National Scrollathon
Phoenix Art Museum
Phoenix, Arizona, 2025

Collaboration with 171 participants

Core Values, 2025. Collaborative Masterwork created with 171 participants at Phoenix Art Museum during the National Scrollathon in Arizona. Fiber, rubber bands, pins, ink, glue, paint and wood. 60 × 72 × 1 in.

Steven and William Ladd launched the National Scrollathon in Arizona at Phoenix Art Museum, marking Arizona'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.

From September 17 to 19, 2025, 171 participants from across Arizona engaged in sessions where they created individual artworks expressing their personal stories, contributed to a Collaborative Masterwork—a legacy artwork representing Arizona for the Semiquincentennial—and had their photographic portraits created as part of the initiative. The program concluded with the unveiling of Core Values, the Collaborative Masterwork, which was installed at Phoenix Art Museum 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 Arizona, 2025.

Community Groups
Beatitudes Campus 
Cultural Creatives with Channel Powe 
Free Arts for Abused Children of Arizona 
Montessori Academy 
one-n-ten
Opportunity Tree 
Phoenix Art Museum Staff, Board of Trustees, and 21st Century Society Members 
Phoenix Art Museum Docents 
Phoenix College 
Phoenix Indian Center

Core Values, detail

Signature Plate bearing the names of 171 participants of the National Scrollathon in Arizona, 2025. Archival paper, ink, 8 1/2 x 11 in.

Sponsors

Scrollathon at Phoenix Art Museum is organized by Phoenix Art Museum with Steven and William Ladd. Its presentation at Phoenix Art Museum is coordinated by Jessica Jacobson, Director of Education, and Christian Ramírez, Cohn Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art and Director of Engagement.