Collaboration with 900+ participants

Composed of 10,000 handmade beads, Lesson of Encouragement is Steven and William Ladd’s massive 8 x 35 foot installation permanently housed at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. During the Atlanta Scrollathon, the Ladds worked with over 900 participants from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta to create the Collaborative Masterwork. Excited participants made art to keep, learned how the Ladds incorporated recycled materials in their projects, collaborated by painting thousands of beads for the master artwork, and had their individual portraits created for a Souvenir Publication. The title of the Atlanta installation was inspired by a participant who named their personal art piece “Lesson of Encouragement” because “Steven and William gave me guidelines to follow to achieve my goal as well as being a living testament.” 

Support

Lesson of Encouragement and the Atlanta Scrollathon were generously supported by The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation with Cristina Grajales Gallery.

Special thanks to Anne Trouillet Rogers, Arthur M. Blank, the team at The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta, Catherine Sippin, Chris Holdsworth, Daniel Sanchez, Erin O’Leary, HHRM, John Paul Rowan, Laurie Ann Farrell, Lucien Zayan and The Invisible Dog Art Center, Mike Egan, Penny McPhee, Rebecca Des Marais, Savannah College of Art and Design, and the team at Steven and William Ladd.