Inside / Outside
Opening Reception: Saturday, December 5, 2026: RSVP here
Admission is free, with donations encouraged. Plan your visit here
MoCA\CT presents Inside/Outside, three related exhibitions exploring the physical and emotional walls of incarceration: Jesse Krimes: Elegy Quilts, the Community Partners in Action (CPA) Prison Arts Annual Show, and Veronica May Clark: Singing Inside a Glass of Water (December 5, 2026 – March 14, 2027).
Jesse Krimes: Elegy Quilts features works made from clothing and textiles donated by currently or formerly incarcerated people. Drawing on his own experience of imprisonment, Krimes worked with participants who shared memories of home and selected animals to represent themselves within the quilts. The resulting scenes hold stories of absence, resilience, and connection: in Marion, an empty chair and discarded boots evoke a person separated from home, while a crane represents his longing for freedom. A newer work, Riverside, grew out of workshops with young adults in Mural Arts Philadelphia’s Restorative Justice Program and turned toward their hopes for the future. 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.
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.
The CPA Prison Arts Annual Show, displays more than 700 works by over 150 artists currently incarcerated in Connecticut prisons. The exhibition grew out of Community Partners in Action’s Prison Arts Program, which has supported artistic practice in Connecticut prisons since 1978, offering participants opportunities to develop their skills, express themselves, and connect with others through art.
An audio and video installation in the adjacent screening room brings visitors closer to the voices and work of formerly incarcerated artists. In the inner gallery, Veronica May Clark: Singing Inside a Glass of Water follows Clark’s practice from drawings on notebook paper that record the sensory details of life in prison to richly layered, handwoven abstractions. Working with limited materials, including fashion magazines and paper bags, Clark takes them apart and reassembles them into works that speak to persistence and identity. Jeffrey Greene, who has led CPA’s Prison Arts Program for more than 35 years, curates both exhibitions.
MoCA\CT presents these exhibitions not to excuse or diminish the consequences of criminal behavior, but to recognize that people remain observant, imaginative, and capable of growth while incarcerated. Where prison can reduce a person to a number or an offense, art offers a way to express identity, perspective, and voice. Through Inside/Outside and its accompanying programs, MoCA\CT seeks to bridge the divide between people inside prison walls and those outside, encouraging understanding and conversation about accountability, rehabilitation, and the effects of incarceration.
This exhibition is made possible by
The Joyce Thompson Art Fund + Heavy Weather Fund + Kathryn Turley-Sonne
Below:
(L) Jesse Krimes, Red Eagle, antique quilt, used clothing collected from incarcerated people, assorted textiles, 2020; private collection.
(R) Jesse Krimes, Redwing, antique quilt, used clothing collected from incarcerated people, assorted textiles, 2021; The Collection of Timothy and Stephanie Ingrassia.
