40 Facts About Judy Baca

Judith Francisca Baca was born on September 20,1946 and is an American artist, activist, and professor of Chicano studies, world arts, and cultures based at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Judy Baca is the co-founder and artistic director of the Social and Public Art Resource Center in Venice, California.

Judy Baca is the director of the mural project that created the Great Wall of Los Angeles, which was the largest known communal mural project in the world as of 2018.

Judy Baca was born in Watts, Los Angeles on September 20,1946, to Mexican American parents.

Judy Baca lived in an all-female household composed of her mother, her aunts Rita and Delia, and her grandmother Francisca.

Judy Baca's grandmother was an herbal healer and practiced curanderismo, which profoundly influenced her sense of indigenous Chicano culture.

Judy Baca was not allowed to speak Spanish in elementary school, as it was prohibited, but she did not know English very well.

Judy Baca later graduated from Bishop Alemany High School in 1964.

Judy Baca then attended California State University, Northridge and earned her bachelor's degree in 1969 and a master's degree in fine art in 1979.

Judy was the first Baca to attend college, and actually quit for a brief period of time after becoming tired of being poor.

Judy Baca sought out a job in production illustration and worked there until she was inspired to go back to college and get a Bachelors of Fine Art.

Judy Baca wanted to make art that was accessible beyond the constraints of the gallery and the museum.

Judy Baca wanted to make art for the people she loved, but she knew that they didn't go to galleries.

In Raspados Mojados Judy Baca used a street vendor cart as a sculptural installation to address immigration issues and the misrepresentations of Mexicans living in the United States.

Judy Baca began to work on the mural without permission from the city or the manager of Hollenbeck Park, which engendered questions from her supervisor and other city officials.

Judy Baca had lookouts who would signal the mural team if rival gang members were headed toward the work site, or if the police were coming.

Judy Baca was in charge of creating this program from the ground up, which included choosing where murals would go, designing the murals, and supervising the mural painting teams, which would consist of teenagers who were in trouble with the police.

In one case, when the city objected to a mural that showed people struggling with police, they threatened to stop funding the program if Judy Baca did not remove it.

Judy Baca believed the first step to world peace was imagining it, and she wanted artists from all over the world to help her paint it.

Judy Baca wanted it to be painted in panels so it could be moved around to different places.

Judy Baca conducted research by interviewing residents and lead a workshop with University of Southern Colorado students.

Judy Baca spoke at the "Against the Wall: The ruin and renewal of LA's murals" panel held at Morono Kiang Gallery, across the street from the famous Pope of Broadway mural.

Judy Baca did so by illuminating the beauty and power enriched in Chicana culture through public art.

Judy Baca envisioned a mural project for East LA but the city council turned her project down, claiming they didn't have gangs in East LA.

Judy Baca was hired by the United States Army Corps of Engineers to help improve the area around a San Fernando Valley flood control channel called the Tujunga Wash.

Judy Baca was inspired by Los tres Grandes, a novel about three of the most influential Mexican muralists: Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Jose Clemente Orozco.

When she returned and began this project, Judy Baca made the explicit decision to involve people from the community that represented voices that have been historically marginalized.

Judy Baca took the lead on the project by interviewing people about their lives, family histories, ancestry, and stories they remembered hearing from their older relatives, as well as consulting history experts.

Judy Baca wanted the project to be done by people who were as diverse as those to be painted.

Judy Baca felt that muralism was one way to redirect these young people's energy and build community through positive experiences.

Judy Baca had people from all different ages and backgrounds participate.

Judy Baca began teaching at her alma mater, Bishop Alemany High School.

Judy Baca taught a program known as Allied Arts, which combined many artistic disciplines, and created her first mural project with those students.

Judy Baca was fired after she was involved in public protests against the Vietnam war.

At UC Irvine, Judy Baca was an assistant professor from 1981 to 1989, associate professor from 1990 to 1991, and named professor in the Studio Arts Department in 1992.

Judy Baca chaired the Studio Arts Department from 1986 to 1987, and was on the UC Irvine faculty until 1995.

In 1996 Judy Baca moved to University of California, Los Angeles and took on multiple roles.

In March 2010, Judy Baca was part of a mural project in the East Bay, Northern California, the Richmond Mural Project, a five panel mural that featured different themes in each panel.

Judy Baca was part of a group that successfully preserved her mural, Danza Indigenas, in Baldwin Park, after there were violent protests and vandalism towards the artwork.

Judy Baca is involved in choosing the art pieces that are being displayed, community outreach to help come up with ways for these immigrants to have a stable outcome, and getting a conversation started in the community, using these immigrants' artwork.