Can Artists Still Break the Rules? Revisiting Strategy: Get Arts

In August 1970, Richard Demarco collaborated with the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf to stage Strategy: Get Arts, an exhibition at the Edinburgh College of Art. It featured works by Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter, Sigmar Polke and other now-canonical artists from post-war Germany. This was the first major presentation of contemporary German art in Britain since 1938. Today's discussion, in partnership with the Edinburgh College of Art, looks at the enduring significance of this landmark exhibition, and a new publication, Strategy: Get Arts – 35 Artists Who Broke the Rules, edited by Christian Weikop. The exhibition was so far ahead of its time that some lessons were only learned by a later generation of artists and educators. How much has contemporary art changed, particularly with a shift away from the dominance of male artists, and the new hegemony of commercial art galleries? German art expert Christian Weikop is joined by artist Alexander Hamilton, a former ECA student and Demarco Gallery assistant in 1970. Today’s discussion is chaired by Fiona Bradley, Director of the Fruitmarket Gallery.

This is a live event with an author Q&A. Authors and participants will be on stage, in the venue.