SALT symposium focuses on art collecting

ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

Istanbul Eindhoven-SALTVanAbbe is a yearlong collaboration between SALT and the Van Abbemuseum.

SALT Galata will host a two day symposium, “Treasure Chests or Tools: Some Histories and Speculations about Art Collections,” on May 25 and 26, as part of the 2012 collaboration between SALT and the Van Abbemuseum. The symposium is expected to act as a prelude to International Committee of ICOM for Museums and Collections of Modern Art’s (CIMAM) 2012 Annual Conference, titled “Museums Beyond the Crises,” which will take place between November 12 and 14, hosted by SALT.

Istanbul Eindhoven-SALTVanAbbe is a yearlong collaboration between SALT and the Van Abbemuseum, with three consecutive exhibitions presented across SALT venues. The exhibitions bring together works from the Van Abbemuseum collection with selected local positions to suggest “temporary museums” in Istanbul throughout 2012.

While the vital cultural life in Istanbul acts as an affirmation of a larger global cultural shift, there is a shortfall in the city’s collection of regional and international art from the last century. Hence, discourses and narratives have not been anchored to actual objects and material histories; and comparative historical readings have not been sufficiently entertained.

While institutions in western Europe and the United States are experiencing hardship and losing their traditional cultural support bases and audiences, new power corridors and cultural hubs are being established elsewhere, with emerging markets and new economies producing a rising demand for new institutions. The new situation presents challenging possibilities and ethical perplexities for historical collections. The symposium will debate new intelligent and research-based approaches to inter-institutional partnerships, international knowledge building, and developing new common strategies for protecting the integrity of institutions from managerial interventions.

Istanbul Eindhoven-SALTVanAbbe is being organized as part of celebrations of the 400th year of diplomatic relations between Turkey and the Netherlands.