“The Wellness Wall,” a social practice project aimed at community wellness and health justice. This interactive social practice wall sculpture welcomes participants to post and share cultural wellness knowledge and Chicanx/Latinx ancestral teachings carried down through generations. This piece was inspired by my decades of work in Mexican traditional medicine and curanderismo.

“The Wall” is activated as a place of creation, conversation, culture, and community that engages participants to begin a dialogue and to document wellness practices. Participants post messages about cultural and family wellness ways as a means to share, validate, record, and become part of art that seeks to honor diversity, inclusion, and accessibility around wellness practices.

“The Wall” was presented in the Oakland Museum of California’s exhibition “Calli: The Art of the Xicanx Peoples” in 2024–2025. In this first iteration, the installation was placed near “La Botánica del Barrio,” a mobile apothecary of the neighborhood. Participants wrote or drew on cards in colors representing the four directions: black, red, yellow, and white. Each time a participant placed a card, they contributed to the metaphoric and literal weaving of knowledge. During the first exhibition, it received over 1,500 contributions, leading to a study by the museum’s evaluation and visitor insight team.

“The Wall” is now on display at The Alta, a new Los Angeles-based hub for art, culture, wellness, education, and community, created for the Altamed Health Chicano Art Collection. Alta’s “art, healing, and community” is a natural home for my work.