Robotron. Code and Utopia

With works by Karl-Heinz Adler, Tina Bara, Horst Bartnig, Nadja Buttendorf, Carlfriedrich Claus, Karl Clauss Dietel, Georg Eckelt, Antye Guenther, Su Yu Hsin, Margret Hoppe, Francis Hunger, knowbotiq, Irma Markulin, Helga Paris, A. R. Penck, Ramona Schacht and Luca Bublik with Rita Große, Sandra Schäfer, Suzanne Treister, Werner Tübke, Marion Wenzel, Ruth Wolf-Rehfeldt

The rapid rise of computers and microelectronics since the 1960s is often described as the “third industrial revolution”. In East Germany, the name Robotron became closely associated with this transformative technology, which reshaped every sector of the economy. Revisiting the history of this state-owned enterprise highlights not only the technical possibilities and societal hopes it carried, but also the political and economic contradictions that ultimately contributed to the collapse of East Germany.

Bringing together works by more than 20 artists, the exhibition explores the transformation of the industrial landscape in East Germany. It addresses themes such as cybernetics and bureaucracy, espionage and reverse engineering, the promises of automation and labour in “real existing socialism”, cleanrooms and environmental destruction, the decline of once-significant production sites, and the re-industrialisation of the Dresden region as “Silicon Saxony”. The photographs, films, installations, and graphic works—some created in the GDR—reflect the diverse intellectual and aesthetic impulses that continue to resonate from this period.

An essay unfolds along the walls of the exhibition space, framing questions that speak not only to the history of Robotron but are also relevant for understanding our present, shaped as it is by technology. It traces the connections between geopolitics and global markets, the crisis-ridden planned economy of the GDR, and the role of international trade embargoes. In doing so, it challenges conventional ideas that have solidified in the narrative of a “socialist” past.

The exhibition will be presented under the title Robotron. Working Class and Intelligentsia at HMKV Hartware MedienKunstVerein Dortmund from March 14 to July 26, 2026.

A publication accompanying the exhibition will be released by Spector Books in February 2026. See website for accompanying programme with performances, artist talks, screenings, and more.

Curatorial Team: Inke Arns, Sabine Weier, Jan Wenzel, Mathias Wittmann, Franciska Zólyom
Initiated by: Jochen Becker
Project Management: Hanar Hupka
Graphic Design: Wolfgang Schwärzler
Scenography: Julia Gerke

The project Robotron. Code and Utopia is a collaboration between GfZK and HMKV Hartware MedienKunstVerein Dortmund. Funded by the Kulturstiftung des Bundes (German Federal Cultural Foundation). Funded by the Beauftragter der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien (Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media). Funded by Ostdeutsche Sparkassenstiftung with Sparkasse Leipzig. knowbotiq is supported by Pro Helvetia. Sandra Schäfer is supported Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg.