Collaboration with 500+ participants

Crème de la Crème Because It’s the Best of the Best, 2016, archival board, fiber, beads, pins, ink, 30 1/2 x 40 feet by 3 1/2 inches

In conjunction with their exhibition Scouts or Sports? in 2015 at the Saint Louis Art Museum, Steven and William Ladd collaborated in a Scrollathon with more than five hundred participants from the greater Saint Louis area. Over a span of two weeks in January and February 2016, Community Artists from Saint Louis were engaged at both the museum and various Community Group locations. Being natives of Saint Louis, the Ladds were elated to share their work and values with their hometown. The resulting Collaborative Masterwork, titled Crème de la Crème Because It’s the Best of the Best, was displayed at the St. Louis Art Museum and at Lambert St. Louis International Airport.

The inspiration for the title came from Jakobe Hopkins, a resident of Ferguson, MO, a community affected by significant social and political unrest. Six years after the Scrollathon, Hopkins expressed his profound gratitude to the Ladds for the transformative impact of his experience with them. “I can honestly say that one experience with you changed my life. It was pivotal. A milestone. That was my first introduction to art. I realized that day that I could be creative. I could use my hands to make something. And then I realized that was also true with the construction business, and now we are booming! I love you guys so much and would do anything for you. We’ve been connected since that day! You guys are family!”

Portrait Mural of 500+ participants, Scrollathon, St. Louis, MO

Signature Plate of 500+ participants, Scrollathon, St. Louis, MO, Reverse side of Masterwork , 30 1/2 x 40 feet by 3 1/2 inches

Community Groups

Berkeley Middle School
Brittany Woods Middle School
Carr Lane Visual & Performing Arts School
City Academy
Ferguson Middle School
Hagemann Elementary School
Lyon Academy at Blow
Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School
Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish (Ferguson)
Saint Louis Art Museum
Special School District of St. Louis County
University City High School
VSA Missouri, Living Arts Program
Vocational Skills Program 
Walnut Grove Elementary School
Woerner Elementary School