About Ekin Balcıoğlu
Ekin Balcıoğlu is a visual artist and editor, and the owner of Old Bones - Gallery for Clay and Textiles in Arroyo Seco, NM. She runs Cloud Hands Studio, creating distinctive ceramics and paintings. Ekin is also the cofounder and editor in chief of Hamam, a print magazine focused on the art and culture of bathing and letting go. She writes for Taos News. Ekin holds an MFA in Studio Arts and an MA in Visual and Critical Studies from California College of the Arts (2016) and a BA in Fashion Design from Central Saint Martins (2013).
Ekin Balcıoğlu's CV
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2016 – Freelance writer
Current clients include The Slowdown, Taos News, The Goodland
Selected published pieces:
“The Vitalizing Dimensions of Qigong,” The Slowdown
“Katy Bowman on Why ‘Movement Nutrition’ Matters,” The Good Life, The Slowdown
“How Stoicism Can Cultivate Joy,” The Good Life, The Slowdown
“Lindsey Bro on the Cathartic, Humanizing Effect of Bathing Rituals,” The Good Life, The Slowdown
“Rediscovering the Art of Slow Living: The Hammam Ritual,” Hello Goodland
“Elizabeth Hunt’s Alchemy: Transforming Memories into the Cast of Characters,” Taos News
“Clay Is of the Earth: The Taos Mural Where Clay Meets the Sky,” Taos News
“Chado: A Timeless Path to Mindfullness and Wellness in Taos,” Taos News
“Heartstrings and Chocolate,” Taos News
“Rituals of Renewal: Embracing the Holiday Season through Bathing Traditions,” Taos News
“#NoDAPL #StillHere: Native and Anti-Colonial Craft Against Dispossession” Apogee
“It for Others, Being for Itself” California College of the Arts’ Sightlines
2020 – Cofounder and editor in chief, Hamam magazine (five issues to date)
2019 – 20 – Creative director and artist in residence, Archimedes Banya, San Francisco
2017 – Artist studio assistant
Robert Lazzarini (sculpture), Brooklyn; Rod Lamborn (photography), Brooklyn; Jonathan Horowitz (painting), the Bronx
2015 – Graduate assistant, California College of the Arts, San Francisco
Embodiment, Foundation in Critical Studies; gallery monitor, CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts
EDUCATION
2016 – MFA, California College of the Arts, San Francisco
MA in Visual and Critical Studies, California College of the Arts, San Francisco
2013 – Bachelor of Arts with Honors, Central Saint Martins, London
2010 – Foundation Diploma in Arts and Design, Central Saint Martins, London
AWARDS
2022 – Indiecon International Travel Grant, Hamburg, Germany
2021 – Best Periodical Design, GMK – Graphic Design Association of Turkey
2020 – Editorial Design Achievement Award, GMK – Graphic Design Association of Turkey
Dry Tortugas National Park Artist Residency finalist, Florida Keys
2017 – NARS – New York Art Residency and Studio Foundation Fellowship, Brooklyn
2015 – California College of the Arts travel grant, San Francisco
Signal Fire Artist Residency, Wide Open Studios – Klamath-Siskiyou Mountains
2014 – Murphy and Cadogan Contemporary Art Award, San Francisco
IMPACT Social Entrepreneurship Award, San Francisco
2013 – California College of the Arts travel grant, San Francisco
2012 – Cecil Collins Drawing Scholarship, London
EXHIBITIONS
2023 – Annual Member Exhibition, Taos Ceramics Center, New Mexico
Taos Folk, Stables Gallery, Taos, New Mexico
Earthquake Relief Benefit Auction, Ethan Cohen Gallery, New York
2021 – Towards the Light, Kate Oh Gallery, New York
International Uludağ Art and Design Biennial, Turkey
Graphic Design Association of Turkey, 40th Graphic Design Exhibition, Istanbul
2020 – Graphic Design Association of Turkey, 39th Graphic Design Exhibition, Istanbul
2019 – Awakening of the Myths, Alaçatı Artshop Gallery, Izmir, Turkey
Bare:Men, Living Gallery, New York
2018 – Fathers and Daughters, GT Art, Izmir, Turkey
2017 – Various Existential Angsts, NARS Foundation, Brooklyn
2016 – Now or never. You need me. You will need me…, CTRL+SHFT, Oakland
2015 – CCA MFA Thesis Exhibition, California College of the Arts, San Francisco
Painting Expelled, California College of the Arts, San Francisco
2014 – I.TUSGAD Ankara Sanat Buluşması, Çağdaş Sanatlar Merkezi, Ankara, Turkey
Murphy & Cadogan Exhibition, SOMArts Cultural Center, San Francisco
Expulsions, Asterisk SF Gallery, San Francisco
2013 – Humanimal, National Museum of Natural History Sofia, Bulgaria
Central Saint Martins Degree Show, Kings Cross, London
Made in Arts London Show, Kings Cross, London
2012 – Central Saint Martins Scholarship Award Exhibition, London
Ekin Balcıoğlu (solo exhibition), Artshop Çatı Gallery, Izmir, Turkey
Usta Işler, Decozone Artshop Gallery, Izmir, Turkey
2010 – White Show, Central Saint Martins, Charing Cross Road, London
2009 – Central Saint Martins Foundation Exhibition, Back Hill, London
SELECTED PRESS
2023 – “Wood-Fired Hot Tubs: A Blissful (if Demanding) Route to Relaxation,” Wall Street Journal
“Taking the Waters: From Turkey to Taos,” Taos News
2022 – “Indiecon 2022 Special and Estonia’s Largest Newspaper, ‘Postimees,’” Monocle
2021 – “Hamam’s New Issue Is All About Getting Naked,” Stack Magazines
“Hamam Magazine,” Hello Goodland
“A Magazine Prescription from Danielle Mustarde at London’s magCulture,” If Lost Start Here
“It’s This One Thing,” MagCulture
“Blog: Inside Hamam 2,” Bathing Culture
“Good Reads: Hamam Magazine Celebrates the Art of Bathing,” Creative Review
“The Art of Letting Go,” Page Magazine
“magCulture meets Hamam” magCulture
2020 – “For Your Senses: Goodee, Ekin Balcıoğlu, Slow Smelling,” The Slowdown
“Letting Go with Hamam Magazine,” Bathing Culture
“Dispatch from Istanbul,” Stack Magazines
“Magazine of the Week: Hamam #1,” MagCulture
“Mitosların Uyanışından Hamam’a,” Beacon Magazine
TALKS & PODCASTS
2022 – Kivia podcast: “Letting Go with Hamam Magazine’s Ekin and Steve”
2021 – MagCulture Meets Hamam
2020 – Stack Magazines podcast: “A Bathing Obsession in Hamam Magazine”
Ahmet Sel Fotoğraf Konuşmaları: “Ekin Balcıoğlu Hamam dergisini anlatıyor”
2016 – Visual and Critical Studies Spring Symposium, California College of the Arts
2014 – Identities Symposium, California College of the Arts
2014 – Impact Roundtable, California College of the Arts