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.

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

Catwalk - Sylive Fleury

Relatum (Iron Plate and Stone) - Lee Ufan

CIVITAS Stadtpostkarten - Lothar Baumgarten

Cruzeiro Do Sul, (Southern Cross) (Crucero del Sur) 1969-70* - Cildo Meireles

Fax Transmission - Raymond Pettibone and Jason Rhoades

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

Broadway Musicals - Christian Marclay

Project 1 + Project 2 - Simryn Gill

PROJEKT - Ulrich Rückreim

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W4165
23.05.2011
Seacarus - Mark Požlep, Saša Šuštar
WWW
The project is a flying construct with an aluminium body of a catamaran and two bicycle-like-systems with pedals (run by two people), connected to two propellers. It flies on 6 helium-filled baloons (5 m diameter) each of them carrying 65 kg, all together ...
The project is a flying construct with an aluminium body of a catamaran and two bicycle-like-systems with pedals (run by two people), connected to two propellers. It flies on 6 helium-filled baloons (5 m diameter) each of them carrying 65 kg, all together ...
W4610
25.05.2011
Flags of Empire - Dread Scott
WWW
Flags of Empire would be a circle of flagpoles each flying a flag of a past or present empire. The flags are from the following countries: Japan, Spain (17th century flag), Nazi Germany, France, Rome (vexillum from the ancient Roman Empire), Russia, Otto ...
Flags of Empire would be a circle of flagpoles each flying a flag of a past or present empire. The flags are from the following countries: Japan, Spain (17th century flag), Nazi Germany, France, Rome (vexillum from the ancient Roman Empire), Russia, Otto ...
W3819
19.05.2011
raphaele cohen-bacry
WWW
This is an example of the 50 dolls I made between 2007 and 2010. I used ‘’ugly’’, standardized dolls made in China and was interested in turning them into unique ‘’hand-made’’ dolls with a lot of personality and character. Each measures 4X ...
This is an example of the 50 dolls I made between 2007 and 2010. I used ‘’ugly’’, standardized dolls made in China and was interested in turning them into unique ‘’hand-made’’ dolls with a lot of personality and character. Each measures 4X ...
W4107
23.05.2011
Warning (Potters Bar) - Victoria Halford and Steve Beard
WWW
An unrealisable proposal for a public sculpture Intention Warning ( Potters Bar) is a proposal to reconstruct an emblematic moment from a train derailment which occurred in England in 2002. The life-size sculpture would consist of a wrecked train carr ...
An unrealisable proposal for a public sculpture Intention Warning ( Potters Bar) is a proposal to reconstruct an emblematic moment from a train derailment which occurred in England in 2002. The life-size sculpture would consist of a wrecked train carr ...
U9785
01.01.1994
Grand Concours International D'Architecture  - Mahe Gilles
Unbuilt Roads
Concours de plage ouvert surinvitation a des equipe D' Architectes de renomíe internationale. Objet = construire en untemps limiteé entre lamarée descendante + montante un batiment a l'aide des seuls materials trouvés sur la plage Nature Des ...
Concours de plage ouvert surinvitation a des equipe D' Architectes de renomíe internationale. Objet = construire en untemps limiteé entre lamarée descendante + montante un batiment a l'aide des seuls materials trouvés sur la plage Nature Des ...
W4119
23.05.2011
TIME:PIECE - LEWIS KOCH
WWW
TIME:PIECE, A PUBLIC ARTWORK BY LEWIS KOCH, to hang on the front facade of the museum building, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba. The banner's design, comprised of line drawing and text, presents an interpretation of the idea of time defined from ...
TIME:PIECE, A PUBLIC ARTWORK BY LEWIS KOCH, to hang on the front facade of the museum building, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba. The banner's design, comprised of line drawing and text, presents an interpretation of the idea of time defined from ...
W3925
20.05.2011
Proposal for Witches Memorial in Salem MA - Ed Levine
WWW
Proposal for Witches Memorial in Salem MA Giving voice to Witches Each of the 17 sculptural element is a musical instrument. Compressed air is cycled randomly through the internal pipe in each element. Consequently the sound will project around the si ...
Proposal for Witches Memorial in Salem MA Giving voice to Witches Each of the 17 sculptural element is a musical instrument. Compressed air is cycled randomly through the internal pipe in each element. Consequently the sound will project around the si ...
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 ...
W4633
25.05.2011
ELENA BAJO
WWW
