PARKLAND, FLA. (WSVN) - A second public art project in a series aiming to bring the community together after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was unveiled this weekend.
The project, titled “Growth and Strength,” debuted Saturday at the Parkland Recreation and Enrichment Center.
“Every scroll that you see as part of this art project was done by a member of the community,” said Parkland Mayor Christine Hunschofsky.
Artists and brothers Steven and William Ladd worked with Stoneman Douglas students in order to provide an outlet for them to heal and unite.
“We reached over 900 people in this community. Each person made their own work of art that they got to keep,” said William. “They collaborated on a work of art that you see behind us, ‘Growth and Strength.'”
The brothers are from New York and travel the country to help communities express themselves through the art form called “scrollathon.”
The artists brought the “scrollathon” project to Parkland and Coral Springs back in April.
The concept is a way for participants to think about what they value in life, and in this case, a way to help a grieving community heal.
“One of the participants from the community named their independent work of art ‘Growth and Strength’ because they said this community has been torn into a million pieces, but slowly the strength is rebuilding this community,” said Steven, “so the name of the collaborative artwork became ‘Growth and Strength.'”
The art project brought nearly 1,000 people together to showcase their artistic side for two weeks, including MSD students.
“It was really great to be around the students and see them taking this to heart,” said Hunschofsky.
Each scroll means something different to the creators, who all got to share what it means to them with others who made one.
“Sometimes in a healing process you can feel very alone,” said Hunschofsky, “and a project like this brings people together, allows them to share their story so that they know they’re all in this together and that they’re healing together.”
The project is the second of five public art pieces honoring the victims of the tragic Parkland school shooting, the first being the Temple of Time, which was ceremoniously burned in May.
The artwork is accompanied by a video and pamphlet where visitors can learn more about each individual scroll.
Now, hundreds of people have a symbol of healing that they can share with the world.
“It was a very special, very bonding experience,” said Hunschofsky.
The project will be up in the Parkland Recreation and Enrichment Center for the next year.
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