On Saturday, July 15, 2017 from 6pm-11pm, (7pm program begins) at 685 Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291 (Old Venice Police Station – SPARC’s historic headquarters), the Durón Gallery at SPARC will host an opening reception to unveil Canada’s contribution, “The Inuit Send the World a Canary,” to The World Wall: A Vision of the Future […]
On May 27, 2016 of Memorial Day weekend, graffiti covered the POW/MIA mural in Venice, CA., honoring the fallen servicemen who served in Vietnam, originally painted in 1992 by artist and Vietnam veteran, Peter Stewart. The vandalism also covered hundreds of the 2,273 names of those missing in action and prisoners of war hand-painted by […]
Creative Careers Pathways Program: A partnership with the Department of Cultural Affairs and the RightWay Foundation Header image: Aryelle photographing her 6th grade student’s portrait in preparation for the Emancipation Project. SPARC is proud to host our newest Public Art Administrative intern, Aryelle Carter, through the Transitional Age Foster Youth Creative Careers Pathway Program (CCPP) in […]
Carlos Rogel, SPARC Project Manager and Arts Educator at the Judith F. Baca Arts Academy (JBAA) states: “As SPARC artists and educators who grew up going to LA Unified schools, we are thrilled to see a future energized by the range of talented ACN arts educators in the room; collectively we will advance a transformative […]
APPLY TODAY TO BE A TEACHING ARTIST! Video on SPARC’s Spring 2017 Arts Education Program at Judy Baca Arts AcademyJob Description The Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC) is a cultural center that creates public art and arts programming as a vehicle to promote civic dialogue, foster cross-cultural understanding and address critical social issues. […]
20 Years of The UCLA/SPARC Digital Mural Lab showcases a sampling of projects that highlight instruction, community organizing, research and artistic production. These projects are emblematic of partnerships with nonprofit advocacy groups, civic institutions, public schools and municipalities that provide students, artists, academics and community members an alternative model for articulating community needs. The images in […]
Support another 40 years of art, political action, and social justice by contributing to SPARC today. SPARC has remained at the forefront of advocacy through the arts since 1976, beginning with our most well known artwork, The Great Wall of Los Angeles. Since then, the organization has been at the forefront of designing and implementing […]
Amidst the honking and shouting all along Hollywood Boulevard, painter Alfredo de Batuc stands calmly and quietly with paintbrush in hand, seemingly unfazed by all the noise in front of his mural “Dolores Del Río,” which he painted in 1990. Having been diagnosed with Guillain–Barré syndrome in 2005, de Batuc had not picked […]
SPARC connected with actions being organized by National Day Laborer Organizing Network, Central American Resource Center and IDEPSCA to strategize with the creative community and plan actions SPARC can be a part of. This is a preliminary effort to mobilize our leadership and encourage other like minded arts organizations to stand in solidarity with social […]
On Sunday, October 30th at SPARC’s historic headquarters since 1977 (Old Venice Police Station), UCLA@SPARC presented our annual “Día de los Muertos / Day of the Dead” ceremony to honor the dearly departed with the annual ritual of The Calling of the Spirits. The traditional ceremony guided by UCLA instructor and SPARC’s Artist in Residence, Martha Ramirez-Oropeza, and […]
“Looking back, being truly in the present and looking towards our future.” September 20, 2016 It is surprising to wake up today and turn 70 years old. How did the time pass so quickly? I founded SPARC when I was 30 years old with my two best women friends, Donna Deitch and Christina Schlesinger. Both […]
WATCH THIS GREAT VIDEO ON THE PROJECT! If you’re lucky, you can find SPARC’s CityWide Mural Program Team on the job, equipped with their pickup truck full of tools, ready to work their magic on a mural that’s been damaged by sun, tagged with graffiti, or painted over completely. The Team makes it look easy, […]
BACKGROUND: Calle de la Eternidad was the former name of Broadway Blvd., where the mural WAS located (SPARC is working to bring it back to Broadway). Poethig emphasizes the nature of time and of space. Using images familiar with the Latino community who live and work in the area, the words of Octavio Paz around the […]
(Click on booklet to enlarge image) Follow SPARC on Issuu for more updates on our CityWide Mural Program!
A legacy that lives on the walls In the hands of artist Judy Baca, the mural is a powerful teaching tool of L.A. history and student empowerment.
In their exhibit “Division: Reflections and Shadows”, which opened on June 25, 2016 in the Durón Gallery at SPARC, the Los de Abajo Printmaking Collective along with guest artists explore the impact and establishment of divisive forces through the radical medium of printmaking. Art is often used as a medium for conversation, a vehicle for […]
For graduating UCLA senior Aaron Rozzi, the decision to enroll for Professor Judy Baca’s “Beyond Mexican Mural: Beginning Muralism and Community Laboratory” class was a hasty, last minute one. “I found out through an email from my Art History professor. The moment I got the email, I was like, ‘I have to take this […]
On April 2016, SPARC partnered with social media community Art Responders and founder/curator, Daryl Elaine Wells, to produce VIRAL: 25 Years from Rodney King. The exhibition marked 25 years since the spread of what is arguably the first “viral” video: the LAPD’s beating of Rodney King, which gave rise to the 1992 L.A. Riots. In […]
SPARC’s MURAL RESCUE PROGRAM has been working to preserve, conserve, and restore murals (both painted and digital) that have been painted or printed on substrates and walls built in the public environment. SPARC’s MuralShield* has advanced the consolidation techniques developed by conservationists to become more compatible with acrylic on concrete murals and refined chemically the […]
EXHIBIT TRAVELS FROM SPARC TO ART DIVISION TO SELF HELP GRAPHICS & ART. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/museums/la-ca-cm-43-students-missing-sparc-20160221-story.html
Help SPARC restore all Neighborhood Pride Mural Program murals (1988-2003), representing some of the most iconic murals in Los Angeles. Consider supporting our continued efforts to restore history. The funding SPARC has been awarded from DCA covers 20% of the Neighborhood Pride murals that need restoration. SPARC’s CityWide Mural Program has been in full swing. An amazing cadre of young, committed […]
“There has been a long history of social, racial, economic and political injustices for African American communities in Los Angeles. Fifty years ago, in the neighborhood of Watts—on August 11, 1965—these injustices erupted into the six-day Watts Riots/Rebellion. The Riots/Rebellion served as a crucial turning point in LA’s Civil Rights Movement and is now recognized […]
Julia Wesson and Cathy Weiss from their Learning Los Angeles segment of the Huffington Post took a moment to interview SPARC’s leadership. Both interviews tell a story about the depth and purpose behind the work of SPARC. For Judy Baca Huffington Post Interview CLICK HERE For Debra J.T. Padilla Huffington Post Interview CLICK HERE
VISIT UCLA@SPARC Digital/Mural Lab official website Digital Mural UCLA Graduate Community Development Class: A course in artist’s approaches to transformations of local and global communities through aesthetic practices in; visual arts, spoken word, visual performance, music, and dance that include participatory audience inclusion and foster civic dialogue and community advocacy and activism. A course […]
The Judy Baca Arts Academy represents the tremendous potential for creative learning endeavors within the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). We believe that academic preparedness means placing art, creativity and self-exploration at the center of the scholastic journey. The Emancipation Project, a collaboration between University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and the Judy Baca […]
CONTINUE READING →Amy Poehler knows that smart girls get better with age. This episode highlights the work of Judy Baca, an artist who uses murals to wake up people. WAKE UP!
CONTINUE READING →
