Public Commissions
Core Values
National Scrollathon: Arizona
2025
Commissioned by: Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, Arizona
Medium: Fiber, rubber bands, pins, ink, glue, paint, wood
Dimensions: 60 × 72 × 1 in. (Collaborative Masterwork); Signature Plate, each 8 1/2 × 11 in.
Photograph: Courtesy of the artists
Created in: Phoenix, Arizona
Artists’ Registration Numbers:
Collaborative Masterwork: 2025.203.001–2025.203.031
Mini Portrait Mural: 2025.204.001
Signature Sheets: 2025.205.001–2025.206.001
Portrait Mural: 2025.207.001
Exhibition History: National Scrollathon: Arizona, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, Arizona, 2025. Coordinated by Jessica Jacobson and Christian Ramírez
Commission Overview
Commissioned by Phoenix Art Museum, Core Values was created as Arizona’s contribution to America’s Cultural Project—a nationwide Scrollathon initiative uniting communities through collaborative art. From September 17–19, 2025, 171 participants from across Arizona gathered at the museum to create a scroll-based Collaborative Masterwork, Portrait Mural, and Signature Plate representing the state.
Artistic Approach
Through rolling colorful textile scrolls, pinned around a wooden dowel customized to represent them, participants collectively formed Core Values, a large-scale sculpture symbolizing unity, and shared humanity. The piece embodies the Scrollathon philosophy: that simple, everyday materials can be transformed into something profound when people come together with care and intention.
The Portrait Mural and Signature Plate serve as a visual and written archive of each participant’s presence, documenting and amplifying the breadth of collaboration.
Engagement and Impact
The Arizona Scrollathon brought together 171 participants and ten community groups—including educators, students, artists, and families—reflecting the vibrancy of Arizona’s creative landscape. Hosted by the Phoenix Art Museum, the program deepened civic engagement and demonstrated the museum’s commitment to participatory art and public dialogue.
Context and Legacy
The Scrollathon in Arizona forms part of the National Scrollathon, a historic five-year initiative uniting all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and five U.S. territories through artmaking. Each Collaborative Masterwork contributes to a larger exhibition at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., in 2026, commemorating the nation’s 250th anniversary through community, creativity, and connection.
Community Partners:
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
Sponsors:
Scrollathon at Phoenix Art Museum is organized by Phoenix Art Museum with Steven and William Ladd. Coordinated by Jessica Jacobson, Director of Education, and Christian Ramírez, Cohn Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art and Director of Engagement.
Made possible by Alice and Jim Bazlen, with additional support from the Angela and Leonard Singer Endowment for Performing Arts.
Contemporary art exhibitions and projects at Phoenix Art Museum are supported in part by the Rob Walton, Jordan Rose, and Rose Law Group Fund for Contemporary Art.
All exhibitions at Phoenix Art Museum are underwritten by the Phoenix Art Museum Exhibition Excellence Fund, founded by The Opatrny Family Foundation, with additional major support provided by Joan Cremin.
Special Thanks:
Jeremy Mikolajczak, Jessica Jacobson, Alicia Chavez, Amanda Denmark, Christian Ramírez, Claudia Lopez, Kaylee Weyrauch, Samantha Andreacchi, and the team at Phoenix Art Museum
Acknowledgments:
The Scrollathon team; National Scrollathon Interns and Fellows; Timothy Lewis and Babette Husson; Charles and Barbara Ladd; Mari and Gary Teeter; Claude and Gina Falcone Skelton; and the team at Lowenstein Sandler LLP
