Baca denies she unfairly benefited off nonprofit

FORMER EMPLOYEES ALLEGE THAT THE RENOWNED LOS ANGELES ARTIST AND ACTIVIST USED A 5-MILLION NONPROFIT GRANT FOR HER PERSONAL BENEFIT

- BY JESSICA GELT

AT MORE THAN 2,700 feet, "The Great Wall of Los Angeles" is one of the longest murals in the world and among the most important public artworks in the city. Created by artist Judy Baca between 1974 and 1984, the mural is a groundbreaking depiction of Southern California history from the viewpoint of women and minorities and a potent national symbol at the intersection of art and activism. Baca's leadership of the collaborative project made her a legend in the art world. She is the co-founder and artistic director of Social and Public Art Resource Center, or SPARC, a community mural nonprofit, and has been hailed as one of the most influential figures of L.A.'s Chicano muralism. "The Great Wall" is on the National Register of Historic Places, and Baca is a National Medal of Arts recipient. But now Baca, 79, has come under criticism from some of those who have worked most closely with her in recent years.

In interviews, 10 former SPARC employees including two managers accuse Baca of using her nonprofit to benefit her private, for-profit art practice, Judy Baca Inc. They allege Baca personally benefited from a $5-million Andrew W. Mellon Foundation grant to expand "The Great Wall," sold the project's archives to the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art at a large profit to herself, and has blurred the line between her nonprofit and for-profit endeavors.

Baca and SPARC's board chair, Zojeila Flores, vigorously deny any impropriety or misuse of funds. In an interview, they said grant funds were used appropriately and that Baca maintains a mutually beneficial profit-sharing agreement with SPARC.