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 Turtles 1967 - Joseph Grigely

Visual Poem: Cap I Cua - Joan Brossa

Proposal for a permanent video installation for the NYC headquarters of Sony Corporation - Dara Birnbaum

Merci, Thank you, Danke: Les 2 sujets  - Thomas Hirschorn

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

The Rosetta Garden - Gary Simmons

KEEPING IN TOUCH - Allan Kaprow

Monument to Democracy - Kounellis

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

Right-of-Privacy Release - Tony Oursler

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W4197
24.05.2011
HOME–WORLD - Madeleine Preston & Silvija Lomanaite
WWW
HOME–WORLD, The Sustainable Debate – Project Space proposal Silvija Lomanaite – Interior Designer and Madeleine Preston – Artist We met while working at the Whitehouse Institute of Design and found a common interest in contemporary issues in a ...
HOME–WORLD, The Sustainable Debate – Project Space proposal Silvija Lomanaite – Interior Designer and Madeleine Preston – Artist We met while working at the Whitehouse Institute of Design and found a common interest in contemporary issues in a ...
W4202
24.05.2011
The Eisenstein Project - janet hodgson
WWW
BATH SPA STATION - DAY A trolley with high wire-mesh sides stands on the platform, and propped inside is a crate - it’s big enough to contain an adult but doesn’t look like a coffin. A large consignment note is pasted on to it. It’s in Russian: an ...
BATH SPA STATION - DAY A trolley with high wire-mesh sides stands on the platform, and propped inside is a crate - it’s big enough to contain an adult but doesn’t look like a coffin. A large consignment note is pasted on to it. It’s in Russian: an ...
W5256
12.10.2012
The vaporization of 500 liters of perfume over a landlocked city - Dane Mitchell
WWW
Unrealized Project Dane Mitchell The vaporization of 500 liters of perfume over a landlocked city. The scent would predominantly contain ambergris, a substance produced in the digestive system of and regurgitated by sperm whales. ...
Unrealized Project Dane Mitchell The vaporization of 500 liters of perfume over a landlocked city. The scent would predominantly contain ambergris, a substance produced in the digestive system of and regurgitated by sperm whales. ...
W5051
03.09.2012
Forest Museum - Taller Basico de Arquitectura [TBA]
WWW
Forest Museum (2010) A forest inside another forest The museum floor learns from the characteristic concentricity of a tree trunk. As the different stages of its life, it contains the museum spaces: reception, temporary and permanent exhibitions... ...
Forest Museum (2010) A forest inside another forest The museum floor learns from the characteristic concentricity of a tree trunk. As the different stages of its life, it contains the museum spaces: reception, temporary and permanent exhibitions... ...
W4354
25.05.2011
The Collider - Ivan Isaev, Nikita Spiridonov
WWW
At all times man’s course of life as a whole and spiritual in particular embodies in the art. There was many attempts in the history of art to curb the human essence, to understand the meaning of life, purpose, place in nature finally all human natur ...
At all times man’s course of life as a whole and spiritual in particular embodies in the art. There was many attempts in the history of art to curb the human essence, to understand the meaning of life, purpose, place in nature finally all human natur ...
W3607
13.05.2011
If you meet Buddha on the path, kill him, 2004-2011 - Shannon Bellum
WWW
Technical aspects ​This is an installation made out of suspended fabric panels going from the floor, to 7 feet high at the entrance and finishing off at 9 feet high at the center of the maze. The panels are attached to plastic tubing that is suspe ...
Technical aspects ​This is an installation made out of suspended fabric panels going from the floor, to 7 feet high at the entrance and finishing off at 9 feet high at the center of the maze. The panels are attached to plastic tubing that is suspe ...
W4645
25.05.2011
Deployable Detention Center: Porta-Prison - Jenny Polak
WWW
Deployable Detention Center: Porta-Prison. A proposal by Jenny Polak 500 ch Porta-Prison is a fictional design proposal: a deployable detention center conceived to bring seasonal labour to farms. The project includes an interactive promotional website ...
Deployable Detention Center: Porta-Prison. A proposal by Jenny Polak 500 ch Porta-Prison is a fictional design proposal: a deployable detention center conceived to bring seasonal labour to farms. The project includes an interactive promotional website ...
W5008
30.08.2012
And the Girls with their Roller Skates - Julia Brodauf
WWW
"And the Girls with their Roller Skates" was a proposal to do an installation in combination with an edition at the Heizkraftwerk Moabit in Berlin where Vatenfall sometimes shows art exhibitions. While the edition was accepted an will be realised in octob ...
"And the Girls with their Roller Skates" was a proposal to do an installation in combination with an edition at the Heizkraftwerk Moabit in Berlin where Vatenfall sometimes shows art exhibitions. While the edition was accepted an will be realised in octob ...
W4233
