The sprawling mural that depicts an unflinching people’s history of Los Angeles

Stretching across half a mile of concrete in the San Fernando Valley, the Great Wall of Los Angeles depicts a striking people’s history of the city, often from the perspectives of women and members of minority communities. The sprawling mural is the brainchild of the US activist and artist Judy Baca, who, starting in 1976, worked with hundreds of young painters from local juvenile justice programmes to create its panels, which include depictions of everything from pre-Columbian life to the Red Scare. In this short documentary from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Baca recalls how the project was born in her commitment to improving and transforming her city, and her passion for bringing artworks out of museums and into public spaces, where non-museum-goers could experience them. Detailing the story of the Great Wall’s creation, which continues today, half a century later, the film makes a strong argument for both the power of communal art and the need for confronting works in public spaces.