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

Unrealized project for Tate Gallery + ICA, 1969 - Gilbert and George

PROPOSAL FOR SEATTLE ARTS COMMISSION, IN PUBLIC - Chris Burden

Uncompleted 1966 - and on  - John Armleder

Tulips for Amsterdam - Isa Genzken

Monumento all'agricoltura 1969-70 - Alighiero Boetti

The World Record - General Idea

Unrealized Turtles 1967 - Joseph Grigely

<A Public Misery Message> - Critical Art Ensemble

Financial Times Millennium Bridge Competition - Richard Serra and Frank Gehry

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick