Further Info
“Making Art for Whom?” Lecture Series
Vasif Kortun is giving a talk as part of the "Making Art for Whom?" lecture series organised by the Visual Arts Department on the HEAD Campus.
As part of the Making Art for Whom? lecture series organised by the Visual Arts Department, we are pleased to invite you to Vasif Kortun’s lecture on Monday 26 October 2026 at 6:30 pm on the HEAD Campus.
Vasıf Kortun is a curator, writer, and teacher in contemporary art, its institutions, and spatial practices. He founded and directed Research & Programs at SALT in Istanbul. Kortun currently serves as a Research and Curatorial Advisor at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art (Doha, Qatar), where he edits and manages the Mathaf Encyclopedia, a bilingual, peer-reviewed platform on modern and contemporary art in the Middle East. A recipient of the CCS Bard Award for Curatorial Excellence, Kortun has worked on many international exhibitions, including the Taipei Biennale (2008) with ManRay Hsu and the 9th Istanbul Biennial (2005) with Charles Esche. Recent publications include: Sentez ve Montaj: Özer Kabaş Yazıları (Montage & Synthesis: Texts of Özer Kabaş, Salt, Istanbul, 2023), İpek Duben: The Skin, Body, and I, (Salt & Mousse Publications, 2024), and his biography: How did we get here: reading Vasıf Kortun, Archive Books, 2026). In 2025, he co-curated we Refuse_d with Nadia Radwan for Mathaf, and traveled to M HKA, Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp. In 2026, he co-curated Across the Seas, Özer Kabaş and His Times for SALT with Tuğçe Kaplan.
Vasıf Kortun est commissaire d’exposition, auteur et enseignant spécialisé dans l’histoire institutionnelle et les pratiques spatiales de l’art contemporain. Il a fondé et dirigé le département Recherche et programmes à l’espace SALT, Istanbul. Kortun occupe actuellement le poste de Conseiller en recherche et en commissariat au Mathaf : Musée arabe d’art moderne (Doha, Qatar), où il édite et gère la Mathaf Encyclopedia, une plateforme bilingue consacrée à l’art moderne et contemporain du Moyen-Orient. Lauréat du Prix d’excellence en commissariat d’exposition décerné par le CCS Bard, Vasıf Kortun a participé à de nombreuses expositions internationales, notamment la Biennale de Taipei (2008) aux côtés de ManRay Hsu et la 9ème Biennale d’Istanbul (2005) avec Charles Esche. Parmi ses publications récentes, on peut citer : Sentez ve Montaj : Özer Kabaş Yazıları (Montages et Synthèses, textes d’Özer Kabaş, Salt, Istanbul, 2023), İpek Duben : The Skin, Body, and I (Salt & Mousse Publications, 2024), ainsi que sa biographie : How did we get here : reading Vasıf Kortun, (Archive Books, 2026). En 2025, il a été co-commissaire de l’exposition itinérante we Refuse_davec Nadia Radwan pour le Mathaf puis le M HKA, le Musée d’art contemporain d’Anvers. En 2026, il a co-curaté l’exposition Across the Seas, Özer Kabaş and His Times pour SALT, Istanbul, avec Tuğçe Kaplan.
