Casco was founded in 1990 in Utrecht, the Netherlands, as a platform for experimental art. Since 1996, Casco has developed a critical programme that explores art in the public realm, questioning the relation between art and its physical, social and political environment.

Central to Casco's approach has been openness and flexibility towards programming, with projects taking multiple forms; be this in public space, a publication, a discussion, a workshop, exhibition, symposium or event. Since 1996 Casco has also sporadically published its own magazine, Casco Issues.