In 2019, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts completed its first indoor and outdoor expansion since opening in 1971, further showcasing the Center as one of the Nation’s foremost arts and culture destinations. A vibrant two week festival of performances and activities celebrated the campus’s new space, the REACH, where artists and audiences “cross boundaries and connect”. As part of the festival, the Kennedy Center commissioned Steven and William Ladd to create an original artwork for permanent installation.

Over the course of two weeks in September 2019, Steven and William engaged with 750 local D.C. participants from a wide array of ages and backgrounds onsite at the REACH and offsite within the community. Each participant made a work of art associated with a personal experience and then shared their process with the group, demonstrating the power of contemporary art to tell uniquely personal stories. Participants continued by contributing additional components to the Collaborative Masterwork titled Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, a vibrant, tactile mural created from over 8,000 hand-rolled scrolls. The piece is now permanently installed in the River Pavilion of the REACH where participants, their families and friends, and visitors from all over the world, can witness the power of individuals coming together as artists to speak with one voice.