Pınar Birim is an Istanbul-based visual artist and educator. She graduated from Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University with a degree in Graphic Design and completed her master's degree in Interactive Media Art at Ravensbourne College in London. Her work explores the spiritual connections between identity, belonging and land, ancestors, and cultural memory.

Birim's artistic practice is nourished by the ancient animistic belief system originating from Central Asia. Inspired by ancestral spirits and shamanic rituals, the artist regards art as an intuitive spiritual medium where visible and invisible worlds intersect. Through ongon (spirit totems), nature beings, and the rhythms of elements in her works, she reflects a worldview where all life is interconnected and sacred.

After working in design and education for many years, she fully dedicated herself to painting and visual arts in 2019. Being a mother of two deeply influences her creations, bringing resilience, healing, and respect for life's unseen forces into her work.

In addition to her studio practice, she organizes workshops and mentorship programs in her creative space in Istanbul. With her unique method called Art Flow, she supports individuals in reconnecting with their inner selves, following their intuition, and producing authentically and courageously.

Her recent works include the Ongon Path project; the artist has also been invited as a guest speaker at UBT University in Kosovo. Birim, who featured in the US-produced documentary Off the Black Sea, continues to expand her practice with new projects at the intersection of ancient wisdom, urban culture, and contemporary forms of expression.

 

(photo by Martin Parr)

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Pınar Birim is a visual artist based in Istanbul.

'My work investigates how ancestral belief systems and protective symbols persist in contemporary life. Using paper, mixed media and participatory formats, I re-design amulet-like forms as psychological and cultural devices for grounding, continuity and survival.'

Her practice investigates identity, belonging and the persistence of ancestral knowledge through re-designed amulet forms — drawing from animism, ritual gesture and inherited cosmologies. Her work bridges contemporary art with ancestral narratives, most recently through the project Ongon Path. She has been featured in the U.S. documentary Off the Black Sea and invited as a guest lecturer at UBT University in Kosovo. Birim continues to explore the dialogue between ancient wisdom and contemporary expression.