The declared goal of National Socialist art policy was the creation of a "German" art. To this end, modern art was removed from collections as "degenerate" and art that conformed to the system was presented annually in the "Great German Art Exhibitions" in Munich from 1937.

"Grey Zones. Nuremberg Artists under National Socialism" explores how Nazi art policy affected the regional art scene. For this purpose, the collection holdings of the Kunstvilla dating from the National Socialist era were examined for the first time, and the acquisition and commissioning policy of the City of Nuremberg was reappraised.

Artistic creation at the regional level appears far more complex than the division into system-compliant and "degenerate" art would suggest. In many cases, moral, political and artistic "grey zones" emerge.