News
SPARC’s Duron Gallery Exhibition Highlighting Ayotzinapa Students Featured in La Opinion
http://www.laopinion.com/2016/01/29/exposicion-en-los-angeles-mantiene-vigente-caso-ayotzinapa
From South LA to Venice Beach, SPARC is restoring history…
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…
2016/2017 marks 40 years that these 3 gals had an idea….
Be a spark! Help us celebrate 40 years! We promise to be good stewards of your investment. Young peoples lives will be changed and impacted, neighborhoods will be illuminated with beauty and truth, and history preserved and not forgotten. Proposed 40th Plans – Kick off in May 2016 through May 2017: Reinstitution of CityWide Mural Program…
Judith Baca, USA Rockefeller Fellow, Visual Arts
Los Angeles mural artist Judith Baca was named Tuesday as the first muralist to win a grant from United States Artists since the nonprofit group began giving the $50,000 awards in 2006. Baca was the only Southern California winner this year among 36 United States Artists prize recipients in the nine categories: architecture and design,…
National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu visits The Great Wall of Los Angeles
Tuesday, September 22, 2015 L-R: SPARC Team: Elaine Raif, Marietta Bernstorff, Judy Baca, Debra J.T. Padilla, NEA Chairman Jane Chu, California Arts Council Director Craig Watson, National Council on the Arts Member Dr. Maria Rosario-Jackson, SPARC Team: Carlos Rogel and Kaelyn Rodriguez. PRESS RELEASE: http://arts.gov/news/2015/national-endowment-arts-chairman-jane-chu-visit-los-angeles-california-september-22%E2%80%9323
SPARC Awarded City Contract to Restore 9 murals
SPARC is proud to be a part of the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) new CityWide Mural Program. Inspired by the legacy of Los Angeles’ murals and the passing of a new city-wide mural ordinance in 2013, funding was designated by the City of Los Angeles for new mural production and…
Historic AIDS Mural Saved from Destruction
“Love is For Everyone” by Mary-Linn Hughes and Reginald Zachary (1991) Twenty four years following its creation, one of the first public murals to address Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is scheduled to be restored, revived, and renewed! “Love is for Everyone” by artists Mary-Linn Hughes and Reggie Zachary, was originally commissioned in 1991 as…
Judy Accepts the 2015 CSUN Distinguished Alumni Award
On Saturday, April 18th, Judy Baca was presented the 2015 Cal State University, Northridge Distinguished Alumni Award by CSUN President Dianne Harrison. Click through the slide show above to see highlights from the ceremony. Surrounded by family, colleagues, and friends, Judy reflected about her CSUN educational experience, the role of the arts and the importance of activism….
LA Tropical
UCLA@SPARC: today, students in Professor Judy Baca’s Chicana/o Studies course, Beyond the Mexican Mural, are engaging in a mural production at SPARC… entitled, “LA Tropical”, the production offers students insight on how to facilitate collaborative community projects. Based on student research, the mural reflects the lives of ordinary Angelinos in a meaningful visual narrative. Stay…
Canada is now part of “The World Wall: A Vision of the Future Without Fear”
OCTOBER 2014: Canadian Panel Complete! Artist: Tania Godoroja Pearse Title of Work: The Inuit Send the World a Canary TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE WORLD WALL
SPARC Leadership in Huffington Post
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
Esperanza Mural dedication
Esperanza Mural dedication (April 16, 2014), Venice, CA On Saturday, April 26, 2014, 2pm-5pm at 685 Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291 (Old Venice Police Station), SPARC’s historic headquarters since 1977 – SPARC presents the dedication of the Esperanza mural, in honor of the Harbor City Workers featuring live music, D.J. and food vendors from…
World Wall Canadian Partners win huge victory in Tsilhqot’in Territory
First Nations Celebrate Federal Rejection of New Prosperity Mine proposal This must now be the end to 20-year effort to turn pristine area into open-pit disaster Tsilhqot’in Territory, BC (February 27, 2014): Yesterday’s federal decision to reject the New Prosperity Gold-Copper mine proposal was welcomed by Tsilhqot’in Chiefs, AFN National Chief A-in-chut Shawn Atleo, Union…
Meet Mayra Islas, who wrote a poem on Judy Baca entitled: The Vision of a Magical Hand
Mayra wrote this poem in 2010, she was the winner of the City of LA Latino Creative Writing Contest. She recently came to visit Judy at SPARC. February 3, 2014 Email exchange between Mayra and Judy Dear Mrs. Judy, First of all, I want to thank you for your time and for your willingness to…
SPARC Bids Farewell to International Guest Fellow/Artist from Scotland, Richie Cumming
February 25, 2014 “The thing that has struck me the most about LA is the diversity of peoples, the economic divisions between them and the positive collaborations across ethnicities.” Sponsored by the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, National Galleries of Scotland and the British Council, SPARC was honored to host Richie Cumming, Scottish…
STOCKHOLM CONFERENCE: Community Mural Art and Social Change An international exploration of collective Mural Art as a tool to raise unheard voices.
