Public Commissions
Ember
National Scrollathon: Nebraska
2025
Commissioned by: Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, Nebraska
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: Omaha, Nebraska
Artists’ Registration Numbers:
Collaborative Masterworks: 2025.185.001–2025.185.031
Mini Portrait Mural: 2025.186.001
Signature Sheets: 2025.187.001–2025.188.001
Exhibition History: National Scrollathon: Nebraska, Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, Nebraska, 2025. Coordinated by Jack Becker, Nancy Round, and Kristy Durkin
Commission Overview
Commissioned by the Joslyn Art Museum, Ember was created as Nebraska’s contribution to America’s Cultural Project, a nationwide Scrollathon initiative bringing people together through creativity and collaboration. From September 3–5, 2025, 193 participants from across Nebraska took part in sessions at the museum, creating individual scrolls that formed a Collaborative Masterwork, Portrait Mural, and Signature Plate representing their state.
Artistic Approach
Participants rolled, and assembled scrolls made from textiles and a wooden dowel customized to represent a story or moment of personal reflection. The completed work, Ember, radiates with interconnection, symbolizing the spark of creative energy that ignites when people come together in shared purpose. Its layered composition and glowing palette capture both the individuality of its makers and the collective strength of the group.
Engagement and Impact
The Nebraska Scrollathon brought together 193 participants from schools, community organizations, and veterans’ programs. The project fostered intergenerational collaboration and created new connections between the museum, educators, and civic partners, emphasizing the transformative power of collective creativity.
Context and Legacy
The Nebraska Scrollathon forms part of the National Scrollathon, a historic initiative uniting people across all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and five U.S. territories. Each Collaborative Masterwork, including Ember, contributes to a national exhibition at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 2026, celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States through art and shared storytelling.
Community Groups:
Central High School; Creighton University Intercultural Center; Healing Ribbons; Joslyn Art Museum Community; Learning Community Center of North Omaha; Military Veterans Service Center; Project Everlast; South High School; The Union for Contemporary Art
Special Thanks:
Jack Becker, Nancy Round, Kristy Durkin, and the team at the Joslyn 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
Sponsors:
Made possible through the generous support of the Joslyn Art Museum