24.05.2011
Elise Lammer
WWW
This work is an homage to the lost artwork by John Baldessari "Untitled (after Palm Tree (for Charlemagne)" 1975. This unrealized project aims to collect similar postcards as the ones displayed in Peter Kirby's documentary and recreate Baldessari's lost ...
This work is an homage to the lost artwork by John Baldessari "Untitled (after Palm Tree (for Charlemagne)" 1975. This unrealized project aims to collect similar postcards as the ones displayed in Peter Kirby's documentary and recreate Baldessari's lost ...
W4461
25.05.2011
Camoufoliaged - Chrysanne Stathacos
WWW
Camoufoliaged In ecology, organisms avoid observation or detection by other organisms though camouflage, transparency, or mimicry. In the project Camoufoliaged, trees, and bushes near or within a museum setting are covered in various degrees of prin ...
Camoufoliaged In ecology, organisms avoid observation or detection by other organisms though camouflage, transparency, or mimicry. In the project Camoufoliaged, trees, and bushes near or within a museum setting are covered in various degrees of prin ...
W4482
25.05.2011
Frontispiece  - Paul Landon
WWW
Frontispiece An unrealised project by Paul Landon On 1 August 1953, under Reorganization Plan No. 8, the United States Information Agency (USIA) was created as an independent organization within the Executive Branch responsible for the U.S. governmentʼ ...
Frontispiece An unrealised project by Paul Landon On 1 August 1953, under Reorganization Plan No. 8, the United States Information Agency (USIA) was created as an independent organization within the Executive Branch responsible for the U.S. governmentʼ ...
W3582
13.05.2011
Umfassung (verborgen) - Sabine Hagmann
WWW
Idee Der Perimeter des St. Johanns-Platz wird während einem Jahr exakt mit einer zweieinhalb Meter hohen Wand eingefasst. Sie schliesst das ganze Gelände ein, mit Rasen, Wegen und Parkbänken. Die kleine Rasenfläche wird durch die Wand als Volu ...
Idee Der Perimeter des St. Johanns-Platz wird während einem Jahr exakt mit einer zweieinhalb Meter hohen Wand eingefasst. Sie schliesst das ganze Gelände ein, mit Rasen, Wegen und Parkbänken. Die kleine Rasenfläche wird durch die Wand als Volu ...
W5036
01.09.2012
The Woodsquat Commemorative Pool Party - Gabriel Saloman
WWW
Gabriel Saloman The Woodsquat Commemorative Pool Party In the Fall of 2011, in response to call for artworks that addressed the site-specificity of Simon Fraser University's new campus in the heart of Vancouver's impoverished and turbulent Downtown ...
Gabriel Saloman The Woodsquat Commemorative Pool Party In the Fall of 2011, in response to call for artworks that addressed the site-specificity of Simon Fraser University's new campus in the heart of Vancouver's impoverished and turbulent Downtown ...
W4060
23.05.2011
Unrealized Project: Town Square  - Rebecca Herman and Mark Shoffner
WWW
Town Square is comprised of several sculptural elements: a tall, narrow, guillotine‐like structure in wood (without a blade); a series of steps leading up to the guillotine from the back; a basket on the floor in front of the guillotine; and two halves ...
Town Square is comprised of several sculptural elements: a tall, narrow, guillotine‐like structure in wood (without a blade); a series of steps leading up to the guillotine from the back; a basket on the floor in front of the guillotine; and two halves ...
W4471
25.05.2011
Marco Montiel-Soto
WWW
Berlín no está en la orilla del mar, esta enredada entre los canales del río Spree y de numerosos lagos a los alrededores, una superficie en movimiento perfecta para un nuevo proyecto de vivienda, un modelo de planificación urbana que sirve para los r ...
Berlín no está en la orilla del mar, esta enredada entre los canales del río Spree y de numerosos lagos a los alrededores, una superficie en movimiento perfecta para un nuevo proyecto de vivienda, un modelo de planificación urbana que sirve para los r ...
W4719
26.05.2011
We Might Be Snowmakers - Glacial Risk Management Institute (GRMI): Angela Ellsworth and Leigh McCarthy
WWW
Glacial Risk Management Institute (GRMI): Angela Ellsworth and Leigh McCarthy Title: We Might Be Snowmakers In order to slow or reverse the retreat of glaciers, the GRMI proposes setting up large-scale snow blowers to increase the size of Europe’s la ...
Glacial Risk Management Institute (GRMI): Angela Ellsworth and Leigh McCarthy Title: We Might Be Snowmakers In order to slow or reverse the retreat of glaciers, the GRMI proposes setting up large-scale snow blowers to increase the size of Europe’s la ...
W3970
21.05.2011
SUNNY - Fang Di
WWW
SUNNY | Video, Installation | 1:44 Project Introduction: Sunny, one of my friends, always acts weirdly. I call this Sunny Phenomenon. And this phenomenon can be widely seen nowadays. For example, due to heavy working pressure, people are forced to par ...
SUNNY | Video, Installation | 1:44 Project Introduction: Sunny, one of my friends, always acts weirdly. I call this Sunny Phenomenon. And this phenomenon can be widely seen nowadays. For example, due to heavy working pressure, people are forced to par ...
W3633
14.05.2011
Le déclin du jour - Berger&Berger
WWW
Marché Couvert, Metz, France

