SPARC ART

SPARC ART ART COMMUNITY EDUCATION SOCIAL JUSTICE SINCE 1976 Baca, filmmaker/director Donna Deitch and Artist/Teacher Christina Schlesinger.

The Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC) was founded in 1976 by renowned artist and educator, UCLA Distinguished Professor Judith F. SPARC accomplishes its mission by producing, preserving and teaching methods to create community-based, public art. SPARC’s intention is: to examine what we choose to memorialize through public art, to devise and produce excellent artworks responsive to arti

culated community needs through innovative community participatory processes, that include creative visualization and collaborative teams composed of local residents of all ages. SPARC is proud of its rich legacy of artwork that provides an ethnic face for our city. SPARC’s public projects, which are national and international in scope, now number in Los Angeles alone in the 100’s and are considered among the most important landmarks of our city. For over 35 years, SPARC has been working in Los Angeles’ communities, including poor and immigrant communities with youth and their families as participants in the production of public monuments – artworks that make their stories evident to local, national and international audiences. Through the expansion of the American historical narrative, SPARC seeks to create understanding between diverse ethnic groups and respect for the significant contributions made by diverse populations that make up a nation of immigrants. SPARC has remained committed to its values as a socially responsible organization utilizing art to bring about social change. It remains committed to helping communities find their voice, giving them public expression, and having others hear it; while breaking down barriers, real and perceived, between and within communities. What SPARC does is as much about community transformation and creating permanent sites of public memory as it is about public art.

At Altamed opening last night with Patsys show. Visiting my Las Tres Forever triptych Mary Duron as the 3rd Maria, in th...
05/31/2026

At Altamed opening last night with Patsys show. Visiting my Las Tres Forever triptych Mary Duron as the 3rd Maria, in the Altamed collection. Fabulous event!

✨ SPARC is hiring! ✨We are looking for individuals to fulfill the following role:- Manager of Research, Education and Pr...
05/21/2026

✨ SPARC is hiring! ✨

We are looking for individuals to fulfill the following role:

- Manager of Research, Education and Programs 📚

Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of our creative community!

🔗Visit www.sparcinla.org/jobs/ or click on the link in our bio for the full job description and to apply!

Join us in shaping the future of SPARC and making a difference through your expertise and dedication!

On this day 50 years ago, May 20, 1976, three visionary women—Judy Baca, Christina Schlesinger, and Donna Deitch—signed ...
05/21/2026

On this day 50 years ago, May 20, 1976, three visionary women—Judy Baca, Christina Schlesinger, and Donna Deitch—signed a piece of paper. That paper officially incorporated the Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC).

They didn't just start a nonprofit; they ignited a movement. They decided that Los Angeles’s walls belonged to the people whose stories had been erased from the history books.

For 50 years, SPARC has preserved the world's largest multi-ethnic civil rights archive, stood shoulder-to-shoulder with community struggles, and painted monuments like the Great Wall of Los Angeles.

Join us in celebration of this historic day! Make a gift to SPARC today to fuel the next 50 years of radical public art!

🔗 Link to donate in our bio ✨

05/13/2026

✨Looking for a free event this Saturday in Los Angeles?✨

SPARC's Artist-In-Residence, , will be hosting a collaborative printmaking workshop, all experience levels are welcome!

🗓️ Saturday, May 16
⏰ 12pm - 2pm AND 3pm - 5pm
📍 685 Venice Blvd. Venice CA 90291

🔗 Link in our bio to register! 👋 We'll see you there!

✨ Grateful for such a meaningful evening in community Presented by the California Native Vote Project () and The Chapter...
04/08/2026

✨ Grateful for such a meaningful evening in community

Presented by the California Native Vote Project () and The Chapter House, in partnership with and , this panel centered Native Art, Power, and Movement, and was held in front of the “Why Alcatraz Matters” and “Wounded Knee” details from The 1970s: A Decade of Defiance and Dreams, part of The Great Wall of Los Angeles by Judith F. Baca—grounding the conversation in history, resistance, and continued cultural presence.

A huge thank you to our incredible panelists—Kris “urban rezlife” Longoria, an artist, writer, and mother serving as Lead Exhibit Advisor for The Occupation of Alcatraz; River Garza, an LA-based artist whose work draws from traditional Indigenous aesthetics; and Monica Zavala, a multidisciplinary artist working across muralism, illustration, painting, sculpture, writing, and digital art.

Special thanks to moderator Jana Schmieding—comedian, actor, and podcaster known for her work on Rez Dogs—for guiding the conversation with care, insight, and humor.

Thank you to everyone who showed up and held space with us ✨

Judith F. Baca and the Great Wall of Los Angeles - The 1970s: A Decade of Defiance and Dreams at  has officially come to...
04/07/2026

Judith F. Baca and the Great Wall of Los Angeles - The 1970s: A Decade of Defiance and Dreams at has officially come to a close 💫

We celebrated the exhibition’s final moments with a powerful closing reception, featuring an unforgettable performance by Jimetta Rose and . The space was filled with community coming together through music, history, and shared admiration.

While the mural is no longer on view at Jeffrey Deitch, its story continues. You can still experience the Great Wall of Los Angeles currently in progress on the 1980s segment at our working studio:

📍2525 Michigan Ave.
Bergamot Station Arts Center
Santa Monica CA 90404

Thank you to everyone who showed up, listened, reflected, and honored this decade of resistance and cultural production. The work lives on 💫

📸 by Isa Moreno .mov /

04/03/2026

In the Great Wall of Los Angeles, The 1970s: A Decade of Defiance and Dreams, Judith F. Baca paints a segment titled “Roe v.Wade” highlighting breakthroughs for women's liberation and reproductive justice in the 1970s.

Such legal breakthroughs include Roe V. Wade (1973) which established a constitutional right to abortion. In June 2022, Roe v. Wade was overturned with Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization abandoning 50 years of precedent, prompting dozens of states to ban abortion outright, and endangering the lives of countless women and gender-expansive people across the nation.

Coined by SisterSong in 1994, "reproductive justice” is defined as the belief of the human right to bodily autonomy, the right to have children, the right not to have children, and the right to parent in safe communities.

Using a transgender lens, reproductive justice also requires dismantling the gender binary in healthcare, access to contraception, gender-affirming care, eliminating forced sterilization and addressing intersecting oppressions.

The struggle for reproductive justice and bodily autonomy continues…

You can see more of the ‘Roe V. Wade’ segment in the 1970s: A Decade of Defiance and Dreams for only a few more days on view at the Jeffrey Deitch Gallery at 925 N Orange Dr, until April 4, 2026.

Address

685 Venice Boulevard
Venice, CA
90291

Opening Hours

Tuesday 11am - 5pm
Wednesday 11am - 5pm
Thursday 11am - 5pm
Friday 11am - 5pm

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