Artist-run initiatives in North America provide a space for the presentation and legitimization of experimental work and for the assertion of socially progressive and politically radical ideas and questions. In making such spaces available, artist-run initiatives have operated alternately as flash points for heated debates and controversies, as well as platforms for social understanding. Institutions by Artists: Volume One presents a collection of texts addressing the performance and promise of contemporary global artist-run centres and initiatives within the historical contexts that saw their emergence.