SPARC
(Social and Public Art Resource Center)
685 Venice BoulevardVeniceCA90291
310-822-9560, ext. 11310-827-8717

Program: Neighborhood Pride Year Started: 1976 Focus: Visual Arts Youth Served: 550 Ages: 14-24 Budget: $303,000 For 20 years, SPARC (Social and Public Art Resource Center) has stood at the forefront of a dynamic public art movement, creating large-scale murals that reflect Los Angeles̀ diverse ethnic communities. The result is a veritable street gallery that has earned the city its title as the "Mural Capital of the World." The Neighborhood Pride program employs inner-city youth to create murals in troubled neighborhoods across Los Angeles. Working with schools, churches and community service organizations, SPARC meets with local residents to discuss themes and placement of the murals. Young potential participants are identified by teachers, service providers, gang prevention counselors and SPARC's community coordinator. Artists are chosen by a committee of neighborhood representatives, other artists and SPARC associates through a competitive process. Working with the artists over an 8-month period, mural apprentices receive technical training in wall preparation, design application and color mixing, as well as instruction in teamwork and communication skills. This past year, participants from all seven mural sites convened at SPARC's historic facility to participate in training sessions, to meet each other and the artists and to learn about the Mexican mural tradition. With an estimated viewing audience of 1.2 million people daily, SPARC murals are recognized both locally and nationally as powerful communication vehicles. In 1995, SPARC co-sponsored a team of young artists whose stylized design, encouraging other youth to "Make a You Turn" away from smoking and other self-destructive behavior, appeared on 85 billboards throughout the greater Los Angeles region.