Jesse Krimes Uses Quilts to Give Voice to the Incarcerated

The Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia is presenting Elegy Quilts, a series of small collages and quilts created by formerly incarcerated individuals in collaboration with artist Jesse Krimes. The show, which opened earlier this year, runs through November 1. Each piece incorporates personal items—such as buttons, bedsheets, or memories of home—sent by participants, leaving empty chairs, beds, or bathtubs to evoke the absence felt by those behind prison walls.

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Jesse Krimes spent nearly eight years in state and federal prisons on non-violent drug charges between 2001 and 2013. He was released in 2014 after serving time that included a year in solitary confinement. While incarcerated, Krimes taught himself to sew and began using materials at hand—bedsheets, hair gel, playing cards, soap bars, and mug shots—to create works that later entered major institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He credits art with preserving his autonomy when all other aspects of his identity were stripped away.

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After his release, Krimes founded the Center for Art and Advocacy in Brooklyn, New York. The nonprofit supports formerly incarcerated artists by providing exhibition space, workshops, and a platform to challenge the stigma surrounding people who have served prison sentences. Krimes also collaborates with Mural Arts Philadelphia, contributing public-art projects inside and outside correctional facilities.

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Krimes argues that the United States’ mass-incarceration system functions more as storage than rehabilitation, leaving individuals without mental-health services, wellness programs, or re-entry support. In discussing the exhibition, he emphasizes the need for “space to heal” for both himself and the participants, acknowledging that victims’ families may hold differing views but stressing the importance of creating communal healing opportunities.

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The Elegy Quilts exhibition remains open to the public until November 1, offering visitors a chance to engage with the narratives of people who have been “hidden behind walls.” The show is part of PBS News Hour’s “Art in Action” series, which explores how art intersects with democracy and social reform.

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