One of Los Angeles’ most beloved works of public art is still growing — and Angelenos can see its newest chapter up close. On October 22, 2026, the Skirball Cultural Center opens The 1960s—A Generation on Fire: Judy Baca’s Great Wall of Los Angeles, an exhibition of recently completed mural sections that will soon join the legendary Great Wall in the Los Angeles River.
Artist Judy Baca conceived the Great Wall in 1974 as a visual history of California’s ethnic peoples, painted over five summers with 400 young people, their families, artists and historians through SPARC, the Social and Public Art Resource Center she co-founded. For this new chapter, Baca’s team developed an ingenious indoor scrolling system that lets muralists paint and view more than 400 feet of mural in a single room.
The 1960s sections, shown alongside drawing studies and an immersive video installation, honor a decade shaped by the moral courage and peaceful protests of the Civil Rights Movement — what activist Tom Hayden called “a generation on fire.” Curated by Vicki Phung Smith, the show is a joyful celebration of art made by and for the whole community. The Skirball is at 2701 N. Sepulveda Boulevard; plan your visit at skirball.org.
Photo: Judy Baca and the SPARC Archives, courtesy of the Skirball Cultural Center
