She was born in Charleston, South Carolina, United States, in 1961, and lived briefly in Philadelphia during the 1990s.

[4] Kim is currently self-employed, primarily contracted by the Mural Arts Program[6][7] in Philadelphia as an artist.

[1][8] Alsbrook's White Trash series challenges perceptions of the history of the American Civil War and associated class distinctions,[9] by creating miniature portraits of 18th century historical figures in graphite and oil paints on a base of discarded pieces of trash.

[10][11][12] Her work was sparked in part by an interest in the tradition of miniature paintings on ivory,[13] and also by the commentary about the historical biases in art by a friend who is a women's history professor.

[3] She began developing the series in 2004, while living in Charleston, South Carolina, producing over 600 paintings in the course of ten years.