Vasif Kortun discusses the research- and archive-based focus of SALT and the institution’s commitment to promoting cross-cultural dialogue.

Kortun is the director of Research and Programs of SALT in Istanbul and Ankara. He works in the field of visual and spatial practices and the institutions that support them. Kortun is a member of the board of directors for Foundation for Arts Initiatives, the International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art (CIMAM), and the advisory board of Asia Art Archive. A recipient of the Award for Curatorial Excellence from Bard College, he was the founding director of a number of institutions, including the Platform Garanti Contemporary Art Center, Istanbul; Proje 4L/Elgiz Museum of Contemporary Art, Istanbul; and the Museum of the Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College, Annadale-On-Hudson. Kortun has worked on a number of major biennial projects, including Taipei Biennial (with ManRay Hsu, 2008) and the 9th International Istanbul Biennial (with Charles Esche, 2005).