 2010 City of Metz, France

 Structural Engineer : Bollinger + Grohmann (France) 

The advent of artificial light, which grew strongly during XXst century,
has gradually freed the man from the natural rhyt ...
Marché Couvert, Metz, France

 2010 City of Metz, France

 Structural Engineer : Bollinger + Grohmann (France) 

The advent of artificial light, which grew strongly during XXst century,
has gradually freed the man from the natural rhyt ...
W3589
13.05.2011
Failed Music Store - Luke Munn
WWW
Work Description: In this proposed project for Watermans, 1000 bargain bin CDs are purchased and made available to visitors to browse, playback and take-away if they wish. Rather than a constantly updated library of the latest hits, these albums are the ...
Work Description: In this proposed project for Watermans, 1000 bargain bin CDs are purchased and made available to visitors to browse, playback and take-away if they wish. Rather than a constantly updated library of the latest hits, these albums are the ...
W5344
18.10.2012
Lito Kattou & Leontios Toumpouris
WWW
The artist in his effort to acquire conscience of his identity addresses to the Other. The elliptic dimension of the Other does not induce the desired result, the fulfillment, the coverage of the void. He becomes aware of his inability to realize this des ...
The artist in his effort to acquire conscience of his identity addresses to the Other. The elliptic dimension of the Other does not induce the desired result, the fulfillment, the coverage of the void. He becomes aware of his inability to realize this des ...
W3635
14.05.2011
Hay, Text - Jomar Statkun
WWW
“With plastic covered hay bales”, the hay bales have text silk screened on them. There would be many bales - with various texts printed on them. In the past, some texts have touched on ideas of defection and the workings of “offices”, as well a ...
“With plastic covered hay bales”, the hay bales have text silk screened on them. There would be many bales - with various texts printed on them. In the past, some texts have touched on ideas of defection and the workings of “offices”, as well a ...
W10172
18.06.2014
Chicago Torture Justice Memorials' Project - Anja Christine Ross
WWW
The title of "Chicago Torture Justice Memorials' Project" is concerned with my suggestion building up a kind of wall with holes. In these holes you might add photographs of this prison-archives. In my mind I found another idea that this wall has a signatu ...
The title of "Chicago Torture Justice Memorials' Project" is concerned with my suggestion building up a kind of wall with holes. In these holes you might add photographs of this prison-archives. In my mind I found another idea that this wall has a signatu ...
W3610
13.05.2011
Click An inverted press conference.  - Tina Willgren
WWW
From the opposing sides of a conference room, two groups of press photographers, videographers and sound technicians (20-40 persons in all) enter. Their aim is to document the movements, poses, sounds and facial expressions of the other group, as well as ...
From the opposing sides of a conference room, two groups of press photographers, videographers and sound technicians (20-40 persons in all) enter. Their aim is to document the movements, poses, sounds and facial expressions of the other group, as well as ...
W5225
08.10.2012
Mystery of Vault 13 - Deivis Slavinskas
WWW
Artist Name: Deivis Slavinskas Email: studio@slavinskas.com Website: http://www.Slavinskas.com Artwork * Please note that all the following information is for the reference only and is subject to change during the development Photos: Artist' ...
Artist Name: Deivis Slavinskas Email: studio@slavinskas.com Website: http://www.Slavinskas.com Artwork * Please note that all the following information is for the reference only and is subject to change during the development Photos: Artist' ...
W4520
25.05.2011
take charge of your life.  - Joan Vicent Marí Domenech
WWW
The unrealized project that I present is called: take charge of your life. These is what I was doing during my studies in fine arts Erasmus in Athens. Knowing myself. Began with a series of banners carried out haphazardly. The two images presen ...
The unrealized project that I present is called: take charge of your life. These is what I was doing during my studies in fine arts Erasmus in Athens. Knowing myself. Began with a series of banners carried out haphazardly. The two images presen ...
W4715
26.05.2011
Annan Shehadi
WWW
This project is a way of mapping a home I have never been to from the outside. It is about the outside world not recognizing my identity as a Palestinian, or my people's right to their homeland. In that sense, it is unrealized. 31°53’20.24”N, 35° ...
This project is a way of mapping a home I have never been to from the outside. It is about the outside world not recognizing my identity as a Palestinian, or my people's right to their homeland. In that sense, it is unrealized. 31°53’20.24”N, 35° ...