The Great Wall of Los Angeles

The Great Wall Institute is a SPARC program that builds and expands on the legacy of The Great Wall of Los Angeles. With teams of historians, artists, activists and community organizations, it will engage a new generation of emerging muralists and community members in expanding and designing the next half-mile of mural.

EXPLORE

Find out more about the Great Wall Institute and the history of the Great Wall of Los Angeles.

LOCATION

Get direction to the Great Wall mural in the San Fernando Valley.

Learn more about the next phases of designing the remaining four decades of the century.

Embark on an virtual tour and explore history and meaning of the Great Wall mural.

The in-person tours are led by our knowledgeable educators and volunteers.

EXHIBITIONS
UPCOMING

Skirball Cultural Center
2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90049
Opens October 22, 2026

This exhibition features recently completed mural sections focused on the 1960s, as well as drawing studies and an immersive video installation.

CURRENT

SPARC at Bergamot Station
2525 Michigan Ave Unit B1, Santa Monica, CA 90404
May 2026 – ongoing

The 1980s focuses on grassroots organizing that formed in resistance to the turn towards conservatism in American politics. 

CURRENT

Durón Gallery at SPARC
685 Venice Boulevard, Venice, California 90291, United States
May 2026 – ongoing

This exhibition follows the groundbreaking career of artist and educator Judith F. Baca and the creation of The Great Wall of Los Angeles.

PAST

Jeffrey Deitch Gallery
925 N. Orange Drive, Los Angeles
February 21 – April 4, 2026

In February 2026, SPARC (Social and Public Art Resource Center) will return to Jeffrey Deitch to exhibit the latest complete segment in the expansion of The Great Wall of Los Angeles mural, fifty years after its initial production.

PAST

Painting in the River of Angels: Judy Baca and the Great Wall

Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036
October 26, 2023 – July 21, 2024

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.

HIGHLIGHTED NEWS

We are excited to announce the launch of MuralMemoirs, a new initiative by SPARC. MuralMemoirs is an interactive program that aims to collect stories and memories connected to murals in our communities. In this initial phase, we are inviting you to share your personal experiences and reflections related to the Great Wall or the World Wall. Your stories are important to us, we want to hear them!

Announcing the Continuation of The Great Wall Monument

Forthcoming Interpretive Green Bridge at the Great Wall of Los Angeles

February 9, 2021 – Today The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation announced five new projects to be funded through its monuments initiative. Launched in October 2020, the Monuments Project is the Foundation’s groundbreaking grantmaking effort to reimagine and transform commemorative spaces to celebrate America’s diverse history. “Monuments and memorials powerfully shape our understanding of our country’s past, and determine which narratives we honor and celebrate in the American story,” said Elizabeth Alexander, President of the Mellon Foundation.

The Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC) is a proud recipient of a three-year grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support the preservation, activation, and expansion of The Great Wall of Los Angeles Monument.

FRAMEWORKS

The objectives of The Great Wall Institute will be informed by three key frameworks:

create a more inclusive society

Public monuments possess the power to create a more inclusive society by acknowledging and celebrating minority individuals and important events in the public realm. Like their historical precedents, public murals are public education for the masses.

mitigate forms of cultural erasure

Public art has the capacity to mitigate forms of cultural erasure, particularly as it relates to suppressing the contributions of women, minority, and immigrant peoples.

supporting and unifying

Public monuments like The Great Wall play a pivotal role in supporting desegregation and unifying California’s underrepresented ethnic communities.

I dreamed of a tattoo on the scar where the river once ran as a metaphor for healing our city’s divisions of race and class… the concreting of the river was an act of violence against the earth and healing was needed for both the river and the people.

- Judy Baca