Vasif Kortun (b. 1958, lives and works in Istanbul) is a curator, writer and teacher in the field of contemporary visual art, its institutions and exhibition practices. He is the Director Research and Programs, SALT, Istanbul, an institution that hosts almost 3000 square meters of program space, a library of over 35,000 publications and some of the most important archives on Turkish contemporary and modern art, architecture and economy in the country. Kortun holds a position on the recently re-elected CIMAM board for 2010-13; and is part of the board for Foundation for Arts Initiatives (2009-), as well as the 2011 Turner Prize selection committee. In 2011 he is curating the UAE Pavilion for the Venice Biennale.
Kortun was founding Director of Platform Garanti Contemporary Art Center, Istanbul, which he initiated in 2001. He was also founding Director of Project 4L, Istanbul Museum of Contemporary Art (2001–2003). Between 1994 and 1997 he worked as the founding Director of the Museum of the Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College and received the 9th annual award for Curatorial Excellence from the Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College in 2006.
Amongst other biennial projects Kortun was co-curator of the Taipei Biennial in 2008 along with ManRay Hsu; Chief Curator and Director of the 3rd International Istanbul Biennial (1992) and Co-Director with Charles Esche of the 9th International Istanbul Biennial (2005); one of the curators of the 24th São Paulo Biennial in 1998, Tirana Biennial, and 2nd Ceramics Biennial in Albisola, 2003. He curated the Turkish pavilions for the 1994 and 1998 São Paulo Biennials and the 2007 Venice Bienniale for which he worked with artist Hüseyin Bahri Alptekin on an installation titled Don’t Complain.
Kortun has undertaken numerous independent curatorial projects including most recently the exhibition of Cengiz Tekil at Rampa in Istanbul (2010) and The Columns Held us Up at Artists Space New York (2009). He has written extensively on contemporary art and the cultural situation in Turkey for publications and periodicals internationally and in 2004 co-authored the book Jahresring 51: Szene Turkei: Abseits aber Tor with Erden Kosova.
