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.

Project 1 + Project 2 - Simryn Gill

Projekt für die Landschaft des Mont-de-Sene (Burgund) im Rahmen eines öffentlichen Auftrags des französischen Kultusministeriums - Markus Raetz

Nicht realisierte Projekte - Stefan Demary

A FAIRLY TALL TOWER, 48,000 Miles High -  - Siah Armajani

Tower Cranes, Paris  - Tadashi Kawamata

The insurer - Fabrice Hybert

WATERWORKS - Mona Hatoum

Theater der Leere - Werner Ruhnau and Yves Klein

Entwurf für einen erneuerten Malkasten 1992 - 1994 - Ulrike Holthöfer

Milan House (AC/DC & Joy Division) - Liam Gillick

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W5096
12.09.2012
Kelly Malec-Kosak
WWW
W10273
10.04.2014
Monument to the Iraq War Dead - Scott Sorli
WWW
Conservative estimates are that over one hundred thousand men, women, and children died in the Iraq War. Weapons of mass destruction that were used as justification for this illegal war were launched by the Americans and the British forces themselves. The ...
Conservative estimates are that over one hundred thousand men, women, and children died in the Iraq War. Weapons of mass destruction that were used as justification for this illegal war were launched by the Americans and the British forces themselves. The ...
W5206
03.10.2012
12 x 12 - Georgia Kotretsos
WWW
Originally submitted to the 12 x 12 Project Space at the MCA in Chicago in 2003/04. The submitted images are showing the model book made for the demonstrative needs of the project. The size of the model book is H 6 x W 4,5 x 1, 5 cm and it pops-up /unfol ...
Originally submitted to the 12 x 12 Project Space at the MCA in Chicago in 2003/04. The submitted images are showing the model book made for the demonstrative needs of the project. The size of the model book is H 6 x W 4,5 x 1, 5 cm and it pops-up /unfol ...
W4580
25.05.2011
Map of Incomplete Listing of Uninhabited Islands of the World - Katrina Moorhead
WWW
Map of Incomplete Listing of Uninhabited Islands of the World, April 2009, 2009 Archival digital print and watercolor on watercolor paper. 30 x 49-3/4 inches Individually researched, specifically uninhabited islands are charted on a map by coordina ...
Map of Incomplete Listing of Uninhabited Islands of the World, April 2009, 2009 Archival digital print and watercolor on watercolor paper. 30 x 49-3/4 inches Individually researched, specifically uninhabited islands are charted on a map by coordina ...
W4121
23.05.2011
Connectivity II - Sara Schnadt
WWW
Sara Schnadt Connectivity II - Project Concept In this revolutionary moment, online tools are as dynamic as their implications for fundamentally changing information reception. As a technologist who also develops online artist resources, I am part of a na ...
Sara Schnadt Connectivity II - Project Concept In this revolutionary moment, online tools are as dynamic as their implications for fundamentally changing information reception. As a technologist who also develops online artist resources, I am part of a na ...
W3587
13.05.2011
Christopher Otto
WWW
In 2001, when I was 23, I attempted to make a computer art program which would dial each entry in Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus as a phone number and speak the line to whomever picked up. I was accepted to present it at a few events, but w ...
In 2001, when I was 23, I attempted to make a computer art program which would dial each entry in Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus as a phone number and speak the line to whomever picked up. I was accepted to present it at a few events, but w ...
W4025
22.05.2011
Guardians of Art  - Holly Crawford
WWW
Proposal: Inside Standing/Conversations with the Guardians of Art Proposed to the Tate Modern, sent to Ben B. I meet and discussed this and screening of Critical Conversations in a Limo. Guardians of Art Museum guards are the human face ...
Proposal: Inside Standing/Conversations with the Guardians of Art Proposed to the Tate Modern, sent to Ben B. I meet and discussed this and screening of Critical Conversations in a Limo. Guardians of Art Museum guards are the human face ...
W4279
24.05.2011
"Mr. Quixote"  - AGGTELEK
WWW
Monument of 50 meters high rehearsing a new "Don Quixote" titled "Mr. Quixote". "Mr. Quixote" tells the story of the adventures of Mr. Quixote through the 21st century through the vision of a geek. ...
Monument of 50 meters high rehearsing a new "Don Quixote" titled "Mr. Quixote". "Mr. Quixote" tells the story of the adventures of Mr. Quixote through the 21st century through the vision of a geek. ...
W4195
24.05.2011
PURGATORIUM - Zoran Velimanovic
WWW
PURGATORIUM Purgatorium is a total art project with site-specific concept, which combines a contemporary visual art work with classical cultural values. The project focuses on the great and challenging theme of the Purgatory and tries to discover its mea ...
