About This Event
Inside/Outside Opening Reception
• Jesse Krimes: Elegy Quilts
• CPA Prison Arts Annual Show
• Veronica May Clark: SInging Inside a Glass of Water
Saturday December 5, 2026
4–6pm
MoCA\CT presents Inside/Outside, three thematically related exhibitions exploring the
physical and emotional walls of incarceration: Jesse Krimes: Elegy Quilts, the CPA
Prison Arts Annual Show, and Veronica May Clark: Singing Inside a Glass of Water, on
view from December 5, 2026, to March 14, 2027. Creativity has the power to transform
the way we see ourselves and others. Through Inside/Outside and accompanying
programs MoCA\CT bridges the divide between those inside prison walls and those
outside—the broader public, promoting mutual understanding and community healing.
The entrance Gallery displays Jesse Krimes: Elegy Quilts, featuring selections from
an ongoing series (2020–present) by the Pennsylvania-based artist. Organized by The
Fabric Workshop and Museum (FWM) in Philadelphia, the traveling exhibition is curated
by Kelly Shindler, FWM Executive Director, with Hilde Nelson, FWM Curatorial Fellow.
Drawing on his own experience of imprisonment, Krimes transforms firsthand accounts
of incarceration into portraits of home and memory. He reassembles donated clothing
and textiles from currently and formerly incarcerated individuals into intricately patterned
quilts. Rooted in the collective tradition of American quilt-making, these domestic scenes function as communal acts of preservation, carrying narratives of loss, resilience, and connection. Through correspondence and collaboration, participants shared memories of home with the artist and selected symbolic animal figures to represent themselves, resulting in quilts that serve as tactile archives of longing, estrangement, and reintegration.
Krimes titles his quilts after U.S. prisons to reflect the scale of mass incarceration, while the imagery centers intimate, personal narratives. In Marion, for example, an empty
chair and discarded boots evoke the absent, incarcerated sitter, who longingly recalls
meditating in the woods behind his home. His animal avatar, a crane symbolizing
freedom, poses against the tall trees—offering a quiet, human counterpoint to the
dehumanizing conditions of the carceral system.
Collaboration remains central to Krimes’s practice. His newest work, Riverside, developed through workshops with young adults in Mural Arts Philadelphia’s Restorative Justice Program, shifts focus from their past struggles to their future aspirations. Synthesizing their ideas, Krimes conveys a sense of promise through his composition: a hand brandishes a flaming pen, an owl perches on a bathtub rim, and a verdant tree grows in a domestic space.
Krimes’s own story paints a portrait of resilience. After receiving his BA in studio art
from Millersville University, he served a six-year federal prison sentence. During that
time, he produced monumental art by ingeniously utilizing prison-issued bars of soap,
bedsheets, hair-gel, prison-issued markers, and contraband pencils. He smuggled his art out while also organizing arts programs and co-founding multiracial creative
collectives among incarcerated peers.
Upon returning to family and society, Krimes founded the Center for Art and Advocacy,
where he serves as Executive Director and leads a national fellowship supporting
formerly incarcerated artists. Extending his advocacy beyond the arts, he led a
successful class-action lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase addressing predatory fees
imposed on formerly incarcerated individuals. Art and Krimes by Krimes, an Emmy
Award–winning documentary directed by Alysa Nahmias (2021), examines flaws in the
criminal justice system.
Krimes has exhibited internationally at institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of
Art, MoMA PS1, the Palais de Tokyo, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. He has
received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, Creative Capital, Rauschenberg
Foundation, and the Art for Justice Fund. His work is held in major collections including
the Brooklyn Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
MoCA\CT’s main gallery features the CPA Prison Arts Annual Show, displaying more than 700 works of art by over 150 artists currently incarcerated in Connecticut prisons. Guest curator Jeffrey Greene of Community Partners in Action (CPA) has spent thirty-five-plus years helping thousands of people in Connecticut’s prisons maintain their humanity through art. The exhibition reflects a year-round commitment from CPA staff, participating artists, and artists’ families, whose encouragement and involvement help sustain this work. The artwork created through CPA’s Prison Arts Program often possesses exceptional emotional depth, original technique, and visual power. In the adjacent screening room, an audio and video installation featuring the work of 8–12 formerly incarcerated artists provides further context and immerses visitors in participating artists’ voices.
Initiated in 1978, the Prison Arts Program is CPA’s longest-running program and one of the longest-running initiatives of its kind in the United States. It supports incarcerated artists by encouraging unique, personal, and evolving artistic practices that can positively and constructively affect both individual participants and the prison environment. In an environment where hope may be limited, the program fosters possibility and helps participants build purpose, creativity, self-discipline, self-esteem, technical and communication skills, and habits of thoughtfulness, introspection, critical thinking, and peacefulness—tools that can support a productive, authentic, and meaningful life.
Founded in 1875, Community Partners in Action (CPA) is one of the nation’s oldest criminal justice organizations, originally known as the Connecticut Prison Association. CPA provides restorative justice services to youth and adults, supporting successful reentry and strengthening communities. Through these efforts, the organization empowers individuals to change their lives, promotes safer communities, and helps improve quality of life across Connecticut.
