KCET 'Departures' Examines Highland Park's Mural-Rich History

"Painting the Walls"--the fifth segment in KCET's Departures series--documents the blossoming of Highland Park's mural rich history in the 1970s.

From "Painting the Walls"

The mid-1970s saw a number of Chicano artists and intellectuals begin to move from the East Los Angeles area into Highland Park. It was a moment where the demographic transformation of a white neighborhood into a Chicano/Latino community would play a large part in helping shape the concepts and practices of the artists involved, white flight, declining property values, and Highland Park’s long history as home to artists, art communities and art movements contributing themes to the next generation of creatives.

Highland Park remains a mural haven to this day, as witnessed by the restoration of Judy Baca's History of Highland Park mural--which was painted during the height of the late 1970s muralism movement. 

The seven-part documentary series delves into the social, cultural, political and artistic movements that defined the Arroyo.

As previously reported on Patch, KCET's Highland Park documentary is the latest in a series that has featured historic communities throughout Los Angeles, including Chinatown, Richland Farms and Venice. The Los Angeles River has also gotten the Departures treatment from KCET.

Click here to see the fifth installment of the Departures series

The "Painting the Walls" segment features an interactive map with clickable links to information about Corazon Productions, Centro de Arte Publico, Mechicano Art Center and more.