PURGATORIUM Purgatorium is a total art project with site-specific concept, which combines a contemporary visual art work with classical cultural values. The project focuses on the great and challenging theme of the Purgatory and tries to discover its mea ...
U9892
16.02.1997
Fax Transmission - Raymond Pettibone and Jason Rhoades
Unbuilt Roads
Fax to: HANS-ULRICH OBRIST From Jason Rhoades Greeting HAN-ULRICH Well the project sounded great but I didn't have any unfulfilled projects that I sad appropriate for the project, but just last sunday I was at the race track with raymon pettibone ...
Fax to: HANS-ULRICH OBRIST From Jason Rhoades Greeting HAN-ULRICH Well the project sounded great but I didn't have any unfulfilled projects that I sad appropriate for the project, but just last sunday I was at the race track with raymon pettibone ...
W4720
26.05.2011
Matthew-Robin Nye
WWW
1 – Islington Mill, Manchester. Submitted April 11 2011. Declined May 12 2011 To the Residency Awards Committee at the Islington Mill, Manchester: Thank you for taking the time to review my application for a 4-6 week Artist Residency at the Islingto ...
1 – Islington Mill, Manchester. Submitted April 11 2011. Declined May 12 2011 To the Residency Awards Committee at the Islington Mill, Manchester: Thank you for taking the time to review my application for a 4-6 week Artist Residency at the Islingto ...
W4323
24.05.2011
MAD HATTER’S WORKSHOP  - Valery Koroshilov
WWW
MAD HATTER’S WORKSHOP The Concept Observing Lowry’s paintings I have noticed his people very often wear hats. I went on to address this theme. A hat, a helmet, a beret, a cap, a scarf, a hood, a crown. What are the messages they convey today i ...
MAD HATTER’S WORKSHOP The Concept Observing Lowry’s paintings I have noticed his people very often wear hats. I went on to address this theme. A hat, a helmet, a beret, a cap, a scarf, a hood, a crown. What are the messages they convey today i ...
W4619
25.05.2011
Fly me to outer space  - Spiros Hadjidjanos
WWW
Fly me to outer space This project explores new power relations between a networked public and the artist as well as the process of funding an artwork through crowdfunding to its extreme. The idea of this project is a journey to outer space with the for ...
Fly me to outer space This project explores new power relations between a networked public and the artist as well as the process of funding an artwork through crowdfunding to its extreme. The idea of this project is a journey to outer space with the for ...
W3749
18.05.2011
THE FRIEZE ART FAIR! - Matthew Shannon
WWW
This project, a comic book, was one of the 5 finalists for the 2011 Frieze Art Fair EMDASH award. Written Treatment. The proposed work is an amplification of the fair and its potential meanings across different levels of reality. The epileptic segue o ...
This project, a comic book, was one of the 5 finalists for the 2011 Frieze Art Fair EMDASH award. Written Treatment. The proposed work is an amplification of the fair and its potential meanings across different levels of reality. The epileptic segue o ...
W4037
22.05.2011
Lynn Carlson
WWW
An Installation, on site, composed of baskets and crates on waist high tables offering musical instruments while supermarket music wafts through the space. An art project is full of possibilities. For the artist, it may mean expanding on a theme. F ...
An Installation, on site, composed of baskets and crates on waist high tables offering musical instruments while supermarket music wafts through the space. An art project is full of possibilities. For the artist, it may mean expanding on a theme. F ...
W4322
24.05.2011
Laboratory for Perfecting Fear - Transidency
WWW
Laboratory for Perfecting Fear (working title) Proposal for the II Moscow International Biennale for Young Art Contents Proposal Proposed Installation Background Theory Possible problems and Possible Solutions Methodology Locations Support About Trans ...
Laboratory for Perfecting Fear (working title) Proposal for the II Moscow International Biennale for Young Art Contents Proposal Proposed Installation Background Theory Possible problems and Possible Solutions Methodology Locations Support About Trans ...
W4736
26.05.2011
WHITE FLAG PROJECT - WHITE FLAG PROJECT
WWW
The Project is to display a white flag on the top on contemporary artistic institutions in as many country as possible for a determined length of time. After a year of exposure to the elements, all the flags will be collected and brought back to France... ...
The Project is to display a white flag on the top on contemporary artistic institutions in as many country as possible for a determined length of time. After a year of exposure to the elements, all the flags will be collected and brought back to France... ...
