Report BAS 2006-2008

Founded in 2006 by artist Banu Cennetoğlu, BAS is a space in Istanbul where artists’ books and publications are collected, displayed and produced. Alongside BAS, Cennetoğlu also founded Bent with the artist Philippine Hoegen. Focused upon the production of artists’ books in Turkey, Bent has published Pavement Myth-The Life of the Pavement’s Wolf (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) by Masist Gül, TakipPoursuite (2006) by Aslı Çavuşoğlu, Sahil Sahnesi Sesi (2008) by Cevdet Erek, KILAVUZ (2009) by Atıl Kunst, and Bent 003 by Emre Hüner.
Like the Art Metropole Collection initiated in Toronto by AA Bronson, Felix Partz, and Jorge Zontal that was an extension of their work and lives together as General Idea, the BAS collection is also artist-initiated and has developed around an affective network of collaborations, friendships, and predecessors, rather than an institutional mandate. It is also a collection that claims and produces space through the site of print.