Steven Ladd and William Ladd
THE Northern Marianas Humanities Council, in partnership with the Commonwealth Council for Arts and Culture, hosted the National Scrollathon at Northern Marianas College’s Center for Aquaculture Development office on Friday, Dec. 6.
The National Scrollathon brings together the creative expressions of people from diverse American communities in a collaborative, multidimensional exhibit uniting America for its 250th birthday or the semiquincentennial in 2026, the Humanities Council said.
Using textiles, participants from 50 states, five territories, and Washington, D.C. will create artworks of “profound beauty and meaning.” The art pieces will be featured in the 2026 Semiquincentennial Celebration at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in the nation’s capital.
“This will include contributions from the Marianas for the first time ever!” said artist brothers Steven and William Ladd, who led the workshop on Saipan.
“We’re doing a series of workshops and sessions where different groups from the community of all different ages, abilities and backgrounds come to participate. [They] make a work of art for themselves…that expresses their own story. They collaborate on a work of art that’s going to represent the Northern Mariana Islands and then have their photographic portrait created to be a permanent record,” Steven Ladd said.
“So, we’re creating an encompassing exhibition in 2026, bringing together artworks and artifacts from all 50 states, five territories and Washington, D.C. to be America’s cultural project for the 250th birthday of America,” he added.
According to William Ladd, “All these people from all different walks of life and talking to them about what makes them special and what makes their state or their territory special and seeing the connections between all the different places…. We…are all a melting pot and every time you go into a new community, everybody’s saying that, and they’re saying how connected we are and how happy we are and how beautiful the places are that we’ve been to.”
The brothers have been collaborating on art for the past 24 years. William is a beadmaker while Steven is a master sewer.
Steven said that “17 years ago, we were invited to work with a group of schoolchildren, and so we brought our materials and fabrics, and they started breaking them down into these small rolls and over the course of 17 years, that program has just evolved from our own art practice to be the Scrollathon.”
The brothers have so far worked in 10 states, and are planning to conduct 30 more workshops, including on Guam.
Steven said they will head to Guam on Tuesday.
“One of our goals with this project is uniting America, and so we want to encourage people to think about what they want the 250th anniversary of our country to mean to them. And we want them to play an active role in shaping the future of America,” Steven said.
“We see this as one of the beginning steps in trying to unite America,” William said. “And this is only the beginning of that work. This work continues through reengagement with the communities that we work with, and kind of coming back and working with more people and a bigger, diverse group of people in each place that we go to, and this is just that beginning connection, and then those threads grow over time and become this beautiful fabric.”
Asked about the common story that connects participants across America, they said, “It’s our humanity that connects us and we’re still really at the beginning of this journey and if you know anyone that has a story to express, we’re here listening.”