Greene also curated Veronica May Clark: Singing Inside a Glass of Water, a solo
exhibition in the inner gallery located within the main exhibition space. Clark, who is serving a 75 years sentence, invests considerable time mastering the limited art-making materials available in prison. Her work has evolved from analytical, text-based drawings on notebook paper that document the sensory specifics of life while incarcerated into sophisticated, hand-woven abstractions. By deconstructing and reassembling artifacts like fashion magazines and paper bags, she creates a lush, painterly depth that serves as a record of persistence and identity.
Jeffrey Greene is Program Manager of the Prison Arts Program at Community Partners
in Action, a role he has held since 1991. His work spans advocacy, instruction, curation,
and program development, supporting creative practice within Connecticut’s correctional facilities and beyond. Each year, he works with over 400 incarcerated artists and over 50 returning “alumni” artists, fostering opportunities for expression, skill-building, and connection. Greene views this work as a testament to the transformative power of creativity, discipline, access, and a widening perspective within the criminal justice system.
Nationally and internationally recognized for his leadership, Greene curated How Art Changed the Prison at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum and has facilitated the inclusion of artwork from Connecticut prisons in publications such as Harper’s Magazine and The Washington Post Sunday Magazine. He lectures widely on prison arts and has also developed projects with formerly homeless communities and youth. Beyond his work in the arts and advocacy, Greene is an active musician whose projects have earned international recognition, including a BBC “Peel Session.” He holds a BA in Studio Arts from Hamilton College and received the 2020 Vision Award for Arts & Education from the Charter Oak Cultural Center in Hartford.
MoCA\CT presents these intertwined exhibitions displaying the work of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated artists not to pardon criminal behavior, but as proof that the human mind remains active, observant, imaginative, and resilient even in a place designed to take away those agencies. Incarceration inherently strips away autonomy and often reduces people to record numbers or offenses. Artistic creation restores personal agency, allowing individuals to define themselves by their talent, perspective, and voice rather than their sentence. Exhibiting work by justice-impacted artists encourages empathy and prompts visitors to engage in meaningful conversations about accountability, rehabilitation, mass incarceration, and prison reform.
Admission to the Museum of Contemporary Art Connecticut is free throughout the Inside/Outside exhibitions, as it is for all Community Partners in Action (CPA) Prison Arts Annual Shows, allowing families and loved ones of incarcerated artists to experience their work throughout the show.
Visitors are encouraged to support MoCA\CT through a donation. Your generosity helps sustain our exhibitions, public programs, and other offerings that bring art and community together.
About This Event
Inside/Outside Opening Reception
• Jesse Krimes: Elegy Quilts
• CPA Prison Arts Annual Show
• Veronica May Clark: SInging Inside a Glass of Water
Saturday December 5, 2026
4–6pm
MoCA\CT presents Inside/Outside, three thematically related exhibitions exploring the
physical and emotional walls of incarceration: Jesse Krimes: Elegy Quilts, the CPA
Prison Arts Annual Show, and Veronica May Clark: Singing Inside a Glass of Water, on
view from December 5, 2026, to March 14, 2027. Creativity has the power to transform
the way we see ourselves and others. Through Inside/Outside and accompanying
programs MoCA\CT bridges the divide between those inside prison walls and those
outside—the broader public, promoting mutual understanding and community healing.
The entrance Gallery displays Jesse Krimes: Elegy Quilts, featuring selections from
an ongoing series (2020–present) by the Pennsylvania-based artist. Organized by The
Fabric Workshop and Museum (FWM) in Philadelphia, the traveling exhibition is curated
by Kelly Shindler, FWM Executive Director, with Hilde Nelson, FWM Curatorial Fellow.
Drawing on his own experience of imprisonment, Krimes transforms firsthand accounts
of incarceration into portraits of home and memory. He reassembles donated clothing
and textiles from currently and formerly incarcerated individuals into intricately patterned
quilts. Rooted in the collective tradition of American quilt-making, these domestic scenes function as communal acts of preservation, carrying narratives of loss, resilience, and connection. Through correspondence and collaboration, participants shared memories of home with the artist and selected symbolic animal figures to represent themselves, resulting in quilts that serve as tactile archives of longing, estrangement, and reintegration.
Krimes titles his quilts after U.S. prisons to reflect the scale of mass incarceration, while the imagery centers intimate, personal narratives. In Marion, for example, an empty
chair and discarded boots evoke the absent, incarcerated sitter, who longingly recalls
meditating in the woods behind his home. His animal avatar, a crane symbolizing
freedom, poses against the tall trees—offering a quiet, human counterpoint to the
dehumanizing conditions of the carceral system.
Collaboration remains central to Krimes’s practice. His newest work, Riverside, developed through workshops with young adults in Mural Arts Philadelphia’s Restorative Justice Program, shifts focus from their past struggles to their future aspirations. Synthesizing their ideas, Krimes conveys a sense of promise through his composition: a hand brandishes a flaming pen, an owl perches on a bathtub rim, and a verdant tree grows in a domestic space.
