Fiko

Fiko is a 2D animator and illustrator from Ankara, Türkiye, currently based in Minnesota. He aspires to one day direct his own animation studio. After studying at UWC Robert Bosch College in Germany, he moved to Minnesota in 2020 and earned his B.A. in Studio Art at St. Olaf College. He is now pursuing his M.F.A. at MCAD.

Primarily self-taught in 2D animation, Fiko also has formal training in still-life and figure drawing, as well as charcoal, oil and acrylic painting, sculpture, and installation. His professional experience spans marketing, graphic design, gallery work, and education. Shaped by multicultural and politically charged environments, his work explores themes of philosophy, politics, religion, and ethics—sometimes directly, sometimes through allegory—as a way to visualize more equitable futures through a playful and satirical lens. He believes art is both a powerful tool of protest and a way to build community and empathy.

As his creative practice grows, so does his investment in the environments that support it. In the process of expanding shared studio space, Fiko recently proposed a phased renovation plan to make the work more sustainable—suggesting that the project be broken into three distinct parts to allow him to prioritize immediate needs. By deferring construction on a large ceramic room and exploring simpler interventions like opening up summer windows for ventilation, Fiko continues to bring the same balance of idealism and pragmatism to infrastructure as he does to his artistic work: building slowly, thoughtfully, and with community in mind.