Ahmet Furkan Inan Reviews 'How Did We Get Here: Reading Vasıf Kortun' in Art Margins
Art historian Ahmet Furkan Inan, in a review released on September 28, 2026, evaluates 'How Did We Get Here: Reading Vasıf Kortun' (Archive Books, Berlin, 2026, 288 pp.), which is edited by Sezin Romi. This publication includes a dialogue between Romi and Vasıf Kortun, the founder of SALT, who resigned in March 2017. Inan contends that the book fails to critically address Kortun's legacy and notes the absence of a question mark in its title, suggesting a pessimistic view of the current state. He acknowledges Kortun's important contributions, such as his involvement in the Third Istanbul Biennial, while also pointing out inconsistencies in his approach to private funding. Inan ultimately deems the book a valuable asset for aspiring artists and curators.
Key facts
- Book: 'How Did We Get Here: Reading Vasıf Kortun', edited by Sezin Romi, published by Archive Books, Berlin, 2026, 288 pp.
- Vasıf Kortun stepped down as SALT's Director of Research and Programs in March 2017 and moved to a village near Ayvalık, Turkey; he remains on SALT's board.
- Kortun curated the Third Istanbul Biennial in 1992 and directed the Museum of the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College from 1994 to 1997.
- Kortun founded Proje4L (2001–03), Platform Garanti Contemporary Art Center (2001–10), and SALT (2010–17).
- Platform's 2006 Frieze Art Fair project 'Collecting Point' collected 1,100 donated books, now the backbone of SALT's research library.
- Kortun introduced the term 'post-curatorial' to describe SALT's practice, distancing himself from 'new institutionalism' coined by Jonas Ekeberg in 2003.
- The review criticizes the book for not critically examining Kortun's reliance on private funding, particularly from Garanti Bank.
- Reviewer Ahmet Furkan Inan is an art historian completing a PhD at the University of Oxford and was an editor at the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art from 2021 to 2023.
Entities
Artists
- Ahmet Furkan Inan
- Vasıf Kortun
- Sezin Romi
- Elmas Deniz
- Defne Koryürek
- Charles Esche
- Jonas Ekeberg
- Maria Lind
- Manuel Borja-Villel
- Cuauhtémoc Medina
Institutions
- SALT
- Archive Books
- Art Margins
- Proje4L
- Platform Garanti Contemporary Art Center
- Garanti Bank
- Third Istanbul Biennial
- 9th Istanbul Biennial
- Museum of the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College
- Bard College
- Frieze Art Fair
- Tate Modern
- MACBA
- Reina Sofia
- Van Abbemuseum
- L'internationale
- Office for Contemporary Art Norway
- ONCURATING
- Sternberg Press
- Walker Art Center
- Koç University
- University College London
- University of Oxford
- Istanbul Museum of Modern Art
Locations
- Istanbul
- Turkey
- Ayvalık
- Berlin
- Germany
- United States
- Barcelona
- Spain
- Madrid
- Eindhoven
- Netherlands
- Oslo
- Norway
- London
- United Kingdom
- Minneapolis