2008 Taipei Biennial  Curator: Vasif Kortun

 

Vasif Kortun (b.1958) is the founding director of Platform Garanti [2001-] a non-profit contemporary art institution with an extensive library, documentation center, artist archives, exhibition space and an international residency program for artists, critics and curators. Under Kortun's direction, Platform Garanti has received international attention, and the programs have been reviewed like Flash Art, Contemporary, Frieze, Bidoun, Art Papers and many other international publications.

Vasif Kortun was the chief curator of the 1992 Istanbul Biennial, the first Biennial of its scale between Venice and Asia to be extensively and favorably reviewed by many international magazines. He was the co-curator in 2005 of the same Biennial that is now regarded as one of the most important exhibitions in the recent years. Kortun was also one of the curators of the 24th Sao Paolo Biennial in 1998, Tirana Biennial, and 2nd Ceramics Biennial in Albisola [2003]. He has curated the Turkish pavilions for 1994 and 1998 Sao Paolo Biennials and 2005 Venice Biennials. He was on the juries of the 5th Gwangju and the 48th Venice Biennials, and an advisor for the 1st Johannesburg Biennial. Kortun has been an advisor for many museums including the Walker Art Center; Museum of Modern Art, New York, VanAbbe Museum, Eindhoven; The Israel Museum amongst others.

He has curated and co-curated exhibitions at Apex Art, Museum of Contemporary Art Rome, IFA, Berlin & Stuttgart, Saitama Museum of Modern Art, and many other places. His texts have appeared in many different books, magazines and exhibition catalogs. Jahresring 51: Szene Turkei: Abseits aber Tor, a book on Turkey co-authored with Erden Kosova was published in 2004.Kortun received the 9th annual Award for Curatorial Excellence given by the Center for Curatorial Studies in 2006.