Episode Details

In this episode of Rattling the Bars, former political prisoner and Black Panther Mansa Musa speaks with Mike “Cuong” Tran, a first-generation Vietnamese American whose parents immigrated to the U.S. in 1975. At age five, unable to afford store-bought toys, he began crafting action figures from paper and cardboard—using imaginary worlds to escape an abusive environment. Over time, art became central to his healing process, helping him process both childhood trauma and the decades he later spent in prison.

Self-taught and working within a 3' x 11' cell at California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo, Cuong transformed discarded and overlooked materials into lifelike sculptures. In an environment where anything unauthorized is deemed contraband, even his creative thinking was treated as a violation because it transcended prison walls. After being released this year, Mike’s art has already been featured at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore. Looking forward, he plans to create an art curriculum to work with incarcerated people, helping them foster their own healing and build creative skills.

Production/Post-production: Cameron Granadino


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