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 for the Initiative Mahnmal Homosexuellenverfolgung, Frankfurt  - Jeff Wall

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

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

KEEPING IN TOUCH - Allan Kaprow

Monumento all'agricoltura 1969-70 - Alighiero Boetti

Monument with Rust - Gustav Metzger

A House of Dust - Alison Knowles

PROJEKT - Ulrich Rückreim

Messages to the Public - Nancy Spero

Merci, Thank you, Danke: Les 2 sujets  - Thomas Hirschorn

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W4438
25.05.2011
The Sound of the Vision of Ezekiel - Lauren Aston
WWW
The Sound of the Vision of Ezekiel I have created a score from Raphael’s painting The Vision of Ezekiel. The sixteenth century masterpiece has been translated into musical language to the extent that a mass of quavers jostling on the staves of a ...
The Sound of the Vision of Ezekiel I have created a score from Raphael’s painting The Vision of Ezekiel. The sixteenth century masterpiece has been translated into musical language to the extent that a mass of quavers jostling on the staves of a ...
W3826
19.05.2011
CrossSpot  - Tomasz Domanski
WWW
The work I called CrossSpot is a new project . I will try to place it outdoor in the town (Wroclaw) in the area of so called four temples. In one city district there are situated one synagogue, one orthodox Russian, catholic and protestant churches. ...
The work I called CrossSpot is a new project . I will try to place it outdoor in the town (Wroclaw) in the area of so called four temples. In one city district there are situated one synagogue, one orthodox Russian, catholic and protestant churches. ...
W3878
19.05.2011
SCISSORGATE - Derek Michael Besant
WWW
SCISSORGATE Client: Banker’s Hall Downtown Tower Entry / Calgary Alberta Canada Date: 2003 Based on the child’s game; Scissors, Paper, Rock, these giant forms create an obstacle course of forms akin to a Japanese Garden. The offset wall where t ...
SCISSORGATE Client: Banker’s Hall Downtown Tower Entry / Calgary Alberta Canada Date: 2003 Based on the child’s game; Scissors, Paper, Rock, these giant forms create an obstacle course of forms akin to a Japanese Garden. The offset wall where t ...
W4658
25.05.2011
THE UNINVITED GUEST? - ELENA BAJO
WWW
THE UNINVITED GUEST? A Contrapunctual Proposal Dear Elena, Given the double or complementary nature and development of your entire project—as a book and as an exhibition—I’m assuming that the space you are referring to is understood not only ...
THE UNINVITED GUEST? A Contrapunctual Proposal Dear Elena, Given the double or complementary nature and development of your entire project—as a book and as an exhibition—I’m assuming that the space you are referring to is understood not only ...
W3905
20.05.2011
Sarah Sipling
WWW
The unfinished abandoned start to a project involving changing images and ideas. A chance encounter with two drawing tools, a mannequin and a skeleton wrapped around each other. ...
The unfinished abandoned start to a project involving changing images and ideas. A chance encounter with two drawing tools, a mannequin and a skeleton wrapped around each other. ...
W4046
22.05.2011
hold / collapse - Joe Dal Pra
WWW
Joe Dal Pra Installation Project: Title: hold / collapse Description: intertwining of linear structures into curving form. Structures are holding silhouettes of figures, planes, and parts. Materials: wood and steel. Size: variable dimensions ...
Joe Dal Pra Installation Project: Title: hold / collapse Description: intertwining of linear structures into curving form. Structures are holding silhouettes of figures, planes, and parts. Materials: wood and steel. Size: variable dimensions ...
W4879
09.08.2012
The Gutenbird - Lanie Gannon
WWW
The Gutenbird The Gutenbird is an unrealized suspended artwork intended for a public library. On one level it celebrates the handmade and well crafted and on another level implies the innovative and significant achievements of the first printing press ...
The Gutenbird The Gutenbird is an unrealized suspended artwork intended for a public library. On one level it celebrates the handmade and well crafted and on another level implies the innovative and significant achievements of the first printing press ...
W3608
13.05.2011
Jenny E. Balisle
WWW
My art begins with a mark or line inspired by patterns found in natural or manmade environments. My pen and ink drawings explore repetitions of line and organic forms, investigating the simplicity and complexity of gestures, marks, lines, and textures. ...
