Jesse Krimes is a Philadelphia based artist, curator and advocate whose work explores how contemporary media shapes and reinforces societal mechanisms of power and control, with a particular focus on criminal and racial justice.

Shortly after graduating from Millersville University, Krimes 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 co-created multi-racial artist collectives. After his release, he founded and currently serves as Executive Director of Center for Art & Advocacy, the first and only national fellowship dedicated to supporting formerly incarcerated artists. Krimes’ work has been exhibited at venues including MoMA PS1, Palais de Tokyo, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, International Red Cross Museum, Zimmerli Museum, Newport Art Museum and Aperture Gallery. In 2016, he successfully led a class-action lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase for charging formerly incarcerated people predatory fees after their release from federal prison. His curatorial practice is focused on elevating other system-impacted artists.

In 2023, Krimes won an Emmy Award for ART & KRIMES BY KRIMES for Outstanding Art and Culture Documentary. He has also been awarded fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, Pew Center for Arts and Heritage, Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, Creative Capital, Art for Justice Fund, Independence Foundation and Vermont Studio Center. His work is in the permanent collections of the Brooklyn Museum, Newport Art Museum, OZ Art NWA, Kadist Art Foundation, The Bunker Artspace and the Agnes Gund Collection. He is represented by Jack Shainman Gallery in New York.