Ekin Balcıoğlu is the Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of HAMAM — The Magazine of Letting Go. She received her BA (Honors) from Central Saint Martins in 2013, followed by a dual degree MA/MFA in Visual and Critical Studies and Fine Arts at the California College of the Arts in 2016.

Ekin is a visual artist and a writer with nearly 15 years of creative experience. She has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in New York, San Francisco Bay Area, London, Istanbul, Izmir, Ankara, and Sofia. Ekin was the recipient of the IMPACT Social Entrepreneurship Award and Murphy & Cadogan Contemporary Art Award. She was an artist-in-residence at The New York Art Residency and Studios (NARS) Foundation in Brooklyn, NY and at Archimedes Banya, a Russian bathhouse in San Francisco. She was also the Creative Director at Archimedes Banya where she was responsible for overseeing the company’s visual aesthetic and was the Editor-in-Chief of The Banya Journal, a literary and visual celebration of the community of bathers, soakers, sweaters, and dreamers.

Ekin was born in Izmir, Turkey and now lives and works in Taos, New Mexico, USA.

2013-2016 California College of the Arts, San Francisco, USA
Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Fine Arts
Master of Arts (MA) in Visual and Critical Studies

2010-2013 Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, London, UK
Bachelor of Arts with Honours (BA (Hons))

2009-2010 Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, London, UK
Foundation Diploma in Arts and Design

2019 Mitoslarin Uyanisi, Alacati Artshop Gallery, Izmir, TURKEY Izmir, TURKEY
2017 Bare:Men, The Living Gallery, Brooklyn, USA
2018 Babalar ve Kizlari, GT Art, Izmir, TURKEY
2017 Various Existential Angsts, NARS Foundation, Brooklyn, USA
2016 Now or never. You need me. You will need me…, CTRL+SHFT, Oakland, USA
2015 CCA MFA Thesis Exhibition, California College of the Arts, San Francisco, USA
2015 Painting Expelled, California College of the Arts, San Francisco, USA
2015 CCA Open Studios, California College of the Arts, San Francisco, USA
2014 I.TUSGAD Ankara Sanat Bulusmasi, Çagdas Sanatlar Merkezi, Ankara, TURKEY
2014 Murphy & Cadogan Contemporary Art Awards Exhibition, SOMArts Cultural Center, San Francisco, USA
2014 CCA Open Studios, California College of the Arts, San Francisco, USA
2014 Expulsions, Group Exhibition, The Asterisk SF Gallery, San Francisco, USA
2013 Humanimal, Group Exhibition, National Museum of Natural History Sofia, BULGARIA
2013 Central Saint Martins Degree Show, Kings Cross, London, UK
2013 Made in Arts London Show, Kings Cross, London, UK
2012 Central Saint Martins Scholarship Award Exhibition, London, UK
2012 Ekin Balcıoğlu, Solo Exhibition, Artshop Cati Gallery, Izmir, TURKEY
2012 Usta Isler Group Exhibition, Decozone Artshop Gallery, Izmir, TURKEY
2010 White Show, Central Saint Martins, Charing Cross Road, London UK
2009 Central Saint Martins Foundation Exhibition, Back Hill, London, UK

2017 NARS (New York Art Residency and Studio Foundation) Fellowship, Brooklyn, USA
2015 California College of the Arts Travel Grant, San Francisco, USA
2014 Murphy and Cadogan Contemporary Art Award ($5000), San Francisco, USA
2014 IMPACT Social Entrepreneurship Award ($10000), San Francisco, USA
2013 California College of the Arts Travel Grant, San Francisco, USA
2012 Cecil Collins Drawing Scholarship Award, London, UK