WHEN YOU CUT INTO THE PRESENT THE FUTURE LEAKS OUT (PRODUCTION OF SPACE) “The form of social space is encounter, assembly, simultaneity; social space implies actual or potential assembly at a single point or around that point.” - Henri Lefebvre, from ...
WHEN YOU CUT INTO THE PRESENT THE FUTURE LEAKS OUT (PRODUCTION OF SPACE) “The form of social space is encounter, assembly, simultaneity; social space implies actual or potential assembly at a single point or around that point.” - Henri Lefebvre, from ...
W5438
20.10.2012
Smuggling Pomegranate Pavilion (SPP) - Mo Abd-Ulla
WWW
It is a multifaceted programme working with and around cultural practice in the Middle East and North Africa. SPP consists of exhibitions, projects, performances, lectures, discussions, and new techniques for mediating the public’s reactions to art and ...
It is a multifaceted programme working with and around cultural practice in the Middle East and North Africa. SPP consists of exhibitions, projects, performances, lectures, discussions, and new techniques for mediating the public’s reactions to art and ...
W10717
11.09.2014
Parallelle Projekte in der Stadt Münster, 1997 - Nicolaisen Terje
WWW
At my final year in the Academy I went to Münster to show my projects with Yellow Light. Should I wait till I am 60 to be invited or just go to the party uninvited? Kasper König made it clear to me in his office at Landesmuseum that this was a private p ...
At my final year in the Academy I went to Münster to show my projects with Yellow Light. Should I wait till I am 60 to be invited or just go to the party uninvited? Kasper König made it clear to me in his office at Landesmuseum that this was a private p ...
W5465
21.10.2012
Letters from the Earth - Joe Cantrell
WWW
a cross-generational piece that repurposes electronic waste into technologically mediated messages to future generations. Plastic comprises a vast amount of the material used to make the electronic consumer products that have become so much a part of our ...
a cross-generational piece that repurposes electronic waste into technologically mediated messages to future generations. Plastic comprises a vast amount of the material used to make the electronic consumer products that have become so much a part of our ...
W4127
23.05.2011
Proposed Future - Ann Marie Webb
WWW
Architecture is the most visible sign of a society's faith and trust in the future. The ability to move forward and construct a future is greatly effected by how our views are framed. This work explores the built landscape and its affects ...
Architecture is the most visible sign of a society's faith and trust in the future. The ability to move forward and construct a future is greatly effected by how our views are framed. This work explores the built landscape and its affects ...
W4359
25.05.2011
bicefaliKo
WWW
Due to the vast number of building projects after fhe fall of the Berlin wall, German Reunification and the consequent transfer of the German government to Berlin there arose many debates, often heated, about the relationship between town and its evolut ...
Due to the vast number of building projects after fhe fall of the Berlin wall, German Reunification and the consequent transfer of the German government to Berlin there arose many debates, often heated, about the relationship between town and its evolut ...
W4545
25.05.2011
Missing/Vermisst/Scomparso  - Matteo Peterlini
WWW
Missing/Vermisst/Scomparso Abstract This work is intended as an analysis and a representation of the psychosocial aspects raised by the phenomenon of missing people in contemporary cities. The question guiding my project entails the nature of the miss ...
Missing/Vermisst/Scomparso Abstract This work is intended as an analysis and a representation of the psychosocial aspects raised by the phenomenon of missing people in contemporary cities. The question guiding my project entails the nature of the miss ...
W4001
22.05.2011
Michael Crowe
WWW
A proposal for Tate Modern which is a bit too costly at the moment. ...
A proposal for Tate Modern which is a bit too costly at the moment. ...
W3641
15.05.2011
Go Down Moses- Synopsis - Ahmad Hosni
WWW
Synopsis Go Down, Moses is book project that was conceived from the outset as a sequence of photographs existing in a relation to a parallel body of text.  The project is about a place in the process of becoming a tourist enclave and what has prec ...
Synopsis Go Down, Moses is book project that was conceived from the outset as a sequence of photographs existing in a relation to a parallel body of text.  The project is about a place in the process of becoming a tourist enclave and what has prec ...
W4163
23.05.2011
