Art grows through connection.
An independent digital journal exploring art across disciplines, periods and generations.
Based in Istanbul, SIR Art Journal is an independent, non-commercial cultural initiative bringing together the people, ideas and institutions that shape the world of art.
We begin with the work, then follow the questions it raises.
A choice of material, a decision in the studio or the setting in which a work is shown can change what we see. We consider the details of making alongside historical context and the encounter with an audience. We bring the same attention to work by young and emerging artists.
Why a journal?
A work’s life does not end in the studio. It acquires new meanings as it is exhibited, collected, interpreted and passed on. A journal gives us room to examine that journey through the decisions, labour and questions behind it, as well as its visible results.
Our interests extend from painting and sculpture to miniature painting, digital practices, sound and collecting. Rather than numbered issues, we publish new material as it is ready, building a digital archive in which different periods and practices can be read alongside one another.
What we publish
01—04Artists & practices →
Interviews, studio perspectives and work by emerging and established artists.
Ideas & criticism →
Original essays, artistic research and perspectives that invite a closer reading.
Exhibitions & institutions →
Considered notes on exhibitions, independent spaces, galleries and the people shaping them.
Art & law →
Authorship, ownership, authenticity and technology—as part of cultural debate, not legal advice.
From the Journal
Explore all stories →
In Conversation: Özlem Şahinler
A dialogue with the artist on practice and the Biyozofik Alımlama exhibition.
Women Painters in the Process of Modernisation
Nazan Azeri considers the visibility and struggles of early women painters.
Join the conversation.
We welcome proposals from artists, writers, curators, collectors, galleries and cultural organisations. A studio experience, research question, exhibition or collection story can be a starting point.
In your first email, briefly describe the subject and why you would like to explore it. Include relevant links and a few selected images with source credits, if available. You do not need to send a finished piece.