Unlike unrealized architectural projects, which are frequently exhibited and circulated, unrealized artworks tend to remain unnoticed or little known. But perhaps there is another form of artistic agency in the partial expression, the incomplete idea, the projection of a mere intention? Agency of Unrealized Projects (AUP) seeks to document and display these works. Whether censored, forgotten, postponed, impossible, or rejected, unrealized projects form a unique testament to the speculative power of non-action.

AUP follows the publication entitled “Unbuilt Roads: 107 Unrealized Projects,” collated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Guy Tortosa after several years of international research conducted in the late 1990s. Twenty years later, the Agency of Unrealized Projects was formed in collaboration with Julieta Aranda and Anton Vidokle, and an open call for unrealized projects was issued for its first public exhibition at ArtBasel in 2011. The open call will continue until all unrealized art projects are compiled.

"Free Space" - Michelangelo Pistoletto

The pyramids...to be seen to be believed - Jonathan Monk

Eight Days a Week - Joe Scanlan

"Ileana, I love you" - Maurizo Cattelan

NON REALIZED PROJECTS - Christo and Jeanne-Claude

Square Depression - Bruce Nauman

CIVITAS Stadtpostkarten - Lothar Baumgarten

Proposal for a permanent video installation for the NYC headquarters of Sony Corporation - Dara Birnbaum