iaround - Anna Martinou
WWW
iaround provides an interactive platform for artists, groups and collectives who commission work within the urban landscape. The platform serves both as documentation and a social media tool as it integrates the process iaround: http://www.iaround.co ...
iaround provides an interactive platform for artists, groups and collectives who commission work within the urban landscape. The platform serves both as documentation and a social media tool as it integrates the process iaround: http://www.iaround.co ...
W4332
24.05.2011
The Golden Pavilion - Xawery Wolski
WWW
The Golden Pavilion. 1993 What is essentially remote is the unapproachable. In fact, the main quality of an image used for worship is its inapproachability. By its very nature, it is always remote, as close as it may be. One can approach its material rea ...
The Golden Pavilion. 1993 What is essentially remote is the unapproachable. In fact, the main quality of an image used for worship is its inapproachability. By its very nature, it is always remote, as close as it may be. One can approach its material rea ...
W5186
30.09.2012
Untitled (‘Memory: Un/Successful, In/Complete’)  - Betty Nigianni
WWW
Untitled (‘Memory: Un/Successful, In/Complete’) - - Oil and acrylic paints, inkjet prints, tissue paper, and straw on canvas, 80X120 cm approx. (2010-11) Initiated during a course at the Slade School of Fine Art, this experimental painting develo ...
Untitled (‘Memory: Un/Successful, In/Complete’) - - Oil and acrylic paints, inkjet prints, tissue paper, and straw on canvas, 80X120 cm approx. (2010-11) Initiated during a course at the Slade School of Fine Art, this experimental painting develo ...
W3477
11.05.2011
Douglas Park
WWW
Douglas Park, U.K based and internationally active visual artist, author (of literary prose and critical essays), as well as exhibition curator (and increasingly all practices combined) douglasrpark@googlemail.com http://www.myspace.com/douglas_park +44 7 ...
Douglas Park, U.K based and internationally active visual artist, author (of literary prose and critical essays), as well as exhibition curator (and increasingly all practices combined) douglasrpark@googlemail.com http://www.myspace.com/douglas_park +44 7 ...
W5074
05.09.2012
fading memory  - Raymonde Van Santen
WWW
Raymonde van Santen rvansanten@verizon.net Unrealized Projects fading memory Part A and B fit in my ongoing exploration of the cycles of decay and renewal. They will visualize how the passage of time affects memory (Part A), and how memories n ...
Raymonde van Santen rvansanten@verizon.net Unrealized Projects fading memory Part A and B fit in my ongoing exploration of the cycles of decay and renewal. They will visualize how the passage of time affects memory (Part A), and how memories n ...
W3877
19.05.2011
Sound Of Trains - Derek Michael Besant
WWW
sound of underground train from another city as audio integration downtown in Canadian city Client: City of Calgary Development Dept. / Canada Date: 2002 Audio art integration into minor city pedestrian sidewalk downtown Calgary Alberta Canada. T ...
sound of underground train from another city as audio integration downtown in Canadian city Client: City of Calgary Development Dept. / Canada Date: 2002 Audio art integration into minor city pedestrian sidewalk downtown Calgary Alberta Canada. T ...
U9945
01.01.1994
MAK - Wien  - Rosemarie Trockel
Unbuilt Roads
Idee: linke Autospur de [unleserlich] durch dis [?]halle (Saal) verlege[?]. ...
Idee: linke Autospur de [unleserlich] durch dis [?]halle (Saal) verlege[?]. ...
W4507
25.05.2011
Second nature – A dystopian view into virtual farming - Aditi Ruiz
WWW
Second nature – A dystopian view into virtual farming There are 80 million urban farmers across the world, but they are farming virtually through social networks. What does this imply for the future of the farm? How is this reshaping our perception o ...
Second nature – A dystopian view into virtual farming There are 80 million urban farmers across the world, but they are farming virtually through social networks. What does this imply for the future of the farm? How is this reshaping our perception o ...
W4403
25.05.2011
Landscape Follies - Eleanna Horiti
WWW
Landscape Follies A series that involves the creation of ‘new’ unnatural imaginary landscapes through a series of actions, such as excavations, exposure of strata and the creation of fake elements using natural materials. ...
Landscape Follies A series that involves the creation of ‘new’ unnatural imaginary landscapes through a series of actions, such as excavations, exposure of strata and the creation of fake elements using natural materials. ...