The Artist Placement Group (APG) was founded in the UK in 1966. The group initiated and organised placements for artists within industry and public institutions, in which artists would develop ideas, research and projects in-situ. The APG intended to no longer confine artistic practices to the studio, but to extend the reach of the artist to commercial, industrial and government contexts. The slogan Context is Half the Work attests to this spatial and conceptual shift from the studio to organisations and institutions, from material works to information, to site-specific work, and to social relations. The exhibition presents six selected placements, with research material, artworks and a documentation of the APGs activities in the UK and Germany.

The exhibition will culminate in a symposium entitled Working in contradictions: Open Brief and Incidental Person revisited, which will address and discuss the APG’s central concepts in relation to current debates and practices surrounding artistic work in various contexts.