Pop-up Playhouse: A Collaborative Community Exhibition
Nellie Mae Rowe transformed her home and yard into her Playhouse where she invited friends and community in to create alongside her. Her Playhouse was also her studio, colorfully and exceptionally decorated with her art, sculptures, and found objects. Her handmade dolls sat on the many chairs placed in her yard, a constant presence and reminder of her cherished relationship with her inner child – a connection that influenced many of her works. Rowe’s Playhouse was her world; filled with her art and, by extension, her very self, it was an immersive space that encapsulated Rowe’s blossoming artistic practice.
The Mobile ArtLab series, launched in conjunction with the exhibition Really Free: The Radical Art of Nellie Mae Rowe, was inspired by Rowe’s Playhouse. Collaborating with community organizations, schools, and libraries, the Mobile ArtLab facilitated spaces for art-making and creative dialogue throughout the Lehigh Valley. This culminating installation is both a showcase and tribute, celebrating the art created by and with the community while honoring Rowe’s legacy, which guided this project – always reminding us to play.
Special thanks to the following partners for creating with the Mobile ArtLab:
- Bethlehem Area Public Library Coolidge Branch
- Bethlehem Area Public Library Northside Branch
- Bethlehem Farmers Market & Lehigh Office of Sustainability
- Community Action Development Bethlehem
- Donegan Elementary School
- Haus of Shadez
- Basilio Huertas Senior Center at the Hispanic Center Lehigh Valley
- Lehigh After Dark
- YWCA Bethlehem
- United Way of the Lehigh Valley
About the works on view:
Rooted in her playful and creative spirit since childhood, Nellie Mae Rowe often transformed everyday objects into works of art. Inspired by her practice, participants explored and incorporated second-hand materials and items that are typically discarded into artworks. From paper roll dolls to plastic bottle lanterns, the creative process sparked new relationships with items that are often overlooked.
Take a virtual tour of the exhibition here.
About the artist and Mobile Art Lab Coordinator:
Rei Ukon ’21 is an interdisciplinary artist currently residing in the Lehigh Valley, PA on unceded Lenape land. Ukon explores memory, and notions of nostalgia by examining familial archives, historical events, and personal recollections of a childhood spent between New York and Yokohama. They are most interested in themes of home and belonging and the tensions created by global imperialism and its impact on people, land, and communities.
As a teaching artist, Ukon facilitates spaces for people to create, explore, and learn about themselves and their surrounding communities through art-making. They have a passion for the role of art in community care, healing, and resilience, and can be found teaching in schools, community centers, libraries, and museums.
About the LUAG Curatorial intern:
Emily Tsao ‘25 is a senior at Lehigh University majoring in Industrial and Graphic Design with minors in Psychology, Marketing and Studio Art. She has been involved in Ecoreps, Posse Foundation, LUSSI, Lehigh@NasdaqCenter: Startup Academy, and has been interning at LUAG since her freshman year. Outside of extracurriculars, she enjoys painting, crocheting, and sculpting.
Support for this program and final exhibition is provided by a grant from Art Bridges, Inc.
