This volume was developed in collaboration with founders of important and exemplary artist-run spaces of the 1960s-1970s. It represents the first extensive research on this subject and introduces spaces such as Art Metropole in Toronto, Artpool in Budapest, Ecart in Geneva, Franklin Furnace in New York, MOCA in San Francisco, La Mamelle in San Francisco, Printed Matter in New York, Western Front in Vancouver, and Zona in Florence, whose founders include Carl Andre, John Armleder, AA Bronson, Sol LeWitt, Lucy Lippard, Tom Marioni, and Maurizio Nannucci. At a time of transition to new aesthetic approaches, these artists promoted community spirit and organizational skills, pioneering a revaluation of traditional art concepts.

The book documents not only the activities of these spaces, but also maps the artistic strategies and positions that took currency during this period. It thus shows how the inner life of collective self-organization and the exchange between like-minded artist-run spaces developed dynamically.

With contributions by Julie Ault, Fern Bayer, Lionel Bovier, AA Bronson, Christophe Cherix, Gabriele Detterer, Terry Fox, Peggy Gale, Julia Klaniczay, Lucy Lippard, Carl Loeffler, Tom Marioni, Maurizio Nannucci, Toni Sant, Darlene Tong, Michael Turner, Keith Wallace and Martha Wilson.

The book is part of the Documents series and is co-published with Zona Archives.