W3731
18.05.2011
Tower - Felippe Moraes
WWW
The installation “Tower” is constituted by a 7m scaffold containing in its top a 3000w smoke machine from which, every five minutes, a large cloud is created and is naturally dispersed. ...
The installation “Tower” is constituted by a 7m scaffold containing in its top a 3000w smoke machine from which, every five minutes, a large cloud is created and is naturally dispersed. ...
W5100
13.09.2012
je vois passer les roses - Copa & Sordes
WWW
One more idea for ornaments in public space and in private life. See PDF ...
One more idea for ornaments in public space and in private life. See PDF ...
W4594
25.05.2011
Monastic garden in an edge space of a retail park, London, UK - Peter Ainsworth
WWW
Monastic garden in an edge space of a retail park, London, UK Space that is on the peripheries of major roads and towns has a distinctly singular usage: to consume. Out of town shopping malls, retail parks have an inexplicable draw, yet they also have ...
Monastic garden in an edge space of a retail park, London, UK Space that is on the peripheries of major roads and towns has a distinctly singular usage: to consume. Out of town shopping malls, retail parks have an inexplicable draw, yet they also have ...
W3827
19.05.2011
Ephemeral - Tomasz Domanski
WWW
I call my "ice actions", consisting in placing objects in principal downtown squares, the Monuments of Time. I find this title appropriately noble, considering in whose honor they are erected. In each case, I seek an adequate form to celebrate time as wel ...
I call my "ice actions", consisting in placing objects in principal downtown squares, the Monuments of Time. I find this title appropriately noble, considering in whose honor they are erected. In each case, I seek an adequate form to celebrate time as wel ...
U9572
01.01.1992
Engel-Detektor - Jakob Gautel & Jason Karaïndros
Unbuilt Roads
"Looking into the heart of light, the silence . . . " - T. S. Eliot «Un agne passe» - „Ein Engel schwebt durch den Raum" - ein Moment due Ruhe, der selten geworden ist in unserer Gesellschaft, die vom visuellen und sonoren horror vacui verflogt wir ...
"Looking into the heart of light, the silence . . . " - T. S. Eliot «Un agne passe» - „Ein Engel schwebt durch den Raum" - ein Moment due Ruhe, der selten geworden ist in unserer Gesellschaft, die vom visuellen und sonoren horror vacui verflogt wir ...
W5027
31.08.2012
The Reverse Grand Tour - Valerio Rocco Orlando
WWW
The Reverse Grand Tour 2012 Inspired by the Grand Tour and the experiments conducted by the philosopher of science Bruno Latour, Valerio Rocco Orlando analyzes how context and relationships influence an artist’s practice in Rome today. In order to ...
The Reverse Grand Tour 2012 Inspired by the Grand Tour and the experiments conducted by the philosopher of science Bruno Latour, Valerio Rocco Orlando analyzes how context and relationships influence an artist’s practice in Rome today. In order to ...
W5141
21.09.2012
arrays - Steffen Kasperavicius
WWW
ARRAYS „Heutzutage ist kaum etwas realistischer als Utopien“ (Thornton Wilder, 1887-1975) Als diplomierter Medienkünstler interessiere ich mich bereits seit mehreren Jahren für die MinimalArt- und ConceptualArt-Tendenzen der 60er und 70er Jahre. I ...
ARRAYS „Heutzutage ist kaum etwas realistischer als Utopien“ (Thornton Wilder, 1887-1975) Als diplomierter Medienkünstler interessiere ich mich bereits seit mehreren Jahren für die MinimalArt- und ConceptualArt-Tendenzen der 60er und 70er Jahre. I ...
W3489
11.05.2011
The Project for Collective Becoming: Philosophy of Platform - Marc Lafia
WWW
The Project for Collective Becoming Philosophy of Platform Marc Lafia What it is? We are creating a series of global gatherings to introduce and connect people through sociability, philosophic revelry, enjoyment, reflection and action. It involves b ...
The Project for Collective Becoming Philosophy of Platform Marc Lafia What it is? We are creating a series of global gatherings to introduce and connect people through sociability, philosophic revelry, enjoyment, reflection and action. It involves b ...
U9263
01.01.1974
CIVITAS Stadtpostkarten - Lothar Baumgarten
Unbuilt Roads
Einige Überlegungen zur Emblematik von Ansichtskarten. Abgebildete Sehenswürdigkeiten gelangen auf Ansichtskarten durch die häufig gewählte Zentralperspektive in die Nähe ausgestellter Backwaren. Die siegelhaft stilisierte Heraldik, eines immer wiede ...
Einige Überlegungen zur Emblematik von Ansichtskarten. Abgebildete Sehenswürdigkeiten gelangen auf Ansichtskarten durch die häufig gewählte Zentralperspektive in die Nähe ausgestellter Backwaren. Die siegelhaft stilisierte Heraldik, eines immer wiede ...