SPARC Celebrates Victory for Public Education in LA

In December of 2018, SPARC hosted a three-day art build in support of UTLA, the United Teachers of Los Angeles union. We partnered with Self Help Graphics and artists including Aise Born, Angelica Becerra, Joe Brusky, Paul Kjelland, Carolyn Knight,  Nicolas Lambert, Daniel Martinez, Erin Yoshi of Trust Your Struggle, Ernesto Yerena, Leila Lujan, Louis Barreto, and Nishi Sembi to create art in support of public education. Artists, volunteers, and community members collaborated to create picket signs and parachutes to be carried by UTLA members and their supporters at the March for Public Education at Grand Park in Downtown Los Angeles on December 15h, 2018. UTLA followed this march with a six-day strike in January of 2019, leading to the negotiation of a new contract with LAUSD that promises smaller class sizes, more counselors and librarians in schools, and a six percent pay increase for teachers. SPARC was commissioned to create a series of four banners commemorating the march, strike, and contract victory. These banners were unveiled in June at the 2019 National Education Association Representative Assembly in Houston, Texas. The banner utilizes photography of the March for Public Education by Joe Brusky.