Community Mural Art and Social Change An international exploration of collective Mural Art as a tool to raise unheard voices Date: Thursday 13th of February 2014 Venue: ARKITETUR – OCH DESIGNCENTRUM AT SKEPPSHOLMEN, STOCKHOLM Muralism is a movement with strong roots in many parts of the world. A variety of initiatives has now emerged in…
UCLA GRADUATE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND UNDERGRADUATE BEYOND MEXICAN MURAL CLASSES AT SPARC
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 on…
World Wall Canada: 2013
Collaborative art brings a range of people into conversations about their visions for their neighborhoods and their nations. Finding a place for those ideas is the most challenging task for public artists in this time. – Judy Baca Elizabeth May visits the Canadian Artist Team as they work on the Panel: The World Wall: A…
Alice Patrick Mural Fully Restored!
Funding from Supervisor Mark Ridley Thomas’ for SPARC’s Mural rescue Program made it possible for Alice Patrick’s mural “Women Do Get Weary But They Don’t Give Up” to be fully restored, completed with an anti-graffiti coating, it will remain for another generation to come. But the story of how this mural came to be restored started last year.
The World Wall: A Vision of the Future without Fear
Collaborative art brings a range of people into conversations about their visions for their neighborhoods and their nations.
Finding a place for those ideas is the most challenging task for public artists in this time. – Judy Baca
Desparecid@s: Brown Bodies Disappeared and Divided by Borders
Through the use of visual art, the display of audiovisual material, and live performance, Desaparecid@s conveys the stories and lives of traditionally obscured migrants who have survived their disappearance or are currently in desaparecid@ status.
LA Times: Sparc In The News
Los Angeles Times: National Endowment of the Arts awards $26.3 million, with 122 recipients in California
Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls: Judy Baca. Ep.28
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!
Los Angeles Mural Ordinance Saga
FOR LATEST DRAFT OF MURAL ORDINANCE RELEASED JANUARY 4, 2013 CLICK HERE July 12, 2012 DRAFT – Los Angeles Mural Ordinance direct web link
The Judith F. Baca Arts Academy
The 2013 ‘Emancipation Project’ created by members of the 6th grade class asa gift for the school in partnership with UCLA Professor Judy Baca’s univeristy students in the UCLA@SPARC Digital Mural Lab.
Mural Ordinance: Why VARA? Why Digital Murals? Suzanne Lacy’s Digital Mural as a Case Study
“Three Weeks in January” Suzanne Lacy’s Digital Mural A Case Study for the New LA Mural Ordinance DIGITAL MURAL Suzanne Lacy’s “Three Weeks in January” is an 8’ x 32’ evolving Digital Mural fabricated in the UCLA@SPARC César Chávez Digital/Mural Lab facility. The digitally produced mural is printed directly on an aluminum substrate, and was…
Sparc’s 35th Anniversary
The 35th Celebration was held at SPARC’s historic home since 1977 – the Old Venice Police Station | 685 N. Venice Blvd. Venice, CA 90291
SPARC Official Mural Ordinance Documents Submitted to City of LA Department of Planning
YOU CAN DOWNLOAD ANY OF THE DOCUMENTS HERE: Document 1: SPARC’s Precepts and Recommendations in Drafting a Mural Ordinance Document 2: SPARC’s Key Points and Response to Mural Ordinance Draft Document 3: CAPA Document 4: VARA Document 5: Attorney Brooke Oliver’s notes from November 2011 Meeting Document 6: Attorney Brooke Oliver’s “Art on the Walls”…
Ernesto de la Loza highlighted in USC Graduate Short Doc on Plight of LA Murals
Ernesto de la Loza highlighted in USC Graduate Oliver Riley-Smith Short Doc on Plight of LA Murals
LA Times Patt Morrison Interviews Judy Baca
Judy Baca says: “It’s the moment in the city history in which it decides what kind of place it is. It’s nothing less than that. If you don’t believe in the common spaces and places where we can put public memory, and you sell us everything we don’t need in every square inch of eye…
NEWS: The RFK Community School Project Completed!