My art begins with a mark or line inspired by patterns found in natural or manmade environments. My pen and ink drawings explore repetitions of line and organic forms, investigating the simplicity and complexity of gestures, marks, lines, and textures. ...
W3914
20.05.2011
Girl lists - David
WWW
David Hornback Spain 2alex.neutron@gmail.com My older brother’s excessive, obsessive list-making of girls when we were young used to drive me nuts. He made lists of all the girls he had danced with, he had kissed, he had touched, he desired, he h ...
David Hornback Spain 2alex.neutron@gmail.com My older brother’s excessive, obsessive list-making of girls when we were young used to drive me nuts. He made lists of all the girls he had danced with, he had kissed, he had touched, he desired, he h ...
W4388
25.05.2011
THIS ISA NICE NEIGHBORHOOD - MARTINEZ PETROPOULOS WHITE
WWW
THIS ISA NICE NEIGHBORHOOD Moscone Center/Howard Street Project, San Francisco, CA 1991 Located two blocks south of Market Street, the site is the space between two Convention Centers – six lanes of traffic, with two sets of three lane bus and taxi ...
THIS ISA NICE NEIGHBORHOOD Moscone Center/Howard Street Project, San Francisco, CA 1991 Located two blocks south of Market Street, the site is the space between two Convention Centers – six lanes of traffic, with two sets of three lane bus and taxi ...
W4810
07.08.2012
Emily Windon
WWW
Emily Windon The Proposed Work to be developed: Large platforms for viewing digitally projected images: The work utilizes the construction of large viewing platforms that serve to both uplift and isolate the audience. The platforms are made of timber an ...
Emily Windon The Proposed Work to be developed: Large platforms for viewing digitally projected images: The work utilizes the construction of large viewing platforms that serve to both uplift and isolate the audience. The platforms are made of timber an ...
W4475
25.05.2011
Veronica Wilton
WWW
W4728
26.05.2011
Unfinished projects of avoidance - Andrew Spackman
WWW
Title: Unfinished projects of avoidance Image:P1020494.JPG 100 clocks/100 batteries in polystyrene packaging. Image: P1020451.JPG Unfinished turntable Statement Objects of deliberate ‘avoidance’. Counter intuitive processes are employe ...
Title: Unfinished projects of avoidance Image:P1020494.JPG 100 clocks/100 batteries in polystyrene packaging. Image: P1020451.JPG Unfinished turntable Statement Objects of deliberate ‘avoidance’. Counter intuitive processes are employe ...
U9858
01.01.1995
"400" - Manfred Pernice
Unbuilt Roads
1995-96 Weile bestand ein Zusammenhang. eng. [unleserlich] ihn nicht gesucht. Möglichkeiten nahm er nicht wahr. Das Sockel (1) ergibt 11-fach vervielfältigt, Modell einer grosser Wohn- und Geschäftsanlag; [M?]aßtab 1:100, welches im Ausstellung ...
1995-96 Weile bestand ein Zusammenhang. eng. [unleserlich] ihn nicht gesucht. Möglichkeiten nahm er nicht wahr. Das Sockel (1) ergibt 11-fach vervielfältigt, Modell einer grosser Wohn- und Geschäftsanlag; [M?]aßtab 1:100, welches im Ausstellung ...
W5080
06.09.2012
Urban Void 05  - Toornend & Post
WWW
Urban Void 05 (Villa), Am Grossen Wannsee, Berlin (D) 2006 (lambdaprint 1665×4190 pixels) Urban Voids offer spatial relief, unexpected views and twisted collective memories by the apparently simple act of removal; Urban Voids are architectures antipod ...
Urban Void 05 (Villa), Am Grossen Wannsee, Berlin (D) 2006 (lambdaprint 1665×4190 pixels) Urban Voids offer spatial relief, unexpected views and twisted collective memories by the apparently simple act of removal; Urban Voids are architectures antipod ...
W4033
22.05.2011
Paintings for Satellites/Chicago - Molly Dilworth
WWW
A project fully conceived but never manifest, 2010 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 agen ...
A project fully conceived but never manifest, 2010 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 agen ...
W3618
14.05.2011
jason lazarus
WWW
I have started an archive of impossible art ideas. The archive, when exhibited, is a digitally projected slide show, projected on a small white wooden cube sitting on the floor of the exhibition space. ...
I have started an archive of impossible art ideas. The archive, when exhibited, is a digitally projected slide show, projected on a small white wooden cube sitting on the floor of the exhibition space. ...
