"So much of what the Scrollathon represents - that being all of our stories coming together and seeing how similar we are - is such a reflection on our school culture."
David Douglas High School will be representing the state of Oregon in the National Scrollathon, a project created to connect America through art.
The Scrollathon, a project started 20 years ago by two brothers, Steven and William Ladd, is an artistic way of uniting communities. To celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the organization is traveling across America to create a unique piece that represents each state. The final project will be displayed at the John F. Kennedy Center of Performing Arts in Washington D.C. from Memorial Day to Labor Day, 2026.
The Ladd brothers reached out to the school secretary, Lisa Wallstrum, who then directed them to ceramics teacher Katy Coughlin. Coughlin as well as her students were honoured that David Douglas was chosen to participate in such a large scale art project. “Students were excited and eager to be a part of something so much bigger,” said Coughlin. “They were looking forward to this event for the last few weeks and talked about it nonstop during school and conferences.”
The project started in 2006 as a way to demonstrate the power of community, with beginnings in the Ladd brothers’ home town of St Louis and later became successful in New York. Scrollathon projects have spanned from schools to art museums to incarcerated communities, displaying a diverse array of stories and individual experiences. Since 2006, Steven and William Ladd have collaborated with over 17,000 people to create unique artworks throughout the United States.
To create the artwork, participants take a wooden core which can be inscribed with initials, personal messages, or drawings, then tightly wrap two pieces of fabric around the core to create “scrolls.” The scrolls will then be placed in frames which are displayed together to represent an entire community, or in this case, a state. The amount of squares depends on the number of participants. This project serves as a visual representation of who we are as a community and as a nation. At the end, participants have their picture taken to be displayed along with the finished work, and they can even take home a second scroll as a personal reminder of their contribution.
“It is an incredible feeling to know that our high school was chosen to represent the state of Oregon,” said Coughlin. "We have so much pride in who we are, what we represent, and our individual backgrounds. So much of what the Scrollathon represents - that being all of our stories coming together and seeing how similar we are - is such a reflection on our school culture.”