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.

PROJEKT - Ulrich Rückreim

Placid Earth: A Project for the Meeting of Millennia - Cai Guo Quiang

No title, as the project only reached proposal stage - Rikrit Tiravanija

A House of Dust - Alison Knowles

Post Photographic apparatus - Steven Pippin

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

Aus: Katalog 'Kunst bleibt Kunst' - Hans Peter Feldman

Messages to the Public - Nancy Spero

119. PROJET DE DESTRUCTION DU MUSEE 1970 - 1971 - Jef Geys

Monument to Democracy - Kounellis

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W4123
23.05.2011
MEMORY UPGRADE FOR ATTU ISLAND  - Deborah A Bouchette
WWW
MEMORY UPGRADE FOR ATTU ISLAND 1 MEMORY UPGRADE FOR ATTU ISLAND Deborah A. Bouchette 05 May 2009 MEMORY UPGRADE FOR ATTU ISLAND 2 What do we have, but memory? Even the “present” is consumed immediately, and our very recognition of “now” makes ...
MEMORY UPGRADE FOR ATTU ISLAND 1 MEMORY UPGRADE FOR ATTU ISLAND Deborah A. Bouchette 05 May 2009 MEMORY UPGRADE FOR ATTU ISLAND 2 What do we have, but memory? Even the “present” is consumed immediately, and our very recognition of “now” makes ...
W4805
07.08.2012
MATTHEW ROSE
WWW
Where Does It Itch? is a project involving 100 of my framed collage works aligned in grid or horizon on a wall. Originally slated for Ogilvy Mather Direct as a proposal, it was abandoned. This PDF is that original proposal. Matthew Rose is an Americ ...
Where Does It Itch? is a project involving 100 of my framed collage works aligned in grid or horizon on a wall. Originally slated for Ogilvy Mather Direct as a proposal, it was abandoned. This PDF is that original proposal. Matthew Rose is an Americ ...
W4062
23.05.2011
List of Musicians for Inclusion in Predictive Text - Song-Ming Ang
WWW
Dear Nokia, List of Musicians for Inclusion in Predictive Text I would like to offer a suggestion for your company, which is to include the names of commonly mentioned musicians into the word list of the Predictive Text function. As an avid ...
Dear Nokia, List of Musicians for Inclusion in Predictive Text I would like to offer a suggestion for your company, which is to include the names of commonly mentioned musicians into the word list of the Predictive Text function. As an avid ...
W5901
18.10.2013
Fountain - Matthijs Muller
WWW
An anti-romantic fountain that, on one hand comments the manmade landscape of a park, while on the other hand romanticizing heavy machinery. 2011 ...
An anti-romantic fountain that, on one hand comments the manmade landscape of a park, while on the other hand romanticizing heavy machinery. 2011 ...
W3718
17.05.2011
Thomas Koole
WWW
The installation was removed just prior to opening by curator without explanation (space given to another artist) -as the work depended upon viewer interaction for realization it remains un-actuated. Us and Them wood, copper, toy soldiers, red candl ...
The installation was removed just prior to opening by curator without explanation (space given to another artist) -as the work depended upon viewer interaction for realization it remains un-actuated. Us and Them wood, copper, toy soldiers, red candl ...
W10725
25.09.2014
free night - xiaoyun mao
WWW
The infrastructure space is the node of moving path. It functions to connect different places and keep people moving tot her their destination. Within the density of the city, the infrastructure is unavoidably packed of people. The individual can't stop o ...
The infrastructure space is the node of moving path. It functions to connect different places and keep people moving tot her their destination. Within the density of the city, the infrastructure is unavoidably packed of people. The individual can't stop o ...
W4451
25.05.2011
God Only Knows - Declan Rooney
WWW
God Only Knows Concept: Inside a sand pit and framed from behind by a blue wooden wall, I will dig my hands and feet into Dublin sand, collecting mounds of the material. Then I will elevate both hands and feet above the ground, attempting to hold this a ...
God Only Knows Concept: Inside a sand pit and framed from behind by a blue wooden wall, I will dig my hands and feet into Dublin sand, collecting mounds of the material. Then I will elevate both hands and feet above the ground, attempting to hold this a ...
W3907
20.05.2011
Alan Yates
WWW
As Contemporary art exhibitions develop towards a multiplicity of practises and genres, many are being used for urban regeneration and environmental projects. In this new landscape I wish to lead on initiatives to re-shape the urban landscape to incorpora ...
