National Scrollathon
Edward A. MacDowell Montessori School
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 2025

Collaboration with 89 participants

Finding Your Greatness, 2025. Collaborative Masterwork created with 89 participants at the Edward A. MacDowell Montessori School during the National Scrollathon in Wisconsin. Fiber, rubber bands, pins, ink, glue, and wood. 48 × 36 × 1 in.

Steven and William Ladd launched the National Scrollathon in Wisconsin at the Edward A. MacDowell Montessori School, marking Wisconsin's contribution to America’s Cultural Project and the national goal of Uniting America. This expansive, nationwide collaboration will culminate in 2026 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, commemorating the 250th anniversary of the United States—the Semiquincentennial.

On November 6, 2025, 89 participants from across Wisconsin engaged in sessions where they created individual artworks expressing their personal stories, contributed to a Collaborative Masterwork—a legacy artwork representing Wisconsin for the Semiquincentennial—and had their photographic portraits created as part of the initiative. The program concluded with the unveiling of Finding Your Greatness, the Collaborative Masterwork, which was installed at the Edward A. MacDowell Montessori School alongside a Portrait Mural and a Signature Plate bearing the names of all participants.

Rooted in the belief that every human being has creative potential and that there is power in coming together and working in community, Scrollathon was founded by artist-brothers Steven and William Ladd in 2006. Partnering with hundreds of stakeholders and institutions, Scrollathon has since engaged more than 10,000 participants nationwide.

The National Scrollathon extends this mission on a monumental scale, uniting people of diverse ages, backgrounds, and abilities across all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and five U.S. territories. This unprecedented initiative will culminate in 2026 with a historic national commemoration of art, community, and collaboration for America’s 250th birthday.

Portrait Mural featuring participants of the National Scrollathon in Wisconsin, 2025.

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Community Groups
Edward A. MacDowell Montessori School Students and Staff

Finding Your Greatness, detail

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Signature Plate bearing the names of 89 participants of the National Scrollathon in Wisconsin, 2025. Archival paper, ink, 8 1/2 x 11 in.