SALT Research Archives SALT (Garanti BBVA), İstanbul & Ankara

Overview

The SALT Research Archives (archives.saltresearch.org) is the digital archive of Salt Research, a specialized research library and archival institution founded by Garanti BBVA, one of Turkey's leading banks. Salt Research is based at Salt Galata in the Karaköy district of İstanbul, with a second location in Ankara. The digital archive provides online access to over 2,000,000 unique digitized resources on art, architecture, design, city, society, and economy, with a focus on Turkey, the Eastern Mediterranean, and Eastern Europe.

History and Founding

Salt Research was established as part of the broader SALT cultural institution, founded by Garanti BBVA. The Salt Galata building, located at Bankalar Caddesi 11 in İstanbul's historic banking district, houses the research library and archive, which is open free of charge Tuesday through Saturday. The archival collections encompass materials spanning from the last century of the Ottoman Empire to the present day, with particular emphasis on the late 19th century through the 1990s.

Collections and Holdings

The Salt Research Archives are organized into three major fonds: Art, Architecture and Design, and City/Society/Economy. The Art Archive focuses on the history of art in Turkey after 1950 and incorporates archives of prominent Turkish artists including Ahmet Öktem, Altan Gürman, Cengiz Çekil, Gülsün Karamustafa, and others. The Architecture and Design archive documents the development of architecture and design in Turkey since the early 20th century, including the Cengiz Bektaş archive with 60 years of professional work. The City/Society/Economy archive covers social, economic, and urban transformations from the late Ottoman period through the Turkish Republic. Notable recent acquisitions include the Romano family photo archive, the Yıldız Çelik photojournalism archive, the Fulya Erdemci curatorial archive, and materials from the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM). The archives also host the Istanbul Encyclopedia Archive in collaboration with Kadir Has University.

Access and Usage

The digital archive is freely accessible online at archives.saltresearch.org. Physical documents are preserved in professional archival storage with controlled light, temperature, and humidity at Salt Galata. Researchers may also use the in-person Salt Research library, which holds over 100,000 print resources and is open Tuesday–Saturday, 11:00–19:00. Access is free; registration is required for the 40-seat Ferit F. Şahenk Hall for in-depth research.