal, perceived or technical, get in the way of submitting your work. Please reach out to us for assistance in applying if you need support of any kind.
Please contact info@opositivefestival.org or call (845) 399-5343 for assistance.
O+ FESTIVAL KINGSTON
October 9-11, 2026
Submissions for our 16th Annual O+ Festival are now open!
Applications Open March 18th, 2026 All submissions due by Friday, May 1st, 2026 at 11:59p.m.
The O+ Festival is a celebration of art, music and wellness that provides health care for its participating artists while offering the community access to the transformative power of art in all forms. O+ (pronounced Oh Positive) fosters physical, mental and social well-being by connecting artists directly to a coalition of healthcare providers and wellness practitioners, of all disciplines, with a shared vision to nurture the individual and the community. By exchanging the art of medicine for the medicine of art, O+ empowers communities to take control of their collective wellbeing. Click HERE for detailed information on our mission.
We welcome folks of all ages and levels of experience to read, recite, perform, sign, or speak words of all genres, languages and forms. This annual gathering around the WO+rd is not just a showcase of written work but also a meeting of minds, voices and perspectives in a supportive, celebratory environment of diverse expression. The WO+rd Committee prioritizes original work but is also open to found text, dramatic interpretations, and other linguistic innovations. We expect those submitting to provide appropriate and thorough credit for all text that is not your own.
O+ aims to curate work that contributes to or reflects the meaningful juxtaposition between Kingston’s dynamic, multicultural local community and a range of compelling, radical, relevant contemporary work in all forms.
O+ Festival builds its program around a new theme each year and we ask writers to consider the theme in their proposals. In a time marked by political turbulence and division, art emerges as a potent instrument of the people—a medium through which voices are amplified, dissent is visualized, and collective resilience is forged.
The 2026 O+ Festival theme is MONUMENTS.
O+ Festival 2026 welcomes artists, musicians and writers who approach the theme of monuments as both a question and a form. They resist the singular, the simply heroic, or the permanent. Their work turns toward the work done, sometimes at the margins, that moves everyone forward. The labor of everyday heroes, the persistence of communities often excluded from dominant narratives, the culture of care that sustains life, one person at a time. These are monuments that breathe—temporary, participatory, and permeable–and connect us to the collective.
Learn more about this year’s theme HERE.
All submissions will be reviewed, and the festival program will be curated, by the O+ WO+rd Committee - a group of O+ alumni and industry professionals representing different creative practices, identities and perspectives. Accepted submissions will be invited to participate at this year’s festival in exchange for access to care in the O+ Artists’ Clinic.
You can expect to be notified regarding your submission by mid-June. This year, we expect to receive dozens of submissions for a finite number of performance slots (typically 8-12). WO+rd at O+ Festival is a 2 hour performance on Sunday afternoon of the festival weekend within the broader schedule. Each writer/performer selected for the WO+rd program with receive approximately 10-15min to present their work during the event. On occasion, the committee may approach an applicant with an interest in providing them with a longer form opportunity at the festival but please submit with a shorter form performance in mind. We ask for your patience and understanding should your submission not be accepted for this year and encourage all who are not chosen for O+ Festival 2026 to reapply next year.
A note to O+ Alum: Lower priority may be given to those who participated in one of the previous three O+ Kingston Festivals (O+ 2025, 2024, or 2023), though we encourage all to apply. As our mission is centered in cultivating a diverse community of artists to whom we are offering access to healthcare, we want to make sure we reach those who have yet to participate and may have a need to acquire care.
We continue to expand our model of care through the year round O+ Exchange Clinic. Through art and wellness programming in that space, we are constantly looking for new ways provide care and opportunities to artists. If you aren’t accepted for this year’s festival, you may be contacted over the year ahead with additional ways to connect you and your work with O+. We thank you in advance for your understanding.
Thank you for your interest in O+ Festival and our mission.
We look forward to the opportunity to review your submission!
Positively,
The 2026 O+ KINGSTON WO+rd Committee
Please do not let any barriers, personal, perceived or technical, get in the way of submitting your work. Reach out to us for assistance in applying if you need support of any kind at info@opositivefestival.org or by phone at (845) 399-5343.
