Baca

La Memoria de la Tierra: UCLA

From the Bruin: The White House honored Judith Baca with one of the nation’s most prestigious awards for artistic excellence March 21. President Joe Biden awarded Baca – professor emeritus of Chicano/a and Central American Studies and world arts and cultures – the 2021 National Medal of Arts alongside 21 other individuals and two organizations. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the award presentation was put on backlog, according to CNN.

Baca, a world-renowned muralist, received the award for her contributions to public art and storytelling. Other recipients included performers Mindy Kaling, Gladys Knight and Bruce Springsteen. “Her groundbreaking murals depict the strength and scope of human nature and tell the forgotten stories, … and tell a fuller story of who we are as Americans,” Biden said at the award presentation.

Among her many works, Baca created “La Memoria de la Tierra: UCLA,” a mural displayed outside of Ackerman Union highlighting the presence of the Native American communities where UCLA was founded. The mural, which was unveiled last year, showcases the original Los Angeles River and its original peoples, highlights influential members of the UCLA community and displays a future in which the university coexists with and recognizes the Native land...

Full story at https://dailybruin.com/2023/04/09/ucla-professor-emeritus-judith-baca-receives-2021-national-medal-of-arts.