Jesse Krimes

Jesse Krimes

Fellow: Awarded 2021
Field of Study: Fine Arts

Competition: US & Canada

Jesse Krimes is a Philadelphia based artist and curator whose work explores how contemporary media shapes and reinforces societal mechanisms of power and control, with a particular focus of criminal and racial justice. Shortly after graduating from Millersville University, he was indicted by the U.S. government on drug charges. While serving a six-year prison sentence he produced and smuggled out numerous bodies of work, established prison art programs, and formed artist collectives. After his release, he co-founded Right of Return USA, the first national fellowship dedicated to supporting formerly incarcerated artists.

Krimes’ work has been exhibited at venues including Palais de Tokyo, MoMA PS1, Philadelphia Museum of Art, International Red Cross Museum, Zimmerli Museum, and Aperture Gallery. His curatorial practice is focused on elevating other system impacted artists, and he also successfully led a class-action lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase for charging formerly incarcerated people predatory fees after their release from federal prison.

Krimes was awarded fellowships from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, the Independence Foundation, the Vermont Studio Center, the Art For Justice Fund, and Creative Capital. His work is a part of the Agnes Gund Collection and he is represented by Malin Gallery in New York.

Photo Credit: Joe Frantz

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