Aspen is a place for leaders to lift their sights above the possessions which possess them. To confront their own nature as human beings, to regain control over their own humanity by becoming more self-aware, more self-correcting, and hence more self-fulfilling.
Over 60 Artist-Endowed Foundation leaders gathered on October 10, 2025, at Bergamot Station Art Center in LA for a special program featuring a conversation with Judy Baca, artist and co-founder of the Social & Public Art Resource Center | SPARC, and Nora Halpern, executive director of the LA28 Cultural Olympiad, during which the two reflected on the topic of artists, legacy, and philanthropy.
In 1974, Baca founded the City of Los Angeles’ first mural program, which produced over 400 murals engaging the participation of local community members, out of which grew the Social and Public Art Resource Center | SPARC. As SPARC’S artistic director and CEO, she now focuses her creative energy in the UCLA@SPARC Digital/Mural Lab, employing digital technology to promote social justice and participatory public arts projects.
Leaders of foundations located in the Western States, as well as graduates of AEFI’s Seminar on Strategy for AEF Leaders, convened for the event, which took place in the studio in which Baca is preparing a major extension to her world-famous Great Wall mural, created in 1978. Located along a half-mile section of the LA River network, the mural tells a sweeping visual story of the city’s history. Judy and Nora’s moving and insightful conversation was followed by a networking reception held within the studio, featuring tours of the digital lab where the mural is being designed.
View more event photos here. All Photography by Noé Montes.
The evening was made possible by AEFI Event Sponsors:
