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.

Messages to the Public - Nancy Spero

Invitation Space No.1 - Tania Mouraud

Notebook Page: Home in the Form of a Banana with Garage,  - Claes Oldenburg

The World is a Theater and we each have a role - Louise Bourgeois

Billboard - Jimmie Durham

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

Just Before Dawn - David Lamelas

CIVITAS Stadtpostkarten - Lothar Baumgarten

Battery Park City - Per Kirkeby

NON REALIZED PROJECTS - Christo and Jeanne-Claude

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W4527
25.05.2011
Sculpture Installation - Jaime Szczepanski
WWW
Proposal 3: Sculpture Installation Location: Convention Center Boulevard, Canal Boulevard For this project, two standard bus stop shelters will be installed in two locations. The appearance, dimensions and scale of these awnings will match those seen ...
Proposal 3: Sculpture Installation Location: Convention Center Boulevard, Canal Boulevard For this project, two standard bus stop shelters will be installed in two locations. The appearance, dimensions and scale of these awnings will match those seen ...
W3789
18.05.2011
DREAMS IN THE SEA-WITCH HOUSE-BOAT - Mollie Mckinley
WWW
In July 2010, a draft of this artwork was created as an experimental 24-hour site-specific installation in Far Rockaway, Brooklyn, curated by Jess Shaefer, former Director of Hendershot Gallery, NYC. The final and complete boat, as outlined below, has no ...
In July 2010, a draft of this artwork was created as an experimental 24-hour site-specific installation in Far Rockaway, Brooklyn, curated by Jess Shaefer, former Director of Hendershot Gallery, NYC. The final and complete boat, as outlined below, has no ...
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 ...
W5310
17.10.2012
NaoKo TakaHashi
WWW
This project is to dress the entire serpentine Gallery in circus tents and invite visitors to be hypnotised to experience a false memory. ...
This project is to dress the entire serpentine Gallery in circus tents and invite visitors to be hypnotised to experience a false memory. ...
W5217
06.10.2012
Virtual Papyrus - Anna Maria Bonanese
WWW
Virtual Papyrus is an interactive website which allows users to create a message or drawing in response to one of four topics: Utopia, The Environment, Addictions, and Work. These categories were chosen for their relation to the broader theme of "collecti ...
Virtual Papyrus is an interactive website which allows users to create a message or drawing in response to one of four topics: Utopia, The Environment, Addictions, and Work. These categories were chosen for their relation to the broader theme of "collecti ...
W10503
05.05.2014
Brookside Re-seen - Nicky Hamlyn
WWW
The project is a film that would have been made in Brookside Close, Liverpool, the actually existing cul-de-sac of houses in which the long-running TV soap opera 'Brookside' (1982 - 2003) was filmed and set. My plan was to go to Brookside Close and make a ...
The project is a film that would have been made in Brookside Close, Liverpool, the actually existing cul-de-sac of houses in which the long-running TV soap opera 'Brookside' (1982 - 2003) was filmed and set. My plan was to go to Brookside Close and make a ...
U9503
01.01.1997
NON REALIZED PROJECTS - Christo and Jeanne-Claude
Unbuilt Roads
1964-66 Two Lower Manhattan Wrapped Buildings, Project for New York, U.S.A. 1967 Wrapped Galleria Nazionale, Project for Rome, Italy. Ponte Sant' Angelo Wrapped, Project for Rome, Italy. Wrapped Trees, Project for Washington Pa ...
1964-66 Two Lower Manhattan Wrapped Buildings, Project for New York, U.S.A. 1967 Wrapped Galleria Nazionale, Project for Rome, Italy. Ponte Sant' Angelo Wrapped, Project for Rome, Italy. Wrapped Trees, Project for Washington Pa ...
W4321
24.05.2011
This Never Happened - Vladimir Mitrev & Martina Baleva
WWW
This Never Happened Vladimir Mitrev & Martina Baleva Background of the project In 2007 an exhibition about the creation process of the painting “The Massacre of Batak” from 1892 by the Polish painter Antoni Piotrowski should have been shown ...
This Never Happened Vladimir Mitrev & Martina Baleva Background of the project In 2007 an exhibition about the creation process of the painting “The Massacre of Batak” from 1892 by the Polish painter Antoni Piotrowski should have been shown ...
W5340
18.10.2012
Didaskalia - Helly Mizrai
WWW
"Didaskalia" is a site-specific installation. Didaskalia divided into two acts, The two acts are almost similar, in Didaskalia the work creates repetitions by multiplying the three first spaces twice. About the work In the suggested work I contin ...
