News
Welcome Our New Artist in Residence in the Printmaking Studio: Elsie Dye Sims
We are delighted to welcome Elsie Dye Sims as our newest Artist in Residence at SPARC. Her lifelong dedication to art, social justice, and community-building aligns seamlessly with SPARC’s mission. Elsie has utilized art to address social issues, teaching art to children dealing with illness, fundraising for organizations like Planned Parenthood and The Trevor Project,…
Introducing SPARC’s New Development Manager
We are thrilled to welcome Corrie Martin as SPARC’s new Development Manager! Corrie brings a wealth of experience in community engagement, event organization, and collaborative projects that align seamlessly with SPARC’s mission. Her passion for art, performance, and activism will be invaluable as we continue to produce, preserve, and promote socially relevant artwork. We look…
[LA Times] The 10 best places to see Latino art in Los Angeles
By Cerys Davies Staff Writer Feb. 10, 2025 6 AM PT Los Angeles is a city known for its vast Latino population, and its art scene is reflective of the diversity that exists within that community. Some spaces, like the Cheech Marin Center in Riverside, specialize in Chicano art, while others, like the Museum of Latin American Art in Long…
Remembering Emily Winters: A Visionary Artist and Activist
It is with heavy hearts that we share the passing of Emily Winters, a groundbreaking muralist, activist, and co-founder of the Venice Arts Council. Her artistry and dedication to social and environmental justice have left an indelible mark on Venice and the greater Los Angeles community. One of Emily’s most iconic works, Endangered Species (1989-1990), adorns the…
SPARC Announces the Acquisition of the Prigoff Collection
Dear friends of SPARC, We are very excited to announce that SPARC has been honored to receive the esteemed Prigoff Collection as a gift, a momentous addition that celebrates our ongoing mission to preserve and uplift the power of public art and that enhances our ongoing archival efforts through the SPARC Archives. The Prigoff Collection…
2024 has been monumental for SPARC
Dear friends of SPARC, As the year comes to a close, we at the Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC) want to take a moment to express our deepest gratitude for your continued support. Your belief in our mission to create, preserve, and celebrate public art that tells our stories and uplifts our communities…
SPARC’s Election Response: Call to Artists
“This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal. I know the world is bruised and…
La Salsera Unveiling at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes
On October 8, SPARC’s Artistic Director Judy Baca unveiled La Salsera, a mural rendered on glass that was originally commissioned by the Getty and will be on view at La Plaza de Cultura y Artes in Downtown Los Angeles for three years. This vibrant mural depicts a dancing woman in front of MacArthur Park, filled…
![[PBS SoCal] Artbound: Judy Baca’s Journey to Chicano Art Advocacy](https://sparcinla.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/artbound_judybaca_2024_PBSsocal.jpg)
![[Los Angeles Times / High School Insider] Seeing ourselves connected: “The Great Wall of Los Angeles” to become one mile long](https://sparcinla.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/20240727_175331.webp)
[Los Angeles Times / High School Insider] Seeing ourselves connected: “The Great Wall of Los Angeles” to become one mile long
Annika Petras, August 12, 2024 Began as an effort by artist Judith Baca to bring together neighborhoods and cultures of Los Angeles, “The Great Wall of Los Angeles” mural is to be extended to one mile in length. Already one of the largest murals in the world, “The Great Wall of Los Angeles,” is to be…
Celebrating Progress: A Milestone for the Great Wall of Los Angeles
Dear Friends of SPARC, We are thrilled to share an exciting milestone in our efforts to enhance the Great Wall of Los Angeles! We are delighted to announce the successful delivery and installation of the new concrete bridge at the Great Wall of Los Angeles! This vital addition connects both sides of the LA River,…
![[The Sun] Pedestrian Bridge Installation Begins at Valley Glen Over the Great Wall of Los Angeles](https://sparcinla.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/452850701_884194926863073_7145577466570696276_n-820x615.webp)
[The Sun] Pedestrian Bridge Installation Begins at Valley Glen Over the Great Wall of Los Angeles
by Gabriel Arizon, San Fernando Valley Sun/El Sol. July 31, 2024 A pedestrian bridge was installed over the Tujunga Flood Control Channel on Thursday, July 25, that once completed, will provide community members a better view of the San Fernando Valley landmark – the Great Wall of Los Angeles. The added pathway on Coldwater Canyon Avenue…
![[LAist] LA’s ‘Great Wall’ mural expansion won’t be done until 2027, but you can take a peek now](https://sparcinla.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/brightspotcdn_-820x547.jpg)
[LAist] LA’s ‘Great Wall’ mural expansion won’t be done until 2027, but you can take a peek now
By Caitlin HernándezPublished Jul 25, 2024 9:13 AM The Great Wall of Los Angeles — a historic outdoor mural documenting California’s history — is already one of the largest in the world. Now it’s being expanded. The colorful mural stretches more than a half-mile along the L.A. River network on the Tujunga Wash, depicting scenes from prehistoric times to the 1950s….
