Introducing HAMAM
A new art and culture magazine about bathing
Dear Friends and Family,
Merhaba! Hope you are well and safe in a comfortable spot. Greetings from Urla, Turkey, where Steve and I traveled to in the beginning of March to visit with my family. We decided to extend our two week trip and not risk flying back to San Francisco as we watched the situation in the US get worse. We are grateful to be here and this situation has made me realize even more how much healing the world needs. That is why I am excited to finally tell you about the project I have been working on for the last six months.
When I began drafting the first Open Heart newsletter last fall, my plan was to provide an update on my life and work and announce a new photo essay project in which I interviewed the many diverse souls I’ve met while bathing and sweating. As I was describing the project to Steve, he asked if I had ever heard of WET Magazine (an avantgarde publication from the late 70s about gourmet bathing) and pulled up the website to show me. I began imagining how I would curate the art and culture of bathing into one place. Inspiration flowed into my body like a river of divine guidance and everything I needed was revealed to me in a split second … including the name :)
Bringing HAMAM to life has been one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my professional life. As Steve and I worked through the initial concept together, we drew from our love of water, hot springs, bathhouses, and all things soaking. We had no idea how to make a magazine, but everyone we talked to about HAMAM could understand our vision, especially our amazing partners Okay Karadayılar and Ali Taptik. Together, Okay and Ali run ONAGÖRE, a multidisciplinary design studio that works with cultural institutions and most recently they developed the visual identity of the 16th Istanbul Biennial “The Seventh Continent’ and the Marina Abramovic Exhibition Design at Sakıp Sabancı Museum.
Istanbul, March 2020
HAMAM is for unconventional spirits — those with curious minds, open hearts, creative & big ideas. We plan to print the first issue this summer and will feature artist projects, personal essays, photo essays, interviews, poems, and short stories from an amazing group of contributors from all over the world. We don’t like to think of HAMAM as just a magazine about bathing. It is an object of Letting Go that you can hold in your hand.
We’re so excited to introduce HAMAM to the world. Please follow us on Instagram at @hamammagazine as we announce contributors and sign up for updates at hamammag.com.
With Metta,
Ekin
Editor-in-chief and Co-Founder, HAMAM
ekin@hamammag.com
Three Rules of Work:
Out of clutter find simplicity.
From discord find harmony.
In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.
― Albert Einstein
