About
Kiran Joan is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice weaves together the visual vocabularies of Oman, India, and the United States.
Her recent work investigates the movement of textile traditions and visual motifs across cultures, particularly through historic trade routes connecting South Asia and the Arabian Gulf. Combining research with an intuitive approach to making, Joan creates objects that celebrate friendship, community, and the shared visual languages that connect us.
Her work has been featured in Vogue India, Ceramics Monthly, PRINT, and BmoreArt, while her illustrations have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, and Politico. She has participated in residencies at Penland School of Craft, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, and Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts. Joan has also presented lectures and workshops at Johns Hopkins University, Maryland Institute College of Art, and other institutions.
Email kiran.joan@gmail.com
Clients
The New York Times · The Washington Post · NBC News · Politico · Los Angeles Times · Dwell · Charles Schwab · Rebel Girls · HuffPost · Washingtonian · Taste Magazine · American Craft Council · Creative Alliance · Catapult Design · Urgent Action Fund Asia & Pacific · Skill Up for Earth · Table Talk
Kiran Joan is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice weaves together the visual vocabularies of Oman, India, and the United States.
Her recent work investigates the movement of textile traditions and visual motifs across cultures, particularly through historic trade routes connecting South Asia and the Arabian Gulf. Combining research with an intuitive approach to making, Joan creates objects that celebrate friendship, community, and the shared visual languages that connect us.
Her work has been featured in Vogue India, Ceramics Monthly, PRINT, and BmoreArt, while her illustrations have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, and Politico. She has participated in residencies at Penland School of Craft, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, and Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts. Joan has also presented lectures and workshops at Johns Hopkins University, Maryland Institute College of Art, and other institutions.
Email kiran.joan@gmail.com
Clients
The New York Times · The Washington Post · NBC News · Politico · Los Angeles Times · Dwell · Charles Schwab · Rebel Girls · HuffPost · Washingtonian · Taste Magazine · American Craft Council · Creative Alliance · Catapult Design · Urgent Action Fund Asia & Pacific · Skill Up for Earth · Table Talk
Press
Penland
Subset
Sites of Sites Artist to Watch, Womanly Magazine
Ceramics Monthly Artist Spotlight
BmoreArt Magazine
Baltimore Sun
Print Mag
NBC The Standouts
Vogue India
Good Neighbor
Amano. Brooklyn
Shout out LA
Woven Riot
I Love Creatives
MICA Open Studies
Baltimore Magazine Print & Digital
Charm Literary Magazine
Design Yatra
Speaking Engagements
2025 — Artist Lecture, MFA Illustration Practice, MICA
2024 — Life Design Lab, Johns Hopkins University
2024 — Artist Talk, Undergraduate Illustration, MICA
2023 — Speaker, Good Neighbor Design Week
2023 — Gallery Talk, NCECA, Cincinnati, OH
2023 —Guest Lecture & Critique, Towson University, Center for the Arts
Awards & Recognition
2025 — Best Cover Design, Folio Awards
2024 — Best Overall Art Direction, National Mortgage News
2021 — ADC Young Ones, Bronze Cube
2021 — 3×3 Illustration Annual No. 18, Distinguished Merit & Merit
2021 — Communication Arts Illustration, Shortlist
2021 — Graduate Research Development Grant, MICA
2020 — iJungle Illustration Award, New Talent
Penland
Subset
Sites of Sites Artist to Watch, Womanly Magazine
Ceramics Monthly Artist Spotlight
BmoreArt Magazine
Baltimore Sun
Print Mag
NBC The Standouts
Vogue India
Good Neighbor
Amano. Brooklyn
Shout out LA
Woven Riot
I Love Creatives
MICA Open Studies
Baltimore Magazine Print & Digital
Charm Literary Magazine
Design Yatra
Speaking Engagements
2025 — Artist Lecture, MFA Illustration Practice, MICA
2024 — Life Design Lab, Johns Hopkins University
2024 — Artist Talk, Undergraduate Illustration, MICA
2023 — Speaker, Good Neighbor Design Week
2023 — Gallery Talk, NCECA, Cincinnati, OH
2023 —Guest Lecture & Critique, Towson University, Center for the Arts
Awards & Recognition
2025 — Best Cover Design, Folio Awards
2024 — Best Overall Art Direction, National Mortgage News
2021 — ADC Young Ones, Bronze Cube
2021 — 3×3 Illustration Annual No. 18, Distinguished Merit & Merit
