Public Commissions
Point in Time
Scrollathon: SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah, Georgia
2016
Commissioned by: SCAD Museum of Art
Location: Savannah, Georgia
Medium: Archival board and paper, fiber, beads, metal, ceramic, ink, paint
Dimensions: 40 ¾ × 60 ⅝ × 3 inches
Photograph: Courtesy of the artists
Created in: Savannah, Georgia
Artists’ Registration Numbers: 2016.034.001; 2022.176.001 (Mini Portrait Mural SCAD)
Exhibition History: Blood Brothers, SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah, Georgia, May 2016
Over the course of one intensive week, the Ladds worked closely with students and faculty to develop Point in Time, a collaborative artwork shaped by cross-disciplinary exchange, shared authorship, and sustained dialogue between emerging and established artistic practices.
Commission Overview
In conjunction with their exhibition Blood Brothers at the SCAD Museum of Art in May 2016, Steven and William Ladd led an ambitious Scrollathon in collaboration with more than seventy-five SCAD students and professors. The project marked the institution’s first multi-departmental collaboration of its kind, bringing together participants from fiber, sculpture, jewelry, photography, and printmaking in a shared creative endeavor.
Artistic Approach
The Scrollathon functioned as both an artwork and a pedagogical framework. Through hands-on making and sustained conversation, students were introduced to the Ladds’ material language and collaborative methodology while contributing directly to the evolving composition of the work. Diverse materials—paper, fiber, beads, metal, and ceramic—were layered and integrated, reflecting the distinct disciplines represented in the room.
Engagement and Impact
The SCAD Scrollathon demonstrated how mentorship, collaboration, and collective authorship can meaningfully extend artistic education. Students were invited to participate in the installation of the finished artwork and to celebrate the culmination of their shared effort, reinforcing the Scrollathon’s core belief that making together fosters confidence, agency, and connection.
Equally central to the process were conversations about professional life as an artist. As participants worked, they reflected openly on ambition, vulnerability, uncertainty, and resilience—examining the rewards and challenges of sustaining a creative practice beyond the academic setting. The title Point in Time captures both the specificity of this shared moment and the broader threshold students occupied as emerging artists on the cusp of professional life.
For many participants, the experience offered a rare opportunity to contribute to a museum-scale artwork while engaging directly with professional artists in a setting that valued dialogue as much as material outcome. The project cultivated a sense of community across departments and affirmed the role of collaboration as a vital tool for creative and personal growth.
Together, the Savannah and Lacoste Scrollathons exemplify the Ladds’ long-standing commitment to bridging art, education, and mentorship—using shared creative labor as a means of connection, reflection, and transformation.
Context and Legacy
Point in Time established a lasting relationship between the Ladds and the SCAD community. In 2018, they were invited as featured guests to SCAD’s Maison Basse in Lacoste, France, where they facilitated another Scrollathon as part of a five-day professional development retreat. That international iteration expanded the project’s reach, bringing together artists, students, and faculty for collective artmaking and sustained discussion around creative practice and career development.
Community Groups
Savannah College of Art and Design students and professors from the departments of Fiber, Jewelry, Photography, Printmaking, and Sculpture
Special Thanks
Aaron Levi Garvey; Ben Tollefson; Cayewah Easley; Deb Oden; Doris Louie; Jay Song; Jessica Broad; Liz Sergeant; Melissa Messina; Paula Wallace; Sam Norgard; Steve Bliss; and the team at Steven and William Ladd
Acknowledgments
With gratitude to the SCAD Museum of Art; the Scrollathon team; Cristina Grajales Gallery