Sonsbeek '71 breaks radically with the tradition of previous editions. Instead of sculpture, this time international developments in the visual arts of the previous five years are the focus. This is the first time a theme will be used: spatial relationships. The artists are invited to visit park Sonsbeek and create a work of art as a result of their visit. Virtually all artists visit the park, but some (including Robert Smithson) criticize the park's "artificial" nature. The working committee, led by curator Wim Beeren, then decides, in consultation, to let a number of artists choose locations 'outside the confines' of Sonsbeek. This resulted in all kinds of projects and artworks, spread all over the Netherlands (in almost all twelve provinces!).

The working committee also wants to make visitors aware of the influence that (new) means of communication, such as the telephone and telex machine, have on the perception of space, distances and time. Thus, special communication centers were established in Arnhem, Maastricht, Leiden, Rotterdam, Groningen and Enschede where anyone could use these devices.

The concept of Sonsbeek '71, labeled in the catalog as an adventure and a dynamic manifestation, is both revolutionary and controversial. Not only visitors, but also art critics and even artists criticize, among other things, the distribution of artworks and the subsidization of "elite art" - a qualification circulating in the media. Sonsbeek '71 was supposed to unite art and society, but instead became more aware of the distance between artists and art experts on the one hand and the public on the other.