2021 — Communication Arts Illustration, Shortlist
2021 — Graduate Research Development Grant, MICA
2020 — iJungle Illustration Award, New Talent
Solo Shows
2026 — Patterns in Passage, SPRING/BREAK Art Show, New York, NY (Two-Person)
2024 — Homing, HUB-Robeson Galleries, Pennsylvania
2023 — Friends from Back Home, Baltimore Clayworks, Baltimore, MD
Residencies
2027 — Fish Factory Creative Centre, Stöðvarfjörður, Iceland (Forthcoming)
2026 — Township10, Marshall, NC
2026 — Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Open Studio Residency, Maine
2026 — Penland School of Craft, Winter Residency, North Carolina
2023 — Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, Collectivity Residency, Maine
2022–23 — Baltimore Clayworks, EMBARC Fellowship, Maryland
Group Shows
2026 — They Gave Us the Earth, Happy House, San Francisco, CA
2026 — Communities, National Sculpture Society, Sausalito Center for the Arts, CA — Honorable Mention
2026 — Dudd Lite, presented by DUDD HAUS and The Future Perfect, New York, NY
2026 — Show & Tell, Penland School of Craft, Bakersville, NC
2025 — Riveting Roots, Clifton Place Memorial Garden, New York, NY
2025 — Flowers & Friends, Gül Gallery, New York, NY
2024 — Brooklyn Ceramic Arts Tour, Brooklyn, NY
2024 — Daya, Ridgewood Open Studios, Brooklyn, NY
2024 — Officium, Almas Gallery, Richmond, VA
2023 — Parallel, Park School, Baltimore, MD
2023 — American Craft Council, Baltimore, MD
2022 — Anonymous Drawings, Berlin, Germany
2021 — Frames of Fear, Washington, DC
2021 — The End is Nigh, Light Grey Art Lab, Minneapolis, MN
2021 — Ohhh My PMS, curated by Meltem Şahin
2021 — Out of Order, Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, MD
2021 — Show Off 2021, Baltimore, MD
2021 — Seed Sewa Exhibition and Fundraiser, Virtual Exhibition
2021 — Image Harvest, MFA Illustration Practice, MICA, Baltimore, MD
2019 — Seance, Juried Exhibition, Baltimore, MD
2019 — Image Harvest, Baltimore, MD
2019 — Sister Library Art Bazar, Mumbai and Bangalore, India
2017 — Towards Resistance, TIFA Working Studios, Pune, India
Teaching & Workshops
2026 — History of Indian Ceramics, Gasworks NYC
2026 — Career Workshop, The One Club for Creativity
2025 — Ceramic Fountains, Gasworks NYC
2021 — Illustrating the GIF, Maryland Institute College of Art
Guest Critic — MFA & MA Illustration, MICA
2026 — Patterns in Passage, SPRING/BREAK Art Show, New York, NY (Two-Person)
2024 — Homing, HUB-Robeson Galleries, Pennsylvania
2023 — Friends from Back Home, Baltimore Clayworks, Baltimore, MD
Residencies
2027 — Fish Factory Creative Centre, Stöðvarfjörður, Iceland (Forthcoming)
2026 — Township10, Marshall, NC
2026 — Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Open Studio Residency, Maine
2026 — Penland School of Craft, Winter Residency, North Carolina
2023 — Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, Collectivity Residency, Maine
2022–23 — Baltimore Clayworks, EMBARC Fellowship, Maryland
Group Shows
2026 — They Gave Us the Earth, Happy House, San Francisco, CA
2026 — Communities, National Sculpture Society, Sausalito Center for the Arts, CA — Honorable Mention
2026 — Dudd Lite, presented by DUDD HAUS and The Future Perfect, New York, NY
2026 — Show & Tell, Penland School of Craft, Bakersville, NC
2025 — Riveting Roots, Clifton Place Memorial Garden, New York, NY
2025 — Flowers & Friends, Gül Gallery, New York, NY
2024 — Brooklyn Ceramic Arts Tour, Brooklyn, NY
2024 — Daya, Ridgewood Open Studios, Brooklyn, NY
2024 — Officium, Almas Gallery, Richmond, VA
2023 — Parallel, Park School, Baltimore, MD
2023 — American Craft Council, Baltimore, MD
2022 — Anonymous Drawings, Berlin, Germany
2021 — Frames of Fear, Washington, DC
2021 — The End is Nigh, Light Grey Art Lab, Minneapolis, MN
2021 — Ohhh My PMS, curated by Meltem Şahin
2021 — Out of Order, Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, MD
2021 — Show Off 2021, Baltimore, MD
2021 — Seed Sewa Exhibition and Fundraiser, Virtual Exhibition
2021 — Image Harvest, MFA Illustration Practice, MICA, Baltimore, MD
2019 — Seance, Juried Exhibition, Baltimore, MD
2019 — Image Harvest, Baltimore, MD
2019 — Sister Library Art Bazar, Mumbai and Bangalore, India
2017 — Towards Resistance, TIFA Working Studios, Pune, India
Teaching & Workshops
2026 — History of Indian Ceramics, Gasworks NYC
2026 — Career Workshop, The One Club for Creativity
2025 — Ceramic Fountains, Gasworks NYC
2021 — Illustrating the GIF, Maryland Institute College of Art
Guest Critic — MFA & MA Illustration, MICA