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.

Why New Worlds Conceived by Artists Do Not Get Built - Peter Fend

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

MODELL OF AN OFFICE FOR A COUPLE OF TWINS, BOTH 1,38 TALL" - Tobias Rehrenberg

Unrealized Turtles 1967 - Joseph Grigely

Messages to the Public - Nancy Spero

Brücke Wein-Kanal Arch. Hermann Czech, Wein - Franz West

Projets non réalisés: - Daniel Buren

Double Exposure 1995-6  - Dan Graham

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

Art and Ourselves: A Proposal for the city of Nordhorn - Allen Rupperssberg

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W4400
25.05.2011
INCEPTION - Nick Sung
WWW
EPTION The installation of an exact replica of an AMC movie theatre in Emeryville, California in which a section of the end credits of Christopher Nolan's Inception will play, continuously looped, day and night, ad infinitum. Against the backdrop o ...
EPTION The installation of an exact replica of an AMC movie theatre in Emeryville, California in which a section of the end credits of Christopher Nolan's Inception will play, continuously looped, day and night, ad infinitum. Against the backdrop o ...
W10278
01.01.2010
The Saffron Dome - Gabriella Ciancimino
WWW
“The Saffron Dome” is a project created in 2010 for a sculptural work recalling classical pavilions, made of materials that remind of industrial sheds, surmounted by domes in which it is possible to grow typical aromatic plants of the place where the ...
“The Saffron Dome” is a project created in 2010 for a sculptural work recalling classical pavilions, made of materials that remind of industrial sheds, surmounted by domes in which it is possible to grow typical aromatic plants of the place where the ...
W5456
20.10.2012
“short hi.stories” series - Plamen Yordanov
WWW
waste not art “short hi.stories” series 1995 – ongoing unrealized/unrealizable project intended for installation at the Serpentine Gallery, London (or any other museum that wishes to exhibit the project) by Plamen Yordanov descriptio ...
waste not art “short hi.stories” series 1995 – ongoing unrealized/unrealizable project intended for installation at the Serpentine Gallery, London (or any other museum that wishes to exhibit the project) by Plamen Yordanov descriptio ...
W4006
22.05.2011
The Panajachel Biennial’s Story: A Community Still to Come - Panajachel Biennial (Guatemala): "Shared Sensorium: Assemblages of Love, Labor and Politics"
WWW
The Panajachel Biennial’s Story: A Community Still to Come The Panajachel Biennial was an initiative by a group of young independent curators (Karl Escher, Abbas Ibn Salah al Din, Guillermo Santamarina, Joao Castro da Silva y Takouhi Abesalom) who co ...
The Panajachel Biennial’s Story: A Community Still to Come The Panajachel Biennial was an initiative by a group of young independent curators (Karl Escher, Abbas Ibn Salah al Din, Guillermo Santamarina, Joao Castro da Silva y Takouhi Abesalom) who co ...
U9523
18.02.1997
Projet pour la Place Saint Léger à Chambery  - Erik Dietman
Unbuilt Roads
Projet pour la Place Saint Léger à Chambery à l'occasion de l'exposition pour la préfiguration du Musée de sculptures de Buisson-Rond organisée par Françoise Guichon en 1982. Comme toutes Jes places publiques, la Place Saint Léger est peuplée ...
Projet pour la Place Saint Léger à Chambery à l'occasion de l'exposition pour la préfiguration du Musée de sculptures de Buisson-Rond organisée par Françoise Guichon en 1982. Comme toutes Jes places publiques, la Place Saint Léger est peuplée ...
W5437
20.10.2012
EHO NARCIS - Brina Torkar
WWW
EHO NARCIS Interactive formation of 4 mandals on plexiglas: Short justification and concept: Authoress representation interactive formation of 4 representational mandals, witch in the interaction with the spectator react in 4 different ways.The m ...
EHO NARCIS Interactive formation of 4 mandals on plexiglas: Short justification and concept: Authoress representation interactive formation of 4 representational mandals, witch in the interaction with the spectator react in 4 different ways.The m ...
W4345
24.05.2011
AGENCY FOR UNREALIZED PROJECTS - Paulo Luís Almeida
WWW
AGENCY FOR UNREALIZED PROJECTS Most part of my drawings are studies for non-performed actions. I began making them as previews for the documentation process, strategies of framing the sequences of small, often unnoticed, performances. Gradually, these ...
