Collaboration with 1,000+ participants 

Photo: Todd Eberle

Fabulous Phil is the largest Collaborative Masterwork by Steven and William Ladd, measuring an impressive 40 by 40 feet. Composed of 35,000 handcrafted beads, it is permanently installed at City Point in Downtown Brooklyn. Its creation evolved during the City Point Scrollathon, from May 2015 to January 2016, engaging the participation of over 1,000 people from 16 different Brooklyn community groups. 

 In 2014, during Brooklyn’s radical two- decades-long transformation, the Ladds were approached by Paul Travis from Washington Square Partners. Travis, along with a consortium of partners, spearheaded the revitalization of Downtown Brooklyn and sought community engagement. 1,700 local construction workers were enlisted to build an ambitious complex based on their visionary aspirations. Architects designed a colossal climate-controlled vitrine adjacent to a planned community park. To ensure permanent local representation in the revitalized community, the Ladds envisioned a collaborative artwork crafted by area residents, emulating their personal culture and aesthetics. 

The magnitude of the project was staggering and, with a lighthearted chuckle, Paul Travis suggested that such a colossal endeavor could never be accomplished without the benefit of mechanization. Undeterred, the Ladds embraced the challenge, meticulously crafting every aspect of Fabulous Phil entirely by hand.

Support

Fabulous Phil and the City Point Scrollathon were generously supported by Acadia Realty Trust, The Brodsky Organization, and Washington Square Partners with Cristina Grajales Gallery.

Special thanks to Charles and Barbara Ladd, Chris Conlon, Company Agenda, COOKFOX Architects, Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, GlassLab, a design program of The Corning Museum of Glass, Kenneth Bernstein, Lucien Zayan and The Invisible Dog Art Center, Paul Travis and Mark Finchandler, and the team at Steven and William Ladd.