250,000 participants from all 50 state and territories. 56 large-scale artworks made from fabric scrolls. For the 250^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the Kennedy Center invited the National Scrollathon® to build a collaborative visual art installation. Revealing the American story in all its beautiful complexity, the final artwork will be displayed from May 29–June 29, 2026 on the Kennedy Center North Plaza.

The National Scrollathon, led by artists Steven and William Ladd, returns following its successful Scrollathon during the 2019 REACH Opening Festival. The artists guide participants to make two fabric scrolls—one inscribed with a personal story, and one to be part of a larger artwork. The scrolls from the whole community are brought together into a wooden frame and affixed into place. The participants’ portraits are later incorporated into a photo mural and a souvenir brochure.

Over the past two years, the artists have engaged communities in partnership with museums, art centers, and service organizations in all 50 states, five territories, Washington, D.C., and Native Community Regional Centers, to create a spectacular, multidimensional manifestation of American national unity, bringing the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of our country together in the nation’s capital.

Don’t miss this extraordinary journey of unity and creativity.

Meet Steven and William Ladd in Person!
Saturday, May 30
2–6 p.m.
North Plaza

Steven Ladd and William Ladd

Scrollathon Founders, Artists and Brothers

Steven and William Ladd are New York-based brothers and artists originally from St. Louis, MO, who are known for vibrant, highly textural artwork that evokes childhood memories, working at the intersection of design, applied, and fine art. William discovered beading at 15 and Steven began making clothes while studying at Rockhurst University in Kansas City. After moving to Brooklyn to collaborate, their formal artistic partnership began in 2000 while creating accessories that attracted interest from the Louvre’s Musée des Arts Décoratifs, which included their work in a major exhibition. Selected for the Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt’s Design Triennial in 2006, the Ladds’ artworks began representing people, places, and memories of their shared childhood, an evolving theme throughout their practice.

In 2006 they founded their community engagement program Scrollathon®, a multimedia, collaborative creative project that brings together people from all walks of life to share their stories, hopes and dreams for themselves, their communities, and their country. Steven and William developed the idea of Scrollathon® through their own studio practice, based on hands-on use of found materials and techniques to create artworks of profound beauty and meaning. www.stevenandwilliam.com