W3732
18.05.2011
POP GOES THE WEASEL - Anne O'Callaghan & Barbara Sternberg
WWW
The following is a brief synopsis of the proposal, POP GOES THE WEASEL, that we submitted for 2011 Nuit Blanche, Toronto, Ontario Canada. This proposal was rejected due to censorship by the local Business Improvement Association (BIA), see emails below** ...
The following is a brief synopsis of the proposal, POP GOES THE WEASEL, that we submitted for 2011 Nuit Blanche, Toronto, Ontario Canada. This proposal was rejected due to censorship by the local Business Improvement Association (BIA), see emails below** ...
W4591
25.05.2011
Unbuilt Art Project - colab studio, llc
WWW
colab studio, llc Reach 11 – Unbuilt Art Project AUP 05.25.11 Reach 11 is a sports complex in North Phoenix comprised of 18 soccer fields and 4 baseball fields. A Call for Artists went out to provide large amounts of shade at four diverse locations with ...
colab studio, llc Reach 11 – Unbuilt Art Project AUP 05.25.11 Reach 11 is a sports complex in North Phoenix comprised of 18 soccer fields and 4 baseball fields. A Call for Artists went out to provide large amounts of shade at four diverse locations with ...
W10410
07.04.2014
Reverse Lecture Series - VIIIC KEER OSSTTAPPPH
WWW
During the reverse lecture series, there will be one audience member as everyone else simultaneously delivers a speech from behind a lectern. ...
During the reverse lecture series, there will be one audience member as everyone else simultaneously delivers a speech from behind a lectern. ...
W5473
21.10.2012
On Recalling - Rodrigo Hgz
WWW
In this initiative, I sought companies (corporations) and organizations that held in their name a twisted pride on our colonial past in Canada. The companies closed down long ago, but the pride in their names expressed a perspective that has been collecti ...
In this initiative, I sought companies (corporations) and organizations that held in their name a twisted pride on our colonial past in Canada. The companies closed down long ago, but the pride in their names expressed a perspective that has been collecti ...
W5897
18.10.2013
Sempervirens - Matthijs Muller
WWW
W4823
07.08.2012
Outstretched Arms - Todd Williamson
WWW
"Outstretched Arms" is a project that was originally conceived in 2009 for a university show. It features a 4ft diameter hanging painting that slowly rotates with the air currents. It also features a 10 minute commissioned work of music that supports ...
"Outstretched Arms" is a project that was originally conceived in 2009 for a university show. It features a 4ft diameter hanging painting that slowly rotates with the air currents. It also features a 10 minute commissioned work of music that supports ...
W3919
20.05.2011
Art at the service of … Short history - Alina and Jeff Bliumis
WWW
2010-present “Art at the service of …,Short history”- a series of 5-7 sculptures represents monuments that were destroyed at various times around the world. Each sculpture consists of a scaled down replica of a monument on a pedestal. A short not ...
2010-present “Art at the service of …,Short history”- a series of 5-7 sculptures represents monuments that were destroyed at various times around the world. Each sculpture consists of a scaled down replica of a monument on a pedestal. A short not ...
W4383
25.05.2011
Lunch - Tra Bouscaren
WWW
Tra Bouscaren: Lunch For the "Lunch" project, I propose to cut off a piece of my own ass and have it grown in a laboratory until it reaches some kind of meal-like proportions, and then eat it as a performance. In addition, I would like to to make ...
Tra Bouscaren: Lunch For the "Lunch" project, I propose to cut off a piece of my own ass and have it grown in a laboratory until it reaches some kind of meal-like proportions, and then eat it as a performance. In addition, I would like to to make ...
W4401
25.05.2011
Proposal for Museo de Arte, Sacramento, Mexico. - Ursula Nistrup
WWW
Proposal for Museo de Arte, Sacramento, Mexico. The project I would like to propose is informed by the unique conditions you have created for the Museum as an abstract entity. It is inspired by ’The Idea of the North’ by the pianist and composer Gl ...
Proposal for Museo de Arte, Sacramento, Mexico. The project I would like to propose is informed by the unique conditions you have created for the Museum as an abstract entity. It is inspired by ’The Idea of the North’ by the pianist and composer Gl ...