Collaboration with 50+ participants

Cool Cool Whirlpool, 2023, fiber, metal, glue, wood, ink, rubber, painted wood frame, 24 1/8 x 24 1/8 x 1 1/4 inches

The Ladd’s took Scrollathon to the Center for BrainHealth in 2023 where over 50 community artists from all around Dallas participated in sessions to create individual scrolls that they kept as a personal artifacts and then to work as a community making scrolls that would become part of the Collaborative Masterwork, Cool Cool Whirlpool. Their finished artwork was installed as part of the Center’s celebration during Brain Health Week.

In 2019, the Ladd brothers were invited by the Dallas Museum of Art to participate in an exhibition and public project, and they were introduced to Dan Krawczynski, a neuroscientist from the Center for BrainHealth at the University of Dallas in Texas. During a presentation, Krawczynski spoke to the artists about the physical processes that occur in the brain during Scrollathon, fascinating the brothers with  his insights. Later that year, the Ladds had the opportunity to engage with a large group of people living with dementia and with members of the staff at the Center for BrainHealth. Krawczynski said to “never underestimate the impact of a single moment on the human brain to change the course of someone’s life,” highlighting the positive impact of art on the brain, especially when combined with Scrollathon’s social and collaborative elements. “You’re part of something bigger, which is a thing we all strive for, and even a brief experience can have a large change on one’s perspective over time,” he said.

Over the past four years, the Ladds have continued to work with Krawczynski, often citing his language about the project as a great relationship developed. Krawczynski invited them to do a second Scrollathon as part of Brain Health Week in 2023, an opportunity they embraced to foster a new series of dialogues about the intersection of Scrollathon and brain health. Wide ranging project discussions included individual art making, collaborative art making, and project documentation. Krawczynski held  a series of brainstorming sessions to identify key words around brain health that could be integrated into the sessions.The enlightening experience inspired the Ladds to further explore the intersection of art and brain health.

Portrait Mural of 50+ participants, Center for Brain Health Scrollathon, Dallas, TX

Signature Plate of 50+ participants, Center for Brain Health Scrollathon, Dallas TX, archival paper, ink, 8 1/2 x 11 inches