Vinings resident Nellie Mae Rowe, who worked as a domestic most of her adulthood, turned to painting and sculpture full-time in her 60s and enjoyed a remarkable late-in-life career.
Her work was collected by the High Museum of Art, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington, the Tate in London and other institutions.
She transformed the yard of her Vinings bungalow into an art garden, and stuffed it with handmade dolls, statues composed of chewing gum and assemblages. The interior of the home was also full of her wildly colorful drawn and painted art.
Rowe died in 1982. Her life was celebrated in a detailed retrospective at the High Museum of Art in 2021, “Really Free: The Radical Art of Nellie Mae Rowe,” and in the innovative documentary film, “This World Is Not My Own — The Limitless Story of Nellie Mae Rowe.”
The prizewinning film premiered at the South by Southwest festival and the Atlanta Film Festival last year and opened in U.S. theaters this month.
Atlanta’s the Tara, where it has been playing exclusively since May 17, has announced that it is extending the run of “This World Is Not My Own” through May 30.
In June, Rowe will receive another honor when a historical marker will be dedicated in her old neighborhood. Her house on Paces Ferry Road in Vinings fell victim to development long ago and was replaced by the Hotel Indigo. The marker was created by the Georgia Historical Society, with the support of the Judith Alexander Foundation and the Vinings Village Homeowners Association.
NOW SHOWING
“This World Is Not My Own — The Limitless Story of Nellie Mae Rowe”
Extended through May 30 at the Tara, 2345 Cheshire Bridge Road NE, Atlanta. 470-567-1968, taraatlanta.com
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