Krimes’s own story paints a portrait of resilience. After receiving his BA in studio art
from Millersville University, he served a six-year federal prison sentence. During that
time, he produced monumental art by ingeniously utilizing prison-issued bars of soap,
bedsheets, hair-gel, prison-issued markers, and contraband pencils. He smuggled his art out while also organizing arts programs and co-founding multiracial creative
collectives among incarcerated peers.
Upon returning to family and society, Krimes founded the Center for Art and Advocacy,
where he serves as Executive Director and leads a national fellowship supporting
formerly incarcerated artists. Extending his advocacy beyond the arts, he led a
successful class-action lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase addressing predatory fees
imposed on formerly incarcerated individuals. Art and Krimes by Krimes, an Emmy
Award–winning documentary directed by Alysa Nahmias (2021), examines flaws in the
criminal justice system.
Krimes has exhibited internationally at institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of
Art, MoMA PS1, the Palais de Tokyo, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. He has
received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, Creative Capital, Rauschenberg
Foundation, and the Art for Justice Fund. His work is held in major collections including
the Brooklyn Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
MoCA\CT’s main gallery features the CPA Prison Arts Annual Show, displaying more than 700 works of art by over 150 artists currently incarcerated in Connecticut prisons. Guest curator Jeffrey Greene of Community Partners in Action (CPA) has spent thirty-five-plus years helping thousands of people in Connecticut’s prisons maintain their humanity through art. The exhibition reflects a year-round commitment from CPA staff, participating artists, and artists’ families, whose encouragement and involvement help sustain this work. The artwork created through CPA’s Prison Arts Program often possesses exceptional emotional depth, original technique, and visual power. In the adjacent screening room, an audio and video installation featuring the work of 8–12 formerly incarcerated artists provides further context and immerses visitors in participating artists’ voices.
Initiated in 1978, the Prison Arts Program is CPA’s longest-running program and one of the longest-running initiatives of its kind in the United States. It supports incarcerated artists by encouraging unique, personal, and evolving artistic practices that can positively and constructively affect both individual participants and the prison environment. In an environment where hope may be limited, the program fosters possibility and helps participants build purpose, creativity, self-discipline, self-esteem, technical and communication skills, and habits of thoughtfulness, introspection, critical thinking, and peacefulness—tools that can support a productive, authentic, and meaningful life.
Founded in 1875, Community Partners in Action (CPA) is one of the nation’s oldest criminal justice organizations, originally known as the Connecticut Prison Association. CPA provides restorative justice services to youth and adults, supporting successful reentry and strengthening communities. Through these efforts, the organization empowers individuals to change their lives, promotes safer communities, and helps improve quality of life across Connecticut.
Greene also curated Veronica May Clark: Singing Inside a Glass of Water, a solo
exhibition in the inner gallery located within the main exhibition space. Clark, who is serving a 75 years sentence, invests considerable time mastering the limited art-making materials available in prison. Her work has evolved from analytical, text-based drawings on notebook paper that document the sensory specifics of life while incarcerated into sophisticated, hand-woven abstractions. By deconstructing and reassembling artifacts like fashion magazines and paper bags, she creates a lush, painterly depth that serves as a record of persistence and identity.
Jeffrey Greene is Program Manager of the Prison Arts Program at Community Partners
in Action, a role he has held since 1991. His work spans advocacy, instruction, curation,
and program development, supporting creative practice within Connecticut’s correctional facilities and beyond. Each year, he works with over 400 incarcerated artists and over 50 returning “alumni” artists, fostering opportunities for expression, skill-building, and connection. Greene views this work as a testament to the transformative power of creativity, discipline, access, and a widening perspective within the criminal justice system.
Nationally and internationally recognized for his leadership, Greene curated How Art Changed the Prison at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum and has facilitated the inclusion of artwork from Connecticut prisons in publications such as Harper’s Magazine and The Washington Post Sunday Magazine. He lectures widely on prison arts and has also developed projects with formerly homeless communities and youth. Beyond his work in the arts and advocacy, Greene is an active musician whose projects have earned international recognition, including a BBC “Peel Session.” He holds a BA in Studio Arts from Hamilton College and received the 2020 Vision Award for Arts & Education from the Charter Oak Cultural Center in Hartford.
MoCA\CT presents these intertwined exhibitions displaying the work of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated artists not to pardon criminal behavior, but as proof that the human mind remains active, observant, imaginative, and resilient even in a place designed to take away those agencies. Incarceration inherently strips away autonomy and often reduces people to record numbers or offenses. Artistic creation restores personal agency, allowing individuals to define themselves by their talent, perspective, and voice rather than their sentence. Exhibiting work by justice-impacted artists encourages empathy and prompts visitors to engage in meaningful conversations about accountability, rehabilitation, mass incarceration, and prison reform.
Admission to the Museum of Contemporary Art Connecticut is free throughout the Inside/Outside exhibitions, as it is for all Community Partners in Action (CPA) Prison Arts Annual Shows, allowing families and loved ones of incarcerated artists to experience their work throughout the show.
Visitors are encouraged to support MoCA\CT through a donation. Your generosity helps sustain our exhibitions, public programs, and other offerings that bring art and community together.