In this episode we are speaking with Vasif Kortun, a colossal figure in the field of contemporary art. Together with him we unpack how cultural institutions deal with the digital turn, the future of archives, practices of commissioning cultural work and concepts of care-taking and craft.

Vasif was the founding director of several international institutions, including SALT, Platform Garanti Contemporary Art Center, and the Museum of the Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College. He was also a co-curator of the legendary 2005 Istanbul Biennial with Charles Esche, as well as many more exhibitions. Besides his history as a curator, writer and teacher, Vasıf Kortun is currently learning by practice small scale no-dig farming and reading on General Artificial Intelligence.

Episode Notes & Links

As a one of a kind organization in its field, SALT is Turkey’s spearheading cultural institution. With a special focus on art, architecture, and social life, It holds a vast archive on the material and visual culture of Turkey. The institution is active with a variety of cultural programs that include exhibitions. www.saltonline.org

https://saltonline.org/tr/2074/talk-between-charles-esche-and-manuel-borja-villel

Asia Art Archive (AAA) is a nonprofit organization based in Hong Kong which focuses on documenting the recent history of contemporary art in Asia within an international context. https://aaa.org.hk/en

The most noteworthy of SALT’s facilities is the building which formerly belonged to the Ottoman Bank where the SALT archive and library are located https://saltonline.org/en/42/salt-galata

Our common best friend, Hüseyin Bahri Alptekin (1957 – 2007) was part of the first generation of Turkish artists considered to be globally active and nationally influential, Alptekin is considered one of the most significant figures in the established contemporary art scene of Istanbul.https://saltonline.org/en/2225/salt-research-huseyin-bahri-alptekin-archive https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hüseyin_Bahri_Alptekin

L'Internationale is a confederation that brings together seven major European art institutions: MG+MSUM (Ljubljana, Slovenia); Museo Reina Sofía (Madrid, Spain); MACBA (Barcelona, Spain); M HKA, (Antwerp, Belgium); MSN (Warsaw, Poland), SALT (Istanbul and Ankara, Turkey) and Van Abbemuseum (Eindhoven, the Netherlands). https://www.internationaleonline.org/about/

Founded by Vasıf Kortun, ICAP Istanbul Contemporary Art Project (1998-2000) consisted of a bureau and a library that held a vast collection of books on contemporary art which later on evolved to SALT’s library.

Episode recorded on Zoom on June 19th 2020. Interview by Can Altay. Produced by Aslı Altay & Sarp Renk Özer. Music by Grup Ses.