Artist Talk

Jesse Krimes in Conversation

May 1, 2026
5:00 pm to 6:00 pm

A portrait of the artist Jesse Krimes in front of his quilt. A white man with long light brown hair and a beard, Krimes is seated with his hands clasped.
Jesse Krimes. Photo credit: Joe Frantz. Courtesy of Jack Shainman Gallery.

Join FWM and Mural Arts Philadelphia for an intimate talk with the multi-disciplinary artist Jesse Krimes.

Drawing on his experience with incarceration, the Pennsylvania-based artist reconstitutes donated clothing from currently and formerly incarcerated individuals. Krimes composes intricately patterned quilts from these textile fragments to meditate on memory, loss, alienation, and comfort. Continuing in the spirit of American quilting traditions, Krimes’s works situate these narratives within broader histories of communal making and resilience. His FWM exhibition debuts Riverside, a newly commissioned quilt informed by Krimes’s work with Mural Arts Philadelphia’s Restorative Justice program, which supports people whose lives have been impacted by incarceration. Later this spring, a related mural by Krimes will be unveiled at 990 Spring Garden Street.

Damon McWhite, Director, Restorative Justice at Mural Arts Philadelphia, will join in conversation. A public reception will follow.

Organized in conjunction with the exhibition Jesse Krimes: Elegy Quilts.

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Event Information

May 1, 2026
5:00 pm to 6:00 pm

The Fabric Workshop and Museum
1214 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107

Harry I. Feldman Forum

Free | Advance registration required

This event is SOLD OUT. To join the waitlist, please email us at info@fabricworkshopandmuseum.org.

Come to our opening reception from 6–8 pm.


About the Participants

Jesse Krimes is a multimedia artist whose work examines systems of power and control, with a focus on criminal and racial justice. While serving a six-year prison sentence, he produced and smuggled out multiple bodies of work, established art programs, and co-founded artist collectives. He is the Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Art & Advocacy, the first national organization dedicated to supporting justice-impacted artists. Krimes received an Emmy Award for the documentary Art and Krimes by Krimes. He has presented solo exhibitions at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and his work has been exhibited at MoMA PS1, Palais de Tokyo, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Brooklyn Museum, among others. He is a recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, Creative Capital, Rauschenberg Foundation, and the Art for Justice Fund. His work is held in major public and private collections, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he is the first living artist formerly incarcerated to enter the Museum’s collection. He is represented by Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.

 

 


Support

Support for Jesse Krimes: Elegy Quilts is provided by David and Hallee Adelman, The Howard Family Gift Fund, and Julia and David Fleischner.