"Didaskalia" is a site-specific installation. Didaskalia divided into two acts, The two acts are almost similar, in Didaskalia the work creates repetitions by multiplying the three first spaces twice. About the work In the suggested work I contin ...
W5198
03.10.2012
Radiation Limit - Sarah Kanouse
WWW
Sarah Kanouse Radiation Limit (2007/2009) “Radiation Limit” commemorates the human radiation experiments sponsored by the Atomic Energy Commission from 1943 until at least 1974. The site-specific installation for the grounds around the Department ...
Sarah Kanouse Radiation Limit (2007/2009) “Radiation Limit” commemorates the human radiation experiments sponsored by the Atomic Energy Commission from 1943 until at least 1974. The site-specific installation for the grounds around the Department ...
W4243
24.05.2011
Acts of appearance – ‘side cabinets at Holden Gallery’ - Ana Luisa Cruz
WWW
Acts of appearance – ‘side cabinets at Holden Gallery’ http://sidecabinetsatholdengallery.blogspot.com/ I have ‘virtually’ placed myself in an existing gallery for a couple of weeks, The Holden Gallery, Manchester, using a virtual positioni ...
Acts of appearance – ‘side cabinets at Holden Gallery’ http://sidecabinetsatholdengallery.blogspot.com/ I have ‘virtually’ placed myself in an existing gallery for a couple of weeks, The Holden Gallery, Manchester, using a virtual positioni ...
W4179
24.05.2011
Queen Anne Island  - Kurt Kiefer
WWW
Queen Anne Island As the earth warms, the waters rise and our world becomes a very different place, we need to start making the changes to our cities, towns and neighborhoods that will allow us to move seamlessly into new realities. Locavorism will be ...
Queen Anne Island As the earth warms, the waters rise and our world becomes a very different place, we need to start making the changes to our cities, towns and neighborhoods that will allow us to move seamlessly into new realities. Locavorism will be ...
U9764
01.01.1974
Just Before Dawn - David Lamelas
Unbuilt Roads
Color/16m.m - 50 minutes/£800 JUST BEFORE DAWN by Davd Lamelas The project is basically an analysis of the elements by which narative primarily works on Film Narrative conventions. There is already something that we understand as "comme ...
Color/16m.m - 50 minutes/£800 JUST BEFORE DAWN by Davd Lamelas The project is basically an analysis of the elements by which narative primarily works on Film Narrative conventions. There is already something that we understand as "comme ...
W4097
23.05.2011
Hope to dwell in fear - Prapat Jiwarangsan
WWW
Hope to dwell in fear By Prapat Jiwarangsan My depressive mood, as my psychologist diagnosed, has stemmed from the attempt of my former artwork to heal my country’s social problems, some of which are unjust social classes and restrictions of freed ...
Hope to dwell in fear By Prapat Jiwarangsan My depressive mood, as my psychologist diagnosed, has stemmed from the attempt of my former artwork to heal my country’s social problems, some of which are unjust social classes and restrictions of freed ...
W4398
25.05.2011
Lars Bergmann
WWW
a project which are unrealized because of the world financial crisis. ...
a project which are unrealized because of the world financial crisis. ...
W10630
09.07.2014
Stitch In Time - Joel Leibowitz
WWW
20 Foot High x 12 foot circumference Spool of Thread; 3" foam core thread / yellow/ aluminum spool . The large spool of thread is positioned next to Cleopatra's "Needle" ( obelisk ) in Central Park , NYC. Location behind Metropolitan Museum of Art. ...
20 Foot High x 12 foot circumference Spool of Thread; 3" foam core thread / yellow/ aluminum spool . The large spool of thread is positioned next to Cleopatra's "Needle" ( obelisk ) in Central Park , NYC. Location behind Metropolitan Museum of Art. ...
W4378
25.05.2011
Proposal for the Sox/35th Street Station, Dan Ryan Branch Red Line - Kristin Jones / Andrew Ginzel
WWW
Proposal for the Sox/35th Street Station, Dan Ryan Branch Red Line We seek to create a new work that is dynamically integrated into the environment of the Sox/35th Street Station. The proposed work celebrates the spirit and vitality of the station e ...
Proposal for the Sox/35th Street Station, Dan Ryan Branch Red Line We seek to create a new work that is dynamically integrated into the environment of the Sox/35th Street Station. The proposed work celebrates the spirit and vitality of the station e ...
W4869
09.08.2012
Round-trip - Hazem Harb
WWW
Round-trip series 2010 Harb observes a different kind of human suffering when confronted with migrant populations seeking refuge in Italy. He decided to take part in a popular migratory route from Rome to Barcelona commonly used by North African migran ...