![[Spectrum News] Judy Baca’s ‘Great Wall of Los Angeles’ project continues](https://sparcinla.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/spaectrum_news_LACMA_Judy_BACA_GWLA-820x462.jpg)
[Spectrum News] Judy Baca’s ‘Great Wall of Los Angeles’ project continues
By Kristopher Gee Los Angeles PUBLISHED 6:00 AM PT Jul. 23, 2024 LOS ANGELES — Artist Judy Baca and a team of artists from the Social and Public Art Resource Center, also known as SPARC, have been working inside LACMA’s gallery space to create an expansion of “The Great Wall of Los Angeles,” a large-scale public art…
![[NPR] A half-mile long mural in Los Angeles celebrates the history of California (podcast)](https://sparcinla.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-05-at-4.23.43-PM-820x546.jpg)
[NPR] A half-mile long mural in Los Angeles celebrates the history of California (podcast)
NATIONAL 1:30PM JULY 04, 2024 by A Martínez Listen to the audio clip here: 0:00/7:17: https://www.wfdd.org/story/half-mile-long-mural-los-angeles-celebrates-history-california Transcript A MARTÍNEZ, HOST: On this Fourth of July, we bring you a story about a celebration of American history. One of the world’s largest murals is painted on the side of a concrete-lined river running right through the…
![[MOLAA] Exploring Queer Art History Through a Latin American Canvas: with Ignacio Darnaude](https://sparcinla.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/MOLAA_Ignacio-Darnaude_1-820x463.jpg)
[MOLAA] Exploring Queer Art History Through a Latin American Canvas: with Ignacio Darnaude
A lecture by Ignacio Darnaude at the Museum of Latin American Art highlighted how renowned Latin American artists, such as Frida Kahlo and Claudio Bravo, as well as Chicanx artists like Carlos Almaraz and Joey Terrill, created astonishing queer imagery that often hid in plain sight. Their coded images allowed them to express taboos and…
Statement on the UCLA Palestine Solidarity Encampment
On Wednesday, May 1st one of our young Great Wall artists was struck with a rubber bullet during LAPD’s raid of the pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA. This violence shattered her painting hand which required her to undergo reconstructive surgery. She is expected to make a full recovery. Tragically, our team member is just one of…
![[LACMA Unframed] New Acquisition: Judy Baca’s “Hitting the Wall: Women in the Marathon”](https://sparcinla.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Baca-cropped.jpg)
[LACMA Unframed] New Acquisition: Judy Baca’s “Hitting the Wall: Women in the Marathon”
May 2, 2024, Deliasofia Zacarias, Director’s Office Executive Assistant and Fellow, Acquisitions One of America’s leading visual artists and LACMA’s 2023 Art+Film Honoree, Los Angeles–based Chicana muralist Dr. Judith F. Baca has been creating public art for over five decades. Striking in size and subject matter, Baca’s murals bring art to where people live and work. In 1974,…
![[LACMA Unframed] Judy Baca, César Chávez, and The Great Wall of Los Angeles](https://sparcinla.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/RSSF3660_20-820x547.jpg)
[LACMA Unframed] Judy Baca, César Chávez, and The Great Wall of Los Angeles
March 29, 2024 Dhyandra Lawson, Andy Song Assistant Curator, Contemporary Art, Alexander Schneider, Associate Editor, Deliasofia Zacarias, Executive Assistant and Fellow, Director’s Office “Hi, César,” Judy Baca said as she began to paint on top of a sketch of César Chávez, inaugurating the exhibition Painting in the River of Angels: Judy Baca and the Great Wall last October. “Welcome to LACMA.” These…
![[Los Angeles Times] Baca](https://sparcinla.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/LATIMES_short_baca-820x460.jpg)
[Los Angeles Times] Baca
When activist painter Judy Baca conceived “The Great Wall of Los Angeles” in 1975 as a monument to the history of Indigenous peoples in California, she didn’t realize that she was embarking on a 50-year journey that would employ 400 youth painters and create one of the largest murals on the planet. By Alejandra Vasquez and…