As Contemporary art exhibitions develop towards a multiplicity of practises and genres, many are being used for urban regeneration and environmental projects. In this new landscape I wish to lead on initiatives to re-shape the urban landscape to incorpora ...
W5383
19.10.2012
Dorit Feldman, Orna Oren Izraeli and Na
WWW
Unrealized Project – Dorit Feldman, Orna Oren Izraeli and Na’ama Zussman This is a proposal that suggests a unique practice of the library, on its books, ephemera and other objects of use, as if they were surfaces. The exhibition is suggested to t ...
Unrealized Project – Dorit Feldman, Orna Oren Izraeli and Na’ama Zussman This is a proposal that suggests a unique practice of the library, on its books, ephemera and other objects of use, as if they were surfaces. The exhibition is suggested to t ...
W4413
25.05.2011
Monuments to Real Life - Inga Burrows
WWW
Monuments to Real Life Monument 2. Twins Digital Video installation research phase began Autumn 2008 in Nuertingen Germany and was aborted in May 2009. Monument 2. ‘Twins’ is the unrealized sibling to Monument 1 ‘Well I Never…’ 2007(www.w ...
Monuments to Real Life Monument 2. Twins Digital Video installation research phase began Autumn 2008 in Nuertingen Germany and was aborted in May 2009. Monument 2. ‘Twins’ is the unrealized sibling to Monument 1 ‘Well I Never…’ 2007(www.w ...
W5441
20.10.2012
Sp@rt - Mo Abd-Ulla
WWW
Sp@rt is a multifaceted programme set within inspiration of London 2012 Olympic games. It consists of urban interventions within the city of London, exhibition, performances, lectures, discussions, and new techniques for mediating the public’s reactions ...
Sp@rt is a multifaceted programme set within inspiration of London 2012 Olympic games. It consists of urban interventions within the city of London, exhibition, performances, lectures, discussions, and new techniques for mediating the public’s reactions ...
W5184
30.09.2012
Relative Music - Augustin Maurs
WWW
RELATIVE MUSIC An unrealized economy, by Augustin Maurs À propos unrealized projects, it could be amusing to consider that, in the perspective of Albert Einstein's theory of relativity, almost the totality of the music written in the western cultures f ...
RELATIVE MUSIC An unrealized economy, by Augustin Maurs À propos unrealized projects, it could be amusing to consider that, in the perspective of Albert Einstein's theory of relativity, almost the totality of the music written in the western cultures f ...
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 ...
W5428
20.10.2012
The Line  - Bindu Mehra
WWW
The Line In 2002, there were communal riots between Hindus and Muslims in the city of Ahmedabad in India. According to official estimates, 1044 people were killed in the violence. Another 223 people were reported missing, 2,548 injured, 919 women widowed ...
The Line In 2002, there were communal riots between Hindus and Muslims in the city of Ahmedabad in India. According to official estimates, 1044 people were killed in the violence. Another 223 people were reported missing, 2,548 injured, 919 women widowed ...
W4058
23.05.2011
Karl Jensen
WWW
“Yet as the ever-woven verdant warp and woof intermixed and hummed around him, the mighty idler seemed the cunning weaver; himself all woven over with the vines; every month assuming greener, fresher verdure: but himself a skeleton. Life folded Death; ...
“Yet as the ever-woven verdant warp and woof intermixed and hummed around him, the mighty idler seemed the cunning weaver; himself all woven over with the vines; every month assuming greener, fresher verdure: but himself a skeleton. Life folded Death; ...
W4534
25.05.2011
KOWTOW - ONE CHINA ONLY -- A LONELY EMPEROR - Vincent J.F. HUANG
WWW
KOWTOW ONE CHINA ONLY -- A LONELY EMPEROR VINCENT J.F. HUANG When China became the world’s second best economic entity, and when financial crisis strongly wounded every other nation’s economy, China’s emergence seemed to turn it into a global p ...
KOWTOW ONE CHINA ONLY -- A LONELY EMPEROR VINCENT J.F. HUANG When China became the world’s second best economic entity, and when financial crisis strongly wounded every other nation’s economy, China’s emergence seemed to turn it into a global p ...
W3785
18.05.2011
STORI-O-GRAPH - Dan Sinclair
WWW
We currently live in a culture where the vacuum of the digital market supersedes the marginalized interaction with LP’s. Because of this I believe there is a need for others to experience the tangible ritual with records. I am curating a collectio ...
We currently live in a culture where the vacuum of the digital market supersedes the marginalized interaction with LP’s. Because of this I believe there is a need for others to experience the tangible ritual with records. I am curating a collectio ...
