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 Intelligence at HMKV Hartware MedienKunstVerein Dortmund from 14 March to 26 July 2026. A publication accompanying the exhibition will be released by Spector Books in February 2026.
