The Tophane-i Amire building was commissioned by Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror to manufacture artillery equipment for the Ottoman army. After the 1850’s, the site became a center of the arms industry and trade in the Empire, and for a period in the 1900’s, was used as an educational center. In 1958 it became the home of the Military Museum, and in 1992, it was turned over to the the Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts.

Today the building houses Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts Tophane-i Amire Culture and Art Center (Turkish: Tophane-i Amire Kültür ve Sanat Merkezi).

The building has been divided into three different exhibition spaces and presents local and international art shows. The gallery can be visited between 08.30 – 17.30 on weekdays.