AGENCY FOR UNREALIZED PROJECTS Most part of my drawings are studies for non-performed actions. I began making them as previews for the documentation process, strategies of framing the sequences of small, often unnoticed, performances. Gradually, these ...
W4343
24.05.2011
Revolutionary Travel!  - Alicia Herrero
WWW
Revolutionary Travel! Sailing-Novel Each chapter is a port on the continue line of South American rivers from Port Brais of the Beni river to the Ucayali river. From the Amazonas through Iquitos, arriving to Leticia, Manaus and other, crossing to th ...
Revolutionary Travel! Sailing-Novel Each chapter is a port on the continue line of South American rivers from Port Brais of the Beni river to the Ucayali river. From the Amazonas through Iquitos, arriving to Leticia, Manaus and other, crossing to th ...
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** ...
W4407
25.05.2011
The Great Pyramid - Ingo Niermann
WWW
The Great Pyramid—a gradually growing tomb for potentially every human being in the world. Every stone in this pyramid could house the ashes of a deceased individual. It would grow, layer per layer, over decades and centuries. ...
The Great Pyramid—a gradually growing tomb for potentially every human being in the world. Every stone in this pyramid could house the ashes of a deceased individual. It would grow, layer per layer, over decades and centuries. ...
W3824
19.05.2011
MARK PRIME
WWW
These installations are part of an ongoing series experimenting with light in 3 dimensional spaces. They are created using a high power laser, refracted in the space using mirrors. The effect is like drawing with pure light: intense, pure, random an ...
These installations are part of an ongoing series experimenting with light in 3 dimensional spaces. They are created using a high power laser, refracted in the space using mirrors. The effect is like drawing with pure light: intense, pure, random an ...
W4678
26.05.2011
Two Propositions for Participation and One Prognostication  - Mel Chin
WWW
Two Propositions for Participation and One Prognostication (One Page of) Preparatory Notes: Ask the least, so the most can be included. As a scriptor, conceive parts the performers (the participants) can easily follow yet allow them to understand how th ...
Two Propositions for Participation and One Prognostication (One Page of) Preparatory Notes: Ask the least, so the most can be included. As a scriptor, conceive parts the performers (the participants) can easily follow yet allow them to understand how th ...
W5430
20.10.2012
VICTIMS OF SYMMETRY - Marcin Chomicki
WWW
VICTIMS OF SYMMETRY New cities are not established any more. The only way to build an ideal city is to be radical in means. The idea of the project is to trace an axis of symmetry and pull down half of the city. A mirror reflection is constructed to co ...
VICTIMS OF SYMMETRY New cities are not established any more. The only way to build an ideal city is to be radical in means. The idea of the project is to trace an axis of symmetry and pull down half of the city. A mirror reflection is constructed to co ...
W10444
23.04.2014
Glass Tower 50 - Sean Scully
WWW
Glass Tower 50, 2014 is constructed of fifty glass panels. The slabs of glass are roughly cut on their edges allowing spaces between the layers enabling light and air to enter the work. This design gives it a sense of weightlessness, as a counter point ...
Glass Tower 50, 2014 is constructed of fifty glass panels. The slabs of glass are roughly cut on their edges allowing spaces between the layers enabling light and air to enter the work. This design gives it a sense of weightlessness, as a counter point ...
W5281
15.10.2012
The Sky Reaching Hammock - Adam Kalinowsk
WWW
2000, Poznan, Poland. Project for kinetic outdoor sculpture. Proposed total dimensions: 2200 x 7000 x 7000 cm. Steel, aircraft cable, wind turbines with reduction gears. Model in 1:8 scale. Propellers are pointed to various directions in relation to ...
2000, Poznan, Poland. Project for kinetic outdoor sculpture. Proposed total dimensions: 2200 x 7000 x 7000 cm. Steel, aircraft cable, wind turbines with reduction gears. Model in 1:8 scale. Propellers are pointed to various directions in relation to ...
W4040
22.05.2011
"vulgariskamer" a nomadic hybrid cabinet of curiosities... - Susana Pinto