To see the full description of the project click here.
Judy Baca Retrospective at Mesa College in San Diego – OCT. 15 – NOV. 12, 2009
To see all of Judy’s work, go to JudyBaca.com.
Chicana/o Artivism: Judy Baca’s Digital Work with Youth of Color
MacArthur Foundation Essay on UCLASPARC Digital Mural Lab
Cesar Chavez Monument Dedication
CESAR E. CHAVEZ MONUMENT The Arch of Dignity, Equality, and Justice By Judith F. Baca “It is not Cesar’s personality that is to be remembered, but his ideals and beliefs” A Pathway Towards Change Cesar Chavez’s greatest achievement was his life itself, in which his deepest beliefs were carried out daily through his actions to…
John Weber Toward Freedom Banner
What you can do! Please help us show our support for the mural remaining at its original site. You can make a quick call to The Help Group’s VP/Public Affairs, John Farrimond, or contact Councilmember Jack Weiss at District 5 where the mural is located. Please let them know that you support the mural and…
Judy Baca Print – Absolutely Chicana
This past weekend at Self Help Graphics’ Annual Print Sale “Absolutely Chicana” by SPARC’s Artistic Director and Co-Founder sold out! Remaining part of the Limited Edition is available at SPARC as a fundraiser for SPARC’s SAVE LA MURALS CAMPAIGN. Absolutely Chicana is a work about identity constructed to face a hostile environment for women and…
MEET OUR FABULOUS 2010 INTERNS!
About Our Interns [accordiongroup][accordion title=”Merissa Acosta”] [/accordion][accordion title=”Steven Rodriguez”] Growing up on the periphery of Los Angeles County public murals, monumental art and graffiti highlight my earliest memories of traveling in and out of the city. In high school a drive to produce publicly engaging artwork encouraged me to become self-learned in printing and stenciling…
Voices of the Canal 2008
Voices of the Canals Special Gallery Event May 6th, 2008 SPARC hosts local community organizations. The VOICE OF THE CANALS annual meeting was held at the SOCIAL AND PUBLIC ART RESOURCE CENTER with representatives from Councilman Rosenthal office in Attendance. Meeting centered on the canals broken lock system which is causing a reduction of water…
An Evening with Karambu L. Ringera
SPARC Presents an Intimate Evening with Karambu Dear Friends: It is our privilege to host an intimate gathering at SPARC, in Venice, California, where you will have the opportunity to meet Karambu Ringera, hear her speak and ask her questions regarding her work in her homeland of Kenya. She clearly has an impressive command of…
Newspaper: Los Angeles – Times A Patron At The Helm?
A patron at the helm? L.A.’s cultural leaders size up the mayor after 18 months and ask: Is there … By Diane Haithman, Times Staff Writer January 7, 2007 HEY, is that any way to talk about the mayor of Los Angeles? In the play “Water & Power,” written by Richard Montoya for…
World Wall in Mexico City at the International Book Fair
The World Wall: A Vision of the World Without Fear Premieres in Mexico at the Sixth Annual Mexico City Book Fair October 6–15, 2006 The WORLD WALL will premiere in Mexico at the Sixth Annual Mexico City Book Fair, October 6 – 15th. Each year, during the ten days of the fair the Zócalo (town…
En La Memoria de Luis Jimenez
Luis Jimenez 1940 – June 13th 2006 Dear friends and fellow artists, We have lost our companero Luis Jimenez too soon. The great Chicano Sculptor whose work appears in public sites throughout the country was killed in his studio yesterday in a tragic accident involving a hoist and the 28ft mustang in progress for Denver…
Deepest Sympathies
June 7, 2006 Venice, California Letter to Our Community S.P.A.R.C. would like to express a deep concern and regret for the violence that has affected our Venice community, leading to the tragic loss of young Agustin Contreras 16yrs old, a Venice High School student. We extend our deepest sympathies to his family in their time…
International Mural Painting Conference, Mexico City
Click To download Invitation as a PDF Click To download the Program as a PDF