Scrollathon was brought to the Cities of Coral Springs and Parkland, Florida as part of The Power of Art: Inspiring Community Healing After Gun Violence, a curated series of five large-scale temporary public art installations designed to use hands-on art-making as one tool to unite the community during a long healing process. The Power of Art was funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Public Art Challenge and grew out of Healing with Art, the art therapy program at Coral Springs Museum of Art, which began during the immediate aftermath of the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Over the course of two weeks in April 2019, Steven and William Ladd engaged with more than 900 participants, including students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (MSD), teachers, senior citizens, veterans and community members during a Scrollathon at MSD, the Coral Springs Museum of Art, and Broward Health Coral Springs. Each participant made a work of art associated with a personal experience, then shared their narrative with the group, demonstrating the power of contemporary art to tell uniquely personal stories and to create opportunities for participants to be vulnerable and courageous. Next, everyone came together by contributing additional mini-scrolls to a collaborative artwork, titled Growth & Strength. This title, encompassing the entire project, emerged from an MSD student who shared, “In the past year, I have found strength through my community. We were broken into a million pieces, but together we have grown from the tragedy. My scroll represents growth and strength.”

Growth & Strength was exhibited at the Parkland Recreation and Enrichment Center for one year; it has been replaced by a reproduction while the original travels throughout the community.