WWW
An utopia auto-narrative. Gleaning of “things” became an obsession, not for the anxiety of collecting them but more for the necessity of transforming them. The things or the “vulgaris” ( vulgarity) are gleaned according to specific criteria - p ...
An utopia auto-narrative. Gleaning of “things” became an obsession, not for the anxiety of collecting them but more for the necessity of transforming them. The things or the “vulgaris” ( vulgarity) are gleaned according to specific criteria - p ...
W4299
24.05.2011
Polished Concrete (the dissolution of the work into its reflected conditions) - Ian Skedd
WWW
Polished Concrete (the dissolution of the work into its reflected conditions) • Prior to the opening of an exhibition, the concrete floor of a gallery space will be treated with a chemical densifier and sanded with progressively finer grinding tool ...
Polished Concrete (the dissolution of the work into its reflected conditions) • Prior to the opening of an exhibition, the concrete floor of a gallery space will be treated with a chemical densifier and sanded with progressively finer grinding tool ...
W3752
18.05.2011
Proposal for an Art-Science cooperation for solar lighting a Lebanese village - roula sorour
WWW
My project was a proposal to light up a village in Lebanon using solar power in cooperation with a local University. My proposal was hurried and could have been written better. I never did receive a reply to my proposal. From: Roula Sorour <r@roula ...
My project was a proposal to light up a village in Lebanon using solar power in cooperation with a local University. My proposal was hurried and could have been written better. I never did receive a reply to my proposal. From: Roula Sorour <r@roula ...
W5107
14.09.2012
Eli Skipp
WWW
This project requires an indoor climbing wall of significant width and height (minimum 40' x 65'). A route setter will be hired to climb and lay out climbing holds and place climbing tape to mark the route (color is up to the setter, but yellow is prefer ...
This project requires an indoor climbing wall of significant width and height (minimum 40' x 65'). A route setter will be hired to climb and lay out climbing holds and place climbing tape to mark the route (color is up to the setter, but yellow is prefer ...
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 ...
W4265
24.05.2011
Kristin Jones / Andrew Ginzel
WWW
Project for Hypothetical Pond Sonsbeek Arnheim, The Netherlands 1986 ...
Project for Hypothetical Pond Sonsbeek Arnheim, The Netherlands 1986 ...
W4339
24.05.2011
On Loan - Julie Rafalski
WWW
On Loan Proposal: The entire collection of copies (222 books) of Thomas More’s Utopia that belong to the British Library will be borrowed for a given time period.* All copies of the book will be physically removed from the library on a given ...
On Loan Proposal: The entire collection of copies (222 books) of Thomas More’s Utopia that belong to the British Library will be borrowed for a given time period.* All copies of the book will be physically removed from the library on a given ...
W4794
14.06.2011
The Biggest Painting - Joost van Oss
WWW
The biggest painting. ...
W3491
11.05.2011
Urban Game: “Dharma the Digital Dog” - Andreas Maria Jacobs
WWW
Urban Game: “Dharma the Digital Dog” by Andreas Maria Jacobs Live video-projection game for e-mail, building & audience Jump, Move, Raise, Dog, Hoola Hoop, Girl E-Mail:puppet@burgerwaanzin.nl, Web: http://burgerwaanzin.nl/puppet The game p ...
Urban Game: “Dharma the Digital Dog” by Andreas Maria Jacobs Live video-projection game for e-mail, building & audience Jump, Move, Raise, Dog, Hoola Hoop, Girl E-Mail:puppet@burgerwaanzin.nl, Web: http://burgerwaanzin.nl/puppet The game p ...
W3488
11.05.2011
5/10/20/50/100/200/500 Euro - Karakaya Hüseyin
WWW
5/10/20/50/100/200/500 Euro Material: Geld Schein, jeder Währung, Schwarze Tusche jeder Hersteller: Geld Schein in Schwarzer Tusche tränken, und trocknen. Herstellung: Den Geschwärzten Geld schein gegen den gleichen geld Wert und die gleichen ...
5/10/20/50/100/200/500 Euro Material: Geld Schein, jeder Währung, Schwarze Tusche jeder Hersteller: Geld Schein in Schwarzer Tusche tränken, und trocknen. Herstellung: Den Geschwärzten Geld schein gegen den gleichen geld Wert und die gleichen ...
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. ...