For summer 2023, the Institute of Contemporary Art collaborated with organizations and individuals in East Boston who support community healing and well-being. Many are members of the thriving East Boston Community Healing Center Project, a group of 20-plus members who actively offer wellness interventions in response to the stresses and traumas experienced by many residents. Their work in this neighborhood that has for generations witnessed the arrival of new immigrants is culturally rooted and community-led—a hallmark of the community activism historically found in East Boston.

Elba Oliva is a Reiki practitioner and employee of Maverick Landing Community Services (MLCS), a multi-service organization in East Boston. MLCS’s mission is to build an equitable community by uplifting and supporting families, promoting community health, and nurturing resident and youth leadership and creativity.

Oliva introduces the Japanese technique of Reiki, a healing practice that promotes stress reduction and relaxation.