On Tuesday, April 9, artists Steven and William Ladd, brothers from New York came to Lieberman’s art class to have her students participate in the Scrollathon, a nation wide art project that the Ladd brothers have been conducting in different schools with hopes of helping students find their values through art.

The Ladd brothers started this project in 2006 in their hometown of  Saint Louis, Missouri, and from their continued to grow and integrate different communities. The brothers have been making art together for 20 years, and came up with the idea for the Scrollathon from personal experiences.

“When we first started collaborating we didn’t have that much money but we had values, and so the whole idea came from us wanting to teach students our values and help them think about the values in their own lives,” William said.

Making a scroll involves rolling one or more pieces of belt material together to make a circular pattern. This project involves students designing  two different art pieces: an individual scroll and collaborative scroll.

The individual scroll acts as a sentimental scroll to students, where each person picks two colors that have a special meaning and then names their scroll. Alongside with this, each student was asked to present their scroll in front of the class and tell a brief story as to why their scroll is meaningful to them.

“My scroll was sentimental to me because I dedicated it my boyfriend. The scroll was pink and red, which are both of our favorite colors,and overall it made me happy that the artist came here and allowed me to make meaningful art,” sophomore Priscilla Chierico said.

The collaborative scroll was created by students rolling up another scroll and combining it with other students scrolls. This collaborative art piece was framed and is going to be displaced at the Parkland Parks and Reaction Center at Pine Trails Park.

“We want people to collaborate on a larger work of art that will be displayed in the community that shows how multiple people can come together to collaborate,” Steven said

“We do our strollathon in conjunction with our museum exhibitions or public project and commissions..so over the years we have worked with over 6,000 people in schools,museums, institutions,correctional facilities and etc,” Steven said.

The Ladd brothers will be at the Coral Springs Museum of Art to work with other students from different schools on the Strollathon as they continue to try to bring the community together through art.

Story by Nicole Suarez