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.

PROPOSALl + VOORSTEL - Guillame Bijl

Chen H.V.O + G.T. - Bertrand Lavier

Prima del 73 - Fabio Mauri

Eislandschaft - P. Fischli und D. Weiss

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

Theater der Leere - Werner Ruhnau and Yves Klein

Progetto per Gerry Schum - Guiseppe Penone

The World Record - General Idea

Eight Days a Week - Joe Scanlan

To Two Too; Hypothetical Monument for a Natural Disaster - Jeffrey Wisniewski

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick