Ekin Buyuksahin, artist from Ankara, Turkey. Photography © E. Buyuksahin

1.Tell us what you do and your beginnings.

I’m an illustration based artist and currently living in İzmir/Turkey. I got my bachelor’s degree on Viola from Bilkent University Faculty of Music and Performing Arts in 2008. My interest in visual arts goes back to my childhood. Besides my music studies starting from age 7, I always had the impulse to create in different avenues; I’ve tried to improve and develop myself as a versatile artist.

When I was in high school, I started with small drawings, then extended my visual perspective with photography during my undergraduate years. I believe that I would not have been able to create the way I am currently without my previous music education. Patience, self-discipline and inspiration were the pillars of my music education which translated into my performance as an artist. My journey and experiments continue to grow together with me.

Heartache, 2020 © Ekin Buyuksahin

2.What are your favorite museums in the world? Why?

There are many museums that I’ve been in and of course there are many more that are waiting to be discovered. However, the Louisiana Museum was the one that impressed me the most. A couple of years ago I had a chance to visit the Louisiana Museum in Denmark.

The permanent collections and ongoing exhibitions were certainly worth seeing but also I was fascinated by the architecture, location and the structure of the museum. At first, if you don’t have any information about the complete construction, it’s hard to imagine the rest of the museum from the entrance. The completely ivy covered old house hides the Danish modernist architecture with an amazing combination of nature and a universe full of art.

3.How important are social networks in your business? And which platform do you prefer and why

Since we live in a digital age, social networks are one of the most important parts of the chain and its benefits cannot be disregarded. It’s an amazing opportunity for artists to present their works to a community around the globe. I used to upload my photography works to Behance years ago when Instagram was just a picture sharing platform.

Now I’m using Instagram as a portfolio based communication platform and as an artist page so I’m keeping it updated and active regularly. I think it’s a very practical way to meet artists, art lovers, collectors, curators and galleries from other countries and different cultures.

4.What are your future projects?

It’s hard to make plans in these chaotic pandemic circumstances but I intend to prepare my first solo exhibition in 2021 spring or early summer. I hope things will get better worldwide in the near future, and we will enjoy attending openings, gatherings, museum and exhibition visits.

5.To create greater engagement among museums, artists and professionals, do you have any advice for cultural projects such as #MuseumWeek?

What #MuseumWeek has been doing is something very innovative and I don’t have much to add. But in general, cultural projects could have more presence in social media, redirecting their followers to their websites where a deeper information database is present. I believe this would build up an artistic taste among social media users as a whole.

Interview by Fabio Pariante, journalist

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Ekin Buyuksahin on social networks: Instagram – Facebook

Ekin Buyuksahin (Ankara, 1985) aka Ekinakis is a Turkish artist and besides being a photographer, she teaches music to children. Her works are inspired by real life but also by the imaginary world: the characters she creates tell important stories that invite the viewer to reflect on their own life.

The simple and immediate, spontaneous trait helps each person to empathize. The media that Ekinakis uses are digital, acrylic and watercolor to represent mainly portraits. Ekin Buyuksahin lives and works in Izmir.