bacajudith

The creator of many murals found throughout the city of Los Angeles, Baca was raised and educated in that city. A graduate in 1979, of California State University, Northridge, Baca coordinated many community art programs. She conceived the Citywide Mural Project, inviting gang members from rival neighborhoods to work together on creating the mural; the first mural in Los Angeles to be painted by a racially mixed group of artists. The Great Wall of Los Angeles (1974–1984) was created by more than 400 people, mostly youth. It measures over 130 feet high and 2,400 feet in length. Founder of the Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC) in 1976, Baca coordinated The World Wall: A Vision of the Future Without Fear (1987–1994), consisting of fourteen panels, seven of them painted in Los Angeles and the remaining seven by artists from co-sponsoring countries. A faculty member of the César Chávez Center for Chicana/o Studies at the University of California, Baca’s numerous honors include the Creative Vision Award from The Liberty Hill Foundation and the National Hispanic Heritage Award from the Hispanic Heritage Awards Foundation.