Nellie Mae Rowe and her Playhouse

Nellie Mae Rowe (1900-1982), a self-taught African-American artist, lived near this site for 45 years. Rowe began creating art as a child. After retiring in the 1960s, she devoted herself to artmaking, associating it with childlike play. Using assemblage and repurposing techniques, she explored politics, race, her faith, and her experience as a woman. Rowe adorned her yard and home—her “Playhouse”—with colorful drawings, installations, and sculptures. During the 1970s, many locals and visitors toured Rowe’s Playhouse. Rowe experienced harassment and vandalization due to racial prejudice and lack of understanding of her art. Toward the end of her life Rowe’s work received national attention. Shortly after her death her Playhouse was demolished. Rowe’s art has since been exhibited worldwide and included in collections such as Atlanta’s High Museum of Art and New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.