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.

The Clock - Ayse Erkmen

City Hall Tower Night Ilumination - Krysztof Wodiczko

"Free Space" - Michelangelo Pistoletto

"Ileana, I love you" - Maurizo Cattelan

Ceinture - Huang Ping Yong

Milan House (AC/DC & Joy Division) - Liam Gillick

Aguapracasa - Gabriel Orozco

Der New-Babyloner - Constant

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

Nicht realisierte Projekte - Stefan Demary

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W4067
23.05.2011
Graffiti Saving - János Sugár
WWW
Writing texts on the wall has a tremendous tradition in the folklore of big cities. It is one of the simplest ways to express freedom; the creators communicate with every citizen of the city in principle. They turn an intrinsically illegible town legible. ...
Writing texts on the wall has a tremendous tradition in the folklore of big cities. It is one of the simplest ways to express freedom; the creators communicate with every citizen of the city in principle. They turn an intrinsically illegible town legible. ...
W3694
16.05.2011
Doppler Symphony - leo fitzmaurice
WWW
Proposal The proposal is to overlay two Doppler Effect * phenomena (change in pitch and volume) onto a piece of music. Process Start with a multi-track recording of a piece of music (one track per instrument) Split each track of the recording ...
Proposal The proposal is to overlay two Doppler Effect * phenomena (change in pitch and volume) onto a piece of music. Process Start with a multi-track recording of a piece of music (one track per instrument) Split each track of the recording ...
W5455
20.10.2012
For beauty sake - Mirna Arsovska
WWW
2007 Idea The work is planed to be an interactive video animation, set in the gallery or on a window of the gallery. Video is scene with the birds freely resting on the branches on a tree in the landscape. AUDIO: ... sound of their “talk” .. ...
2007 Idea The work is planed to be an interactive video animation, set in the gallery or on a window of the gallery. Video is scene with the birds freely resting on the branches on a tree in the landscape. AUDIO: ... sound of their “talk” .. ...
W4527
25.05.2011
Sculpture Installation - Jaime Szczepanski
WWW
Proposal 3: Sculpture Installation Location: Convention Center Boulevard, Canal Boulevard For this project, two standard bus stop shelters will be installed in two locations. The appearance, dimensions and scale of these awnings will match those seen ...
Proposal 3: Sculpture Installation Location: Convention Center Boulevard, Canal Boulevard For this project, two standard bus stop shelters will be installed in two locations. The appearance, dimensions and scale of these awnings will match those seen ...
U9823
13.02.1997
Project tor the Veterans Administration Hospital--Bay Pines, Florida. - Robert Morris
Unbuilt Roads
13 Feb 97 Att: Hans Ulrich Obrist From: R. Morris (fax:914-255-2781) Re: Unbuilt Roads Dear Hans Ulrich Obrist, Thanks for you recent fax inviting me to participate in your project. I send along some information about a project that might be ...
13 Feb 97 Att: Hans Ulrich Obrist From: R. Morris (fax:914-255-2781) Re: Unbuilt Roads Dear Hans Ulrich Obrist, Thanks for you recent fax inviting me to participate in your project. I send along some information about a project that might be ...
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 ...
W4548
25.05.2011
CHIASMA - Kristin Jones / Andrew Ginzel
WWW
CHIASMA Chiasma will be a contemplative work integrated with both the context and architecture of the University of Central Florida’s new Health Sciences campus, Tavistock Common. At the heart of the Common’s grand expanse, the elements that compri ...
CHIASMA Chiasma will be a contemplative work integrated with both the context and architecture of the University of Central Florida’s new Health Sciences campus, Tavistock Common. At the heart of the Common’s grand expanse, the elements that compri ...
W3685
16.05.2011
Core Dump for a Crashed Planet  - Julian Priest
WWW
Core Dump for a Crashed Planet was a proposal for the 2008 Climate Clock project in San Jose, California. The brief was for a public art piece that created a feedback mechanism to make the process of climate change visible to the public. ...
Core Dump for a Crashed Planet was a proposal for the 2008 Climate Clock project in San Jose, California. The brief was for a public art piece that created a feedback mechanism to make the process of climate change visible to the public. ...
W4323
24.05.2011
MAD HATTER’S WORKSHOP  - Valery Koroshilov
WWW