W5011
30.08.2012
My Clothes Cost 1 $ - Patricia Jacomella
WWW
.................................................................................................................................... patricia jacomella bonola Projekt Work in Progress 2007 - 2012 My Clothes Cost 1 $ 365 Dollar-Banknote mit Häkel ...
.................................................................................................................................... patricia jacomella bonola Projekt Work in Progress 2007 - 2012 My Clothes Cost 1 $ 365 Dollar-Banknote mit Häkel ...
W3508
11.05.2011
Karin Schaefer
WWW
Attached are images of a model for a large scale public work that has not been realized. The making of this work started a few weeks after 911 as I needed to find a way to process and work with the reality of the event. Models have been exhibited in vari ...
Attached are images of a model for a large scale public work that has not been realized. The making of this work started a few weeks after 911 as I needed to find a way to process and work with the reality of the event. Models have been exhibited in vari ...
W5182
29.09.2012
Stuttgarts Crocodile - Adi Sumic
WWW
New extraordinary pattern design for brand new Porsche Cayman car. See PDF ...
New extraordinary pattern design for brand new Porsche Cayman car. See PDF ...
W4426
25.05.2011
The Unicorn Lake - Yona Friedman
WWW
The Unicorn Lake Project for the lake of sculptures of Vassivière island, France July 2009 On the lake of Vassivière After creating in 2009, in the framework of the exhibition Etc. Balkis Island, The Vassivière Unicorn ("Unicorn Eiffel"), a sculp ...
The Unicorn Lake Project for the lake of sculptures of Vassivière island, France July 2009 On the lake of Vassivière After creating in 2009, in the framework of the exhibition Etc. Balkis Island, The Vassivière Unicorn ("Unicorn Eiffel"), a sculp ...
W3532
11.05.2011
The Sounds of the Sun Pavilion - Michael Jantzen
WWW
​The Sounds of the Sun Pavilion is a conceptual proposal for a large structure made of many small, pre-fabricated, square, curved, steel tube components. These components are joined together to form thirteen large interwoven curved elements. One side o ...
​The Sounds of the Sun Pavilion is a conceptual proposal for a large structure made of many small, pre-fabricated, square, curved, steel tube components. These components are joined together to form thirteen large interwoven curved elements. One side o ...
W3880
19.05.2011
fly-though - Kasper Kovitz
WWW
‘fly-though’ animation of this project at: http://www.re-title.com/artists/Kasper-Kovitz3.asp ‘witchbunker’, a project begun in 2001, is a walk-in sculpture. It consists of a one-room traditional American pioneer log cabin encased in a concret ...
‘fly-though’ animation of this project at: http://www.re-title.com/artists/Kasper-Kovitz3.asp ‘witchbunker’, a project begun in 2001, is a walk-in sculpture. It consists of a one-room traditional American pioneer log cabin encased in a concret ...
W5185
30.09.2012
White Cube Research - Pascal Unbehaun
WWW
WHITE CUBE RESEARCH aims to set up a full operative institute for theoretical research in an exhibition context. The researchers are asked to gather in a small building, the white cube (or just in an office-like setup) inside an art exhibition. ...
WHITE CUBE RESEARCH aims to set up a full operative institute for theoretical research in an exhibition context. The researchers are asked to gather in a small building, the white cube (or just in an office-like setup) inside an art exhibition. ...
W4436
25.05.2011
Lucy Hawthorne
WWW
I imagined the toothpick sculpture project as a lighthearted, easy to produce artwork - a method of shoehorning myself out of my artmaking slumber. 3000 toothpicks and 4 months later and I've barely made a dent. How does this object swallow so many toothp ...
I imagined the toothpick sculpture project as a lighthearted, easy to produce artwork - a method of shoehorning myself out of my artmaking slumber. 3000 toothpicks and 4 months later and I've barely made a dent. How does this object swallow so many toothp ...
W3505
11.05.2011
Wishing Way - Ian Amell
WWW
Huge wishbones, preferably made of translucent fibreglas with interior lighting or alternately of concrete. They would be large enough for people to walk under them easily. They would be constructed in multiples to create a passageway. Typically North ...
Huge wishbones, preferably made of translucent fibreglas with interior lighting or alternately of concrete. They would be large enough for people to walk under them easily. They would be constructed in multiples to create a passageway. Typically North ...