Post Photographic apparatus - Steven Pippin

PROPOSAL FOR SEATTLE ARTS COMMISSION, IN PUBLIC - Chris Burden

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
#
Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W3581
13.05.2011
Nihal Yesil
WWW
Passage, 2008 Model for a architectural installation Construction: Simple reductive construction Walls: Black heavy rubber sheets suspended from simple linked frames Dimensions: Circa 280cm height x 450cm wide x 800cm + length variable depending on ...
Passage, 2008 Model for a architectural installation Construction: Simple reductive construction Walls: Black heavy rubber sheets suspended from simple linked frames Dimensions: Circa 280cm height x 450cm wide x 800cm + length variable depending on ...
W4133
23.05.2011
Accumulation of space - Jerzy Olek
WWW
Jerzy Olek Accumulation of space – idea for an exhibition For me, space is a form of sculpture. It is generally formless, but its manifestations assume definite formal shapes. These forms—imagined, found, constructed—appear in my works as proj ...
Jerzy Olek Accumulation of space – idea for an exhibition For me, space is a form of sculpture. It is generally formless, but its manifestations assume definite formal shapes. These forms—imagined, found, constructed—appear in my works as proj ...
W3602
13.05.2011
Dreamland: A great Freudian Theme Park - Zoe Beloff
WWW
This as yet unrealized project aims rebuild Coney Island’s famous Dreamland amusement park that burned down in 1911, as a true Freudian theme park. ...
This as yet unrealized project aims rebuild Coney Island’s famous Dreamland amusement park that burned down in 1911, as a true Freudian theme park. ...
W5131
19.09.2012
Gods Acre - Leo Morrissey
WWW
Project: gods acre Each day I walk to work I walk through God’s Acre, a Moravian cemetery. The section of the cemetery I walk through is where the women and men are buried. An important part of the Moravian burial practice is that individuals ar ...
Project: gods acre Each day I walk to work I walk through God’s Acre, a Moravian cemetery. The section of the cemetery I walk through is where the women and men are buried. An important part of the Moravian burial practice is that individuals ar ...
W4145
23.05.2011
This England - Cornford & Cross
WWW
For the Times/Artangel commissions, we proposed to build a 50-metre section of concrete ‘flyover’ in Green Park, London. Emerging from the trees would have been an imposing and apparently purposeful structure, a sweeping arc supported on tall piers. Y ...
For the Times/Artangel commissions, we proposed to build a 50-metre section of concrete ‘flyover’ in Green Park, London. Emerging from the trees would have been an imposing and apparently purposeful structure, a sweeping arc supported on tall piers. Y ...
W3551
12.05.2011
Gretchen Smith
WWW
I started a project that focused on the idea that we all project our thoughts, beliefs, ideas and values onto those that come across our paths in our daily lives. Sometimes tihs is a positive experience and sometimes it is a negative experience. I c ...
I started a project that focused on the idea that we all project our thoughts, beliefs, ideas and values onto those that come across our paths in our daily lives. Sometimes tihs is a positive experience and sometimes it is a negative experience. I c ...
W4582
25.05.2011
Three Genetic Drifts  - David Brooks
WWW
Three Genetic Drifts wooden boardwalk, pedestrian tree (ficus benjamina or equivalent) anchored in concrete planter, crane and hoisting equipment Dimensions variable [proposal for London parking garage] Boardwalks are user-friendly infrastructures that ...
Three Genetic Drifts wooden boardwalk, pedestrian tree (ficus benjamina or equivalent) anchored in concrete planter, crane and hoisting equipment Dimensions variable [proposal for London parking garage] Boardwalks are user-friendly infrastructures that ...
W5491
26.10.2012
AUDIOLABIA - Karen Hibbard
WWW
Arist Book Proposal by Karen Hibbard, Women’s Studio Workshop, 2011. The title merges the words ‘audio’ and ‘labia’. Audio is any refers to any representation of sound. Labium (plural labia) is a Latin‐derived term meaning "Lip".The labia are ...
Arist Book Proposal by Karen Hibbard, Women’s Studio Workshop, 2011. The title merges the words ‘audio’ and ‘labia’. Audio is any refers to any representation of sound. Labium (plural labia) is a Latin‐derived term meaning "Lip".The labia are ...
W4860
08.08.2012
Andrew Tosiello
WWW
A two-page screenplay for a video based on a scene in the film GoodFellas. In the original Henry Hill accesses the Copacabana by way of the Service Entrance, but is given preferred seating upon arrival at the main stage. ...
A two-page screenplay for a video based on a scene in the film GoodFellas. In the original Henry Hill accesses the Copacabana by way of the Service Entrance, but is given preferred seating upon arrival at the main stage. ...
W3858
19.05.2011
Cheryl K. Shurtleff
WWW
I propose to construct cat hair figures from fur collected from the cats housed at the Idaho Humane Shelter over a period of time. In order to realize this project I propose to visit the Humane Shelter twice per week over a period of one month. I will pet ...
I propose to construct cat hair figures from fur collected from the cats housed at the Idaho Humane Shelter over a period of time. In order to realize this project I propose to visit the Humane Shelter twice per week over a period of one month. I will pet ...
W5346
18.10.2012
Lisa Bateman
WWW
An installation of public smell (ocean, brine, tar, old fish) -housed inside an abandoned parking shack at the site of the old Fulton Fish Market, NYC. Smell is emitted from a DMX HVAC scent through the fence and into public space. ...
An installation of public smell (ocean, brine, tar, old fish) -housed inside an abandoned parking shack at the site of the old Fulton Fish Market, NYC. Smell is emitted from a DMX HVAC scent through the fence and into public space. ...
W5148
23.09.2012
La hora 103 - Albert Negredo
WWW
La hora 103. Mental and/or pencil on paper. ...
La hora 103. Mental and/or pencil on paper. ...
W3765
18.05.2011
Nonlinear - Thomas Wulffen
WWW
'Nonlinear' was an exhibition project, that incorporates cultural expression without any borders, besides the main topic of 'Nonlinear': art as an epistemology besides the science. see also:http://www.catrack.de/nonlinear/ ...
'Nonlinear' was an exhibition project, that incorporates cultural expression without any borders, besides the main topic of 'Nonlinear': art as an epistemology besides the science. see also:http://www.catrack.de/nonlinear/ ...
U9926
01.01.1997
The Rosetta Garden - Gary Simmons
Unbuilt Roads
In collaboration with Brooklyn Technical High School and Andrea Claire The Rosetta Garden Proposal for a vacant lot, Fort Greene, Brooklyn Gary Simmons' proposal is both a reclamation of vacant land and the physical embodiment of philosophical pu ...
