Part how-to manual , part history , and part socio-political critique , Artist-Run Europe looks at the conditions , organisational models , and role of artist-led practice within contemporary art and society. The aim is to show how artist-run practice manifests itself , how artist-run spaces are a distinctive and central part of visual art culture , and how they present a complex , heterogeneous , and necessary set of alternatives to the art institution , museum and commercial gallery.