The O+ Festival is a celebration of art, music and wellness that creates a bridge to access health care for its participating artists/musicians while providing the community with access to the healing and transformative power of art in all forms. O+ (pronounced Oh Positive) fosters complete physical, mental and social well-being by connecting visual artists and musicians directly with a coalition of healthcare and wellness providers + resources in a shared vision to nurture the individual and the community. By exchanging the art of medicine for the medicine of art, O+ empowers communities to take control of their collective wellbeing.
Volunteers are essential to the success of the festival and yearround programming through which that exchange is made possible.
We do what we do because we see vividly the inequity of the healthcare system in our country, and because we are able to creatively support our musicians and artists in this way so they can keep doing what they do best -- make music and art. In recognition of your service, we offer volunteers the opportunity to receive healthcare services in our clinic during the festival. For 8 hours of volunteer service, you will receive the annual festival volunteer T-shirt as well as (1) clinic visit of your choice. For 4 hours of volunteer service, you will receive an annual festival volunteer T-shirt.
We expect our volunteers to show up on time and participate for the duration of their shift. All volunteers are required to attend a volunteer orientation prior to the festival (date options coming soon) and there will be an additional training for any volunteers managing financial transactions/handling money. When filling out the form, please select the types of work you are interested in and we will do our best to accommodate your requests!
Thank you for volunteering with us and for your support of the exchange of art, music and wellness at the center of our mission.
HO+USING for the 2025 O+ FESTIVAL KINGSTON
HO+using for artists and musicians is needed to support the 15th Annual O+ Festival returning to Kingston October 10-12th, 2025.
Do you have a spare room in your home? Do you have a second home or apartment in town? Or a really comfortable couch, a finished basement, a yard that is perfect for camping in, or an RV in your driveway? Are you a hotel, B&B or apartment building manager who would like to offer a room or two or ten to support a local arts non-profit organization through an in-kind donation?
The O+ Festival is seeking accommodations for artists and musicians who will be performing, exhibiting, producing and activating the City of Kingston during the 15th Annual O+ Festival October 10-12th, 2025. O+ Festival is a celebration of art, music and wellness that creates a bridge to access health care for its participating artists/musicians while providing the community with access to the healing and transformative power of art in all forms. O+ (pronounced Oh Positive) fosters complete physical, mental and social well-being by connecting visual artists and musicians directly with a coalition of healthcare and wellness providers & resources in a shared vision to nurture the individual and the community. By exchanging the art of medicine for the medicine of art, O+ empowers communities to take control of their collective wellbeing.
The ability to provide safe, welcoming, local housing for participating artists and musicians, at low to no cost, is essential to the success of O+ Festival Kingston. Artists and musicians may need one night of accommodation following their performance, activation or installation of their work. They may need two to three nights of housing to allow them to participate and also attend the festival. And we also have mural artists who will need to be housed for 5-14 days depending on the scale and complexity of the mural they are producing.
By providing artists/musicians with a place to stay while they offer their talents and that joy to our community, you contribute to the health of the festival but also their sense of connection to our community. That said, providing housing for O+ Festival participants does not mean that you need to "host" them. We do not have the expectation that artists and musicians would be fed or entertained through housing that is offered. We do expect that both you and the person/people staying in your home are respectful of each other, safe during their stay and are in communication about any issues or concerns.
All housing offers will be reviewed and a staff member will follow up with any further questions or concerns to ensure that any placement in your home is in-line with the accommodation offered, needs of the artist/musician and will be as positive of a fit as possible.
Click HERE to learn more about O+ Festival. You can expect to be notified regarding your accommodation by early September. If you are also interested in volunteering in exchange for a clinic visit (minimum 8 hour requirement) please click HERE.
Thank you for your interest in O+ Festival, our mission and for your willingness to open your home to artists and musicians.
Positively,
The O+ Team
Please do not let any barriers, personal, perceived or technical, get in the way of connecting to O+. Please reach out to us for assistance if you need support of any kind. Contact info@opositivefestival.org for assistance or call/text 845-481-9146.