Seven different periodical exhibitions of the Istanbul Research Institute have opened to visitors at Google Arts & Culture, an online platform that allows public access to high-resolution images of artwork that are on display in the initiative's partner museums.

These exhibitions, which attracted great attention when the Istanbul Research Institute of the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation was opened to visitors, can now be explored by art lovers around the world on the Google Arts & Culture platform, down to the smallest detail. Google Arts & Culture makes it possible to explore collections on the internet and offers visitors the opportunity to examine the works in these broad collections in the utmost detail. Created through the collaboration of Google and 151 leading art institutions from 40 countries, the cultural art platform enables art lovers from around the world to create and share their own collections. Following Pera Museum, which opened its permanent collection exhibitions at Google Arts & Culture in 2012 as part of the project, the Istanbul Research Institute has now presented its periodical exhibitions on the platform.

Seven different stories about Istanbul

Seven attention-grabbing exhibitions on the platform tell the story of Istanbul from a range of perspectives. "The Four-Legged Municipality: Street Dogs of Istanbul" exhibition, which is now open on Google Arts & Culture, sheds light on the adventure of street dogs – which have been an integral part of Istanbul’s daily life during almost every period of the city’s social history – as their lives changed alongside political, religious and sociological transformations. The exhibition "An Ottoman Building in the Early Republican Era: The Şişli Mosque" focuses on the first monumental religious building of the Republican era of Istanbul through selected photographs and documents. "Taksim: The Heart of Istanbul," another prominent exhibition on the digital platform, brings light to the changes and transformations that Taksim Square underwent from the 19th century to 1960, becoming a center of expression for social sensitivities, through photographs, engravings and maps.

The exhibition "Journey to the Center of the East 1850-1950: 100 Years of Travelers in Istanbul from Pierre de Gigord Collection" tells the tale of Istanbul-centered travels of curious Westerners, who ventured out to the East from the 18th century onward to quench their thirst for knowledge and discovery in their respective areas of interest.

"Impressions from Afar: 18th-Century Istanbul in the Paintings of Clara and Luigi Mayer," is comprised of the unparalleled vistas the city had to offer in the late 18th century, as captured by Luigi Mayer and his wife Clara Barthold Mayer, who came to the city along with Sir Robert Ainslie, ambassador to the Ottoman Porte, between 1776-1792. The exhibition "Wooden Istanbul: Examples from Housing Architecture" features examples of the city's classic architecture, such as the Kıbrıslı Mansion, Mazlum Ağa Kiosk, Alman Summer Residence of the German Embassy, Kayserili Ahmed Paşa Mansion and Zeyrek Neighborhood Houses. "Long Stories: Istanbul in the Panoramas of Melling and Dunn" is a micro-level study of history focusing on the historical topography of the city.

Texts in English and Turkish and a large number of visual materials of the exhibitions can be accessed via the Google Arts & Culture platform. "Atatürk: More than Just a Man...," "A Window to the West: 150 Years of Galatasaray High School" and "Memories of Humankind: Stories from the Ottoman Manuscripts" are among the other exhibitions the Istanbul Research Institute plans to release on Google Arts & Culture soon.

The Istanbul Research Institute invites art lovers from around the world to the Google Arts & Culture platform to see these seven exhibitions which approach Istanbul from different perspectives and create unique stories.