[1] Her mixed-media folk art depicts the experiences of Charlotte’s African-American community from the Jim Crow era to contemporary day in the U.S. South.
Ashford grew up in a rural part of Mecklenburg County and attended school in a segregated four-room schoolhouse.
She later graduated from Plato Price High School[2] and earned a Bachelor's degree in psychology and social science from Shaw University.
She participated in a 2004 juried art show for the Afro-American Cultural Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, for which she earned the curator's recognition award.
[7] According to the Gantt Center, the solo exhibit, titled "Nellie Ashford: Through My Eyes," communicates "cultural identity, shared community values and aesthetics.