In collaboration with Brooklyn Technical High School and Andrea Claire The Rosetta Garden Proposal for a vacant lot, Fort Greene, Brooklyn Gary Simmons' proposal is both a reclamation of vacant land and the physical embodiment of philosophical pu ...
U9303
01.06.1990
PROPOSAL FOR SEATTLE ARTS COMMISSION, IN PUBLIC - Chris Burden
Unbuilt Roads
I propose that a typical working fisherman's boat 30 to 50 feet in length be attached to the side of the new Seattle Art Museum building. The boat's bow would point skyward, it's keel resting along one side of the building . A cable from the roof to the b ...
I propose that a typical working fisherman's boat 30 to 50 feet in length be attached to the side of the new Seattle Art Museum building. The boat's bow would point skyward, it's keel resting along one side of the building . A cable from the roof to the b ...
W4142
23.05.2011
Get Carter - Cornford & Cross
WWW
Get Carter 1997 We proposed to install a fully operational prison door into the entrance of the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. All other doors and windows into the gallery space were to be closed and sealed. The prison door was to ...
Get Carter 1997 We proposed to install a fully operational prison door into the entrance of the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. All other doors and windows into the gallery space were to be closed and sealed. The prison door was to ...
W4259
24.05.2011
Why leave the shelter? - Arcady Kotler
WWW
Why leave the shelter? (The Tale of the construction of my shell) I don’t even remember when construction of the shelter started, but it happened somehow unnoticeably. When I was young it was nothing like a fortress, but just big opened space with e ...
Why leave the shelter? (The Tale of the construction of my shell) I don’t even remember when construction of the shelter started, but it happened somehow unnoticeably. When I was young it was nothing like a fortress, but just big opened space with e ...
W3918
20.05.2011
The Second Man - Carolyn McKay
WWW
Original Proposal: At Darlinghurst courthouse in 2008, Gordon Wood was found guilty of murdering Caroline Byrne by throwing her from The Gap, a notorious suicide spot in Sydney, Australia. Witnesses claim to have seen a second man at the crime scene but ...
Original Proposal: At Darlinghurst courthouse in 2008, Gordon Wood was found guilty of murdering Caroline Byrne by throwing her from The Gap, a notorious suicide spot in Sydney, Australia. Witnesses claim to have seen a second man at the crime scene but ...
W4300
24.05.2011
Laundry Line - zavick botha
WWW
Washing clothes and laundry lines are common day to day images of human activity throughout most of the world. Although in Western society something so ordinary now takes place behind closed doors. Some people use clothes to express their identity, in oth ...
Washing clothes and laundry lines are common day to day images of human activity throughout most of the world. Although in Western society something so ordinary now takes place behind closed doors. Some people use clothes to express their identity, in oth ...
W5443
20.10.2012
The beauty of Your Desintegrated Details - Marco Tavolaro
WWW
Project description in one sentence. “The beauty of Your Desintegrated Details” is a mapping projection based installation made with canvas, projectors and animation. WHAT - What is the Project about specifically? The project deals with perceptio ...
Project description in one sentence. “The beauty of Your Desintegrated Details” is a mapping projection based installation made with canvas, projectors and animation. WHAT - What is the Project about specifically? The project deals with perceptio ...
W4406
25.05.2011
Incongruous Runaway Homes, to run away with or to run to. - Eleanna Horiti
WWW
Incongruous Runaway Homes, to run away with or to run to. A formulation of childhood visions The Runaway Roulotte was to be made of wooden planks and mud! A bicycle wheel with pedals attached to it and cart wheels. Its most important feature was tha ...
Incongruous Runaway Homes, to run away with or to run to. A formulation of childhood visions The Runaway Roulotte was to be made of wooden planks and mud! A bicycle wheel with pedals attached to it and cart wheels. Its most important feature was tha ...
W5415
20.10.2012
Process - Aglae Cortés
WWW
Process Landscape as the primary space entity appreciation. Abstracting the main elements like the horizon, the accumulation of matter. There are a play on the scale, and light elements to reveal landscapes that remain invisible in the everyday. The ...
Process Landscape as the primary space entity appreciation. Abstracting the main elements like the horizon, the accumulation of matter. There are a play on the scale, and light elements to reveal landscapes that remain invisible in the everyday. The ...
W4250
24.05.2011
sara stites
WWW
I started these continuous drawings on paper and would like to realize the flow of life's continuum that these represent in a space either outside or in with vast walls so that they could interact with the architecture to fulfill the concept of a never-e ...
I started these continuous drawings on paper and would like to realize the flow of life's continuum that these represent in a space either outside or in with vast walls so that they could interact with the architecture to fulfill the concept of a never-e ...
W3842
19.05.2011
BLIND SPOT - KimSu Theiler
WWW
dimensions variable Can we turn the horror of being dematerialized whether in the eyes of a beloved or in a community into the super-hero power of invisibility and back again. 8 cameras in a circle point out over the room. 8 grid camera view re ...
dimensions variable Can we turn the horror of being dematerialized whether in the eyes of a beloved or in a community into the super-hero power of invisibility and back again. 8 cameras in a circle point out over the room. 8 grid camera view re ...
W4219
24.05.2011
I dream of you - Costa Vece
WWW
I would like to install a neon writing work with the sentence; I dream of you on the roof of the building, 4 avenue Henri Dunant, Plaine de Plainpalais in Geneva. The text of “ I dream of you “ should present the following ideas, imaginations an ...
I would like to install a neon writing work with the sentence; I dream of you on the roof of the building, 4 avenue Henri Dunant, Plaine de Plainpalais in Geneva. The text of “ I dream of you “ should present the following ideas, imaginations an ...
W4478
25.05.2011
Carlos Aranda Márquez
WWW
What does it mean Estados Unidos Mexicanos? I always wanted to form a drawing of Oaxaca, the state where I was born,with members of the Red Soviet Army singing Canción Mixteca, a song I assumed it was composed by Ricardo Flores Magón, while in prison, t ...
What does it mean Estados Unidos Mexicanos? I always wanted to form a drawing of Oaxaca, the state where I was born,with members of the Red Soviet Army singing Canción Mixteca, a song I assumed it was composed by Ricardo Flores Magón, while in prison, t ...