The Cooper Union presents a free screening of This World is Not My Own, a documentary about the artist Nellie Mae Rowe that Hollywood Reporter says "takes an unorthodox approach to biography...in a spirit of inventiveness that honors its subject.” This World is Not My Own, which tells the story of a woman who was born an artist, but had to overcome many obstacles to dedicate herself to her art, is directed by Opendox, a film production company co-founded by Petter Ringbom, a 2000 School of Art alumnus, and Marquise Stillwell. Following the screening, the duo will speak to the film that mixes traditional documentary techniques with animations and scripted scenes performed by actresses Uzo Aduba and Amy Warren.

Register 

Registration on EventBrite is required. However, an EventBrite ticket does not guarantee entry as this is a first-come-first-served free event.

Beginning with her birthday July 4, 1900, artist Nellie Mae Rowe’s life spanned the 20th century. For most of her life, Rowe made art in obscurity, propelled by a force she viewed as a God-given gift. As the daughter of a sharecropper and former slave, she made art from whatever she could find. As an adult, she transformed her home into her “Playhouse,” an imaginative oasis filled with vibrant drawings, handmade sculptures and dolls, and collected objects. Six years before her death, a wealthy gallerist, Judith Alexander, “discovered” and introduced her work to the art world. Over four acts and an interlude, This World is Not My Own traces the lifespan of an artist who struggles to dedicate her life to art while exploring the personal and political events that shaped her singular body of work.