Painting in the River of Angels: Judy Baca and The Great Wall
Painting in the River of Angels: Judy Baca and The Great Wall
For the first time in her practice, Judy Baca transforms a museum into a studio. She and artists from the Social and Public Art Resource Center expand The Great Wall of Los Angeles into the 21st century, painting two sections of the mural at LACMA. LACMA’s exhibition presents murals from the 1960s depicting the Chicano Movement, Watts Renaissance, and archival materials that have never been exhibited, revealing Baca’s process and innovations to muralism. Baca conceived The Great Wall (1975) as a monument to the people of California, featuring moments from prehistoric times to the 1950s. She collaborated with 400 youth and community members to design and paint the mural on the walls of the L.A. River to tell history from the perspective of those erased from it. After the artists complete the paintings at LACMA, they will add them to The Great Wall, creating a mile of visual history.
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For the first time in her practice, Judy Baca transforms a museum into a studio. She and artists from the Social and Public Art Resource Center expand The Great Wall of Los Angeles into the 21st century, painting two sections of the mural at LACMA. LACMA’s exhibition presents murals from the 1960s depicting the Chicano Movement, Watts Renaissance, and archival materials that have never been exhibited, revealing Baca’s process and innovations to muralism. Baca conceived The Great Wall (1975) as a monument to the people of California, featuring moments from prehistoric times to the 1950s. She collaborated with 400 youth and community members to design and paint the mural on the walls of the L.A. River to tell history from the perspective of those erased from it. After the artists complete the paintings at LACMA, they will add them to The Great Wall, creating a mile of visual history.
This exhibition was organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Major support provided by The Claire Falkenstein Foundation, Berta and Frank Gehry, and Mellon Foundation. Generous support provided by Fabian Newton Family, Carmela and Miguel Koenig, Cheryl Gora, and an anonymous donor.
Premier sponsorship provided by Snapchat 
All exhibitions at LACMA are underwritten by the LACMA Exhibition Fund. Major annual support is provided by The David & Meredith Kaplan Foundation, with generous annual funding from Louise and Brad Edgerton, Edgerton Foundation, Mary and Daniel James, Justin Lubliner, Alfred E. Mann Charities, Kelsey Lee Offield, Koni and Geoff Rich, Lenore and Richard Wayne, and Marietta Wu and Thomas Yamamoto.
Judy Baca painting The Great Wall of Los Angeles, summer of 1983, photo courtesy of the SPARC Archives (SPARCinLA.org)
- Oct 26, 2023–Jul 21, 2024
- Resnick Pavilion
- Today's hours: 11 am–6 pm
This exhibition was organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Major support provided by The Claire Falkenstein Foundation, Berta and Frank Gehry, and Mellon Foundation. Generous support provided by Fabian Newton Family, Carmela and Miguel Koenig, Cheryl Gora, and an anonymous donor.
Premier sponsorship provided by Snapchat
All exhibitions at LACMA are underwritten by the LACMA Exhibition Fund. Major annual support is provided by The David & Meredith Kaplan Foundation, with generous annual funding from Louise and Brad Edgerton, Edgerton Foundation, Mary and Daniel James, Justin Lubliner, Alfred E. Mann Charities, Kelsey Lee Offield, Koni and Geoff Rich, Lenore and Richard Wayne, and Marietta Wu and Thomas Yamamoto.
Judy Baca painting The Great Wall of Los Angeles, summer of 1983, photo courtesy of the SPARC Archives (SPARCinLA.org)