Trần Thảo Miên is a Hanoi-based artist and cultural practitioner whose textile sculptures and installations critically examine alienated labour and the contemplative power of inactivity, rooted in her Textile education at London College of Fashion (University of the Arts London), working in fashion industry in London and Vietnam, and her extensive solitude promenade across Asia.

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In experimenting unalienated labour, Mien co-found Collective Sonson, working relaxingly, just enough to sustain their curiosity on traditional craft techniques across Vietnam. Her artistic inquiries extend beyond object-making into the domains of sensory healing, the restoration of community relations, and sustainable modes of living. The collective gained national recognition by winning both First Prize and the Audience Choice Award at Vietnam Design Week 2020 for their project Stillness Corner, praised for regenerating Vietnamese identity through designs that merge traditional techniques with contemporary design, prioritising the preservation of cultural soul over aesthetic imitation.

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Miên is also a founding member of ddur.productions an open collective supporting experimental exhibition projects, and AiRViNe– Artist-in-Residency Vietnam Network, advocating for artists’ freedom of mobility, while serving as a creative supervisor at Hanoi Grapevine. Her commitment to education and knowledge-sharing includes contributions to programs at RMIT University (Vietnam), Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (Singapore), and sustainability research with Pratt Institute (USA).

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Notable exhibitions include PRICK! Needlework Now (RMIT Gallery, Melbourne, 2025), Young Birds from Strange Mountains (Schwules Museum, Berlin, 2024), Who is Weaving the Sky’s Nest (Yeo Workshop, Singapore, 2024), Means of Production (Lunch Hour, New York, 2024), Mind & Machines (Vietnamese Women’s Museum, Hanoi & Hai An Gallery, HCMC, 2023), and Citizen Earth (Vietnam Museum of Biology, Hanoi, 2020). She is a Fellow of the Mekong Cultural Hub’s Creative Action Program (2024), a participant in KOFICE’s CPI Cultural Experts Training Program (South Korea, 2024), an artist in residency at Van Mieu - Temple of Literature, San Art and Koganecho Arts Management Centre,
and a recipient of the Inclusion Award from Goethe-Institut Hanoi (2024)