Round-trip series 2010 Harb observes a different kind of human suffering when confronted with migrant populations seeking refuge in Italy. He decided to take part in a popular migratory route from Rome to Barcelona commonly used by North African migran ...
W5301
17.10.2012
Spiral Monument - Lux Geier
WWW
Monument: Debussy’s La Mer: SPIRAL MONUMENT – an unrealized project SPIRAL MONUMENT intends to drop visitors into the grooves of a recording of Debussy’s famed orchestral work La Mer. This structure, which replicates the surface of a vinyl recor ...
Monument: Debussy’s La Mer: SPIRAL MONUMENT – an unrealized project SPIRAL MONUMENT intends to drop visitors into the grooves of a recording of Debussy’s famed orchestral work La Mer. This structure, which replicates the surface of a vinyl recor ...
W5380
19.10.2012
Caution! Work in Progress - Geraldo Zamproni
WWW
Caution! Work in Progress Rack or plastic folding board with vibrant yellow tone is a warning message that awakens the immediate interest of the observer in conferring closely with looking at what is happening. ...
Caution! Work in Progress Rack or plastic folding board with vibrant yellow tone is a warning message that awakens the immediate interest of the observer in conferring closely with looking at what is happening. ...
W3843
19.05.2011
Pamela Harris
WWW
"When I was at art school, everyone else would make art and find the best parts and then try to cover up everything else so that was all you saw. I was fascinated by the part that didn't appear to be working and I'd keep working on that part until it took ...
"When I was at art school, everyone else would make art and find the best parts and then try to cover up everything else so that was all you saw. I was fascinated by the part that didn't appear to be working and I'd keep working on that part until it took ...
W5470
21.10.2012
Idiot Savante: Subversive Failure  - Andrea Liu
WWW
The notion of an "idiot savant" is someone who is simultaneously above and below normative standards of competence, imbuing them with a sublime uselessness. Their virtuoso (savant) cannot be instrumentalized by the rest of society for productive ends, be ...
The notion of an "idiot savant" is someone who is simultaneously above and below normative standards of competence, imbuing them with a sublime uselessness. Their virtuoso (savant) cannot be instrumentalized by the rest of society for productive ends, be ...
W3636
14.05.2011
Shadows, 1999 - Ingrid Lahti
WWW
Shadows, 1999: Two airplane silhouettes (15’ x 9’ and 10’ x 7’, respectively) will be hung between the airplane hangars at the former Sand Point Naval Air Station. The silhouettes, chosen from WWII airplane recognition manuals, are those of the WW ...
Shadows, 1999: Two airplane silhouettes (15’ x 9’ and 10’ x 7’, respectively) will be hung between the airplane hangars at the former Sand Point Naval Air Station. The silhouettes, chosen from WWII airplane recognition manuals, are those of the WW ...
W4172
24.05.2011
The Neverending Fence - Tom Butler
WWW
Statement for The Agency Of Unrealized Projects I use found postcards as miniature environments for sinister and fantastical scenarios. These proposals are not intended be realized and are also distanced from us by the age of the postcard, the only pl ...
Statement for The Agency Of Unrealized Projects I use found postcards as miniature environments for sinister and fantastical scenarios. These proposals are not intended be realized and are also distanced from us by the age of the postcard, the only pl ...
W4342
24.05.2011
The First Piece of Art for/from the Moon, 1970 - 1972 - Kocot and Hatton
WWW
project one - The First Piece of Art for/from the Moon, 1970 - 1972 Our project, The First Piece of Art for/from the Moon, a three-venue exhibition, required cooperation between three major US museums. Each museum would display simultaneously an eight ...
project one - The First Piece of Art for/from the Moon, 1970 - 1972 Our project, The First Piece of Art for/from the Moon, a three-venue exhibition, required cooperation between three major US museums. Each museum would display simultaneously an eight ...
W10443
23.04.2014
ENIGMA - Sebastian Tedesco
WWW
The project is the installation in the Antarctic Pole of an object, a magnet, an object that itself has a symbolic and enigmatic load. The proposal is to install in the Antarctic territory a magnet horseshoe 1 m high by 60 cm base and 3 cm thick at it ...
The project is the installation in the Antarctic Pole of an object, a magnet, an object that itself has a symbolic and enigmatic load. The proposal is to install in the Antarctic territory a magnet horseshoe 1 m high by 60 cm base and 3 cm thick at it ...