About this episode

Russell Craig shares his journey from incarceration to becoming a celebrated artist and discusses the potential of horse-based programs for at-risk youth and formerly incarcerated individuals.

Russell Craig is a celebrated visual artist now based between Philadelphia, New York, and Wellington, Florida, who grew up in the foster care system from age five and spent a total of twelve years in the Pennsylvania prison system before building an art career that has taken him from a mural on the African American Museum in Philadelphia to the White House, the Democratic National Convention, and museum collections around the country. What makes Russell's story so striking is how directly his lived experience speaks to the populations equine-assisted practitioners are trying to serve — kids in foster care, people coming out of incarceration, and anyone navigating systems that were never built with their wellbeing in mind. He found his way through art, using it inside prison as both an escape and, eventually, as a plan for life after release. In this conversation, Russell and Rupert dig into what a horse-based program for foster kids and formerly incarcerated people would actually need to work — structure, mentorship, hands-on care, transportation, funding, and a real sense of separation from old environments — as well as the deeper parallels Russell sees between horses and his…

People in this episode

Host: Rupert Isaacson

Guest: Russell Craig

Topics covered

• art
• incarceration
• foster care
• equine-assisted therapy
• freedom
• mentorship

Keywords

• Russell Craig
• art career
• foster care
• incarceration
• equine-assisted therapy
• mentorship
• freedom
• Pennsylvania prison
• African American Museum

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: African American Museum in Philadelphia, White House, Democratic National Convention

Places: Philadelphia, New York, Wellington, Florida, Pennsylvania

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