Departures is KCET's hyper-local web documentary, community engagement tool and digital literacy program about the cultural history of Los Angeles' neighborhoods.
Browse the mural by clicking on a thumbnail above. Then, click on the Departures "D" in the mural to view its related content below.
flickr.com/kcetdepartures
departures@kcet.org
YouTube.com/WebstoriesA Retrospective Mural
In 1974, the Army Corps of Engineers approached Judith F. Baca to build a mural in the Tujunga Wash Flood Control Channel. Beyond her very imagination, it would lead to the inception of the Great Wall of Los Angeles. The half-mile long mural in the San Fernando Valley--beginning in prehistoric times and extends to the 1950s-- reveals historical events representative of California's immigrant and minority communities.
What began with Baca's own paper and pencil eventually grew to involve over 400 youths, who collaborated with muralists, historians, professors, and community members to produce the Wall. After 5 years, with 600 gallons of paint and over 65,000 hours of labor, the Great Wall was established, conveying long overlooked histories and, for some, deeply personal memories.
Now the mural has become an asset for the growingly diverse community, and for Los Angeles, a catalyst for social justice. The Wall continues to be a work-in-progress: a 3-year-long restoration began in 2008, and plans are in place to extend the mural through to the 1990s.
The video interviews in this installment of Departures were initially produced September 17, 2011 at SPARC's official celebration of the restoration of the Great Wall of Los Angeles through the StoryShare initiative.
Additional video interviews were produced for the Departures Venice installment as well as the Venice Youth Voices program in 2009.
Images and the video documentary of the Great Wall of Los Angeles are courtesy of SPARC.
A big thank you to SPARC, co-founder and muralist Judith F. Baca, Executive Director Debra Padilla, and all of the StoryShare participants.
We encourage you to visit the mural for yourself. Use our guide with suggestions for places to eat and how to get there (you don't need a car).
What began with Baca's own paper and pencil eventually grew to involve over 400 youths, who collaborated with muralists, historians, professors, and community members to produce the Wall. After 5 years, with 600 gallons of paint and over 65,000 hours of labor, the Great Wall was established, conveying long overlooked histories and, for some, deeply personal memories.
Now the mural has become an asset for the growingly diverse community, and for Los Angeles, a catalyst for social justice. The Wall continues to be a work-in-progress: a 3-year-long restoration began in 2008, and plans are in place to extend the mural through to the 1990s.
The video interviews in this installment of Departures were initially produced September 17, 2011 at SPARC's official celebration of the restoration of the Great Wall of Los Angeles through the StoryShare initiative.
Additional video interviews were produced for the Departures Venice installment as well as the Venice Youth Voices program in 2009.
Images and the video documentary of the Great Wall of Los Angeles are courtesy of SPARC.
A big thank you to SPARC, co-founder and muralist Judith F. Baca, Executive Director Debra Padilla, and all of the StoryShare participants.
We encourage you to visit the mural for yourself. Use our guide with suggestions for places to eat and how to get there (you don't need a car).
Index
A Retrospective:
The Great Wall of Los Angeles has been a work in progress since its inception, and plans for its growth include extending the story from the 1950s into the 1990s.
A Retrospective:
The value of the mural is evident through the eyes of the growingly diverse local community. Neighbors have a personal connection to a particular panel's story or have grown up with it, learning and sharing the lessons the mural has to offer.
A Retrospective:
Today, young artists inspired by SPARC and other pioneering muralists are continuing the legacy of muralism in Los Angeles with new avenues of approach.
A Retrospective:
More than 25 years later, Judith Baca and SPARC returned to the Great Wall, to restore its luster after years of fading in the summer and beaten by the waters of the Tujunga Wash.
A Retrospective:
With over 400 employed youths, and in collaboration with scholars, muralists, and historians, the Great Wall of Los Angeles would be built over the course of 5 summers beginning in 1976.
A Retrospective:
The Great Wall of Los Angeles mural was conceived of in 1974 as a means to revitalize the Tujunga Wash Flood Control Channel. What would unfold, would be more than Judith F. Baca ever imagined.
Funders and Partners
Support for the Departures is provided through these funders as well as local community partners and viewers like you.
