Collaboration with 1,086 participants

The Parrish Art Museum project marked a turning point in Scrollathon’s evolution. Participation soared from a previous maximum of 350 participants to over 1000 – a huge transition in scale precipitating changes to every level of the process. The National Endowment for the Arts provided Scrollathon’s first-ever funding, making it possible for Steven and William to begin growing and formalizing their program. Former dreams became realities as early program elements flowered into more vibrant, comprehensive expressions of the Ladd’s desire to transform lives through the arts. The Souvenir Publication and video recordings were incorporated into the project for the first time, and they have continued to evolve to this day. It was during one of these first video interviews, Steven recalls, “that we suddenly began to ask (participants) what the name of their scroll was, and why”. A core story-telling element of Scrollathon was born! For this landmark project, in conjunction with their 2014 exhibition, Mary Queen of the Universe, Steven and William Ladd led 1,086 participants from 16 Long Island schools and community groups through an immersive experience, beginning with a guided tour through their exhibition to learn about the scroll-making processes. Next, drawing on a personal experience, each person made an individual scroll, kept as a memento of their singular day, before gathering . . together in a group-share to tell their stories and feel, maybe for the first time, the power of art to connect people with each other.

Next came scroll-making as a group activity where each community artist’s work became part of the Collaborative Masterwork, 1960’s TV Dinner, now in the permanent collection of the Parrish Art Museum. And, for the first time, each artist’s individual portrait was taken for the group Portrait Mural.

Support

Support for the Parrish Scrollathon is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, The DeWitt Wallace Fund for Youth at the Long Island Community Foundation, the Henry Buhl Foundation, the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, the Joseph and Sylvia Slifka Foundation, the May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, The Mr. and Mrs. Raymond J. Horowitz Fund for Publications, William H. Wright II, Fred and Robin Seegal, and Cristina Grajales Gallery.

Special thanks to Cara Conklin-Wingfield, Lucien Zayan and The Invisible Dog Art Center, and Terrie Sultan.