Jessie Jane Lewis was an Artist and Disability Rights Activist who graduated from Springside School in 1965. Growing up she loved surfing, skateboarding and adventure. After receiving degrees from the former Philadelphia College of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts she worked in painting, printmaking, and performance art.  She created profound video work focusing on artists with disabilities, the challenges they live with and how they persevere to maintain their practice. She was a member of the Board of Trustees at the Woodmere Art Museum and worked as an Art Therapist for more than 20 years. She’s most well known for her work as an activist for people with disabilities. 

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Jessie Jane Lewis was an Artist and Disability Rights Activist. Her artistic practice was grand, encompassing painting, printmaking, illustration, and video performance. Her work was widely shown in Philadelphia and beyond, including being accepted to the Whitney Biennial in 1994. In addition to her practice, she was a Recreational Therapist at Montgomery Hospital specializing in the elderly population. One of her goals as a counselor was to teach those who become disabled to live a productive lifestyle. She died from the effects of Multiple Sclerosis after living with, working with, and challenging it for more than half of her life.

Ms. Lewis is best known for her Art and Activism, specifically for fighting for the rights of Disabled Americans to vote. She fought for accessible polling places and accessible voting machines to enable voting for all Disabled Americans. She is the primary reason every polling location in the City of Philadelphia is accessible and every voting machine can accommodate those in wheelchairs, people who are blind or with low vision, and those who are deaf or hearing impaired.  

All the work in this exhibition documents her journey as an artist and activist, as well as the journey of her body after MS began to claim her sight, her legs, her muscles, but never her spirit. In her own words, Lewis stated that she became a part of a minority that any of us can join in an instant. She examined this vulnerability in her art and created self-referential work focused on limitations and barriers.

More can be found on her website at https://jessiejanelewis.wordpress.com.