MAD HATTER’S WORKSHOP The Concept Observing Lowry’s paintings I have noticed his people very often wear hats. I went on to address this theme. A hat, a helmet, a beret, a cap, a scarf, a hood, a crown. What are the messages they convey today i ...
MAD HATTER’S WORKSHOP The Concept Observing Lowry’s paintings I have noticed his people very often wear hats. I went on to address this theme. A hat, a helmet, a beret, a cap, a scarf, a hood, a crown. What are the messages they convey today i ...
W4458
25.05.2011
Transfer of a palm tree - Rahel Hegnauer
WWW
Transfer of a palm tree (Paris, 2007) (Unrealised project idea developed after realisation of a temporary garden in Paris, 2006 / 07 by Rahel Hegnauer / www.rahelhegnauer.ch.) Summary of the project idea Transfer: Transfer of a palm tree - usually a dec ...
Transfer of a palm tree (Paris, 2007) (Unrealised project idea developed after realisation of a temporary garden in Paris, 2006 / 07 by Rahel Hegnauer / www.rahelhegnauer.ch.) Summary of the project idea Transfer: Transfer of a palm tree - usually a dec ...
W4790
10.06.2011
Justyn Zolli
WWW
These two designs represent unrealized designs for stained and leaded glass murals.The designs call for the use of colored mouth blown glass, lenses, and flat disks of glass called roundels structured together in a lead and steel matrix. They could potent ...
These two designs represent unrealized designs for stained and leaded glass murals.The designs call for the use of colored mouth blown glass, lenses, and flat disks of glass called roundels structured together in a lead and steel matrix. They could potent ...
W5000
30.08.2012
Kosuth Instruction Piece - Conny Blom
WWW
Conny Blom Kosuth Instruction Piece Text on A4. The Tributes is a growing series of loving, but somewhat humorous remakes of classic works of art by artists like John Baldessari, Bas Jan Ader, Douglas Gordon and more. Conny Blom remakes pieces that hav ...
Conny Blom Kosuth Instruction Piece Text on A4. The Tributes is a growing series of loving, but somewhat humorous remakes of classic works of art by artists like John Baldessari, Bas Jan Ader, Douglas Gordon and more. Conny Blom remakes pieces that hav ...
W4642
25.05.2011
WHEN YOU CUT INTO THE PRESENT THE FUTURE LEAKS OUT (PRODUCTION OF SPACE) - 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 ...
W3542
12.05.2011
Nathan Danilowicz
WWW
The working title for this yet to be realized sculpture is "untitled (covered bridge)." It is based largely on covered bridges found in Pennsylvania and the surrounding Mid-Atlantic United States. These historic bridges are predominantly red. This sculptu ...
The working title for this yet to be realized sculpture is "untitled (covered bridge)." It is based largely on covered bridges found in Pennsylvania and the surrounding Mid-Atlantic United States. These historic bridges are predominantly red. This sculptu ...
W5255
11.10.2012
Michael Schippling
WWW
The proposal is to increase the information content (entropy) of Shannon's original Information Theory paper by shredding and re-compacting it: http://www.etantdonnes.com/proposal/Conceptual%20Information%20Piece.html ...
The proposal is to increase the information content (entropy) of Shannon's original Information Theory paper by shredding and re-compacting it: http://www.etantdonnes.com/proposal/Conceptual%20Information%20Piece.html ...
W4371
25.05.2011
leak - Thessia Machado
WWW
leak A rumination on transmutation, language, the experience of time, death and the joys of apartment living. Installation with 12.5 gallons of water (equivalent to my weight), vinyl, sheetrock, camera, computer running max/msp/jitter, monitor and ...
leak A rumination on transmutation, language, the experience of time, death and the joys of apartment living. Installation with 12.5 gallons of water (equivalent to my weight), vinyl, sheetrock, camera, computer running max/msp/jitter, monitor and ...
W3581
13.05.2011
Nihal Yesil
WWW
Passage, 2008 Model for a architectural installation Construction: Simple reductive construction Walls: Black heavy rubber sheets suspended from simple linked frames Dimensions: Circa 280cm height x 450cm wide x 800cm + length variable depending on ...
Passage, 2008 Model for a architectural installation Construction: Simple reductive construction Walls: Black heavy rubber sheets suspended from simple linked frames Dimensions: Circa 280cm height x 450cm wide x 800cm + length variable depending on ...
W4434
25.05.2011
Untitled - Paul-Armand Gette
WWW
Paul-Armand Gette Untitled Project for the wood of sculptures of Vassivière island, France July 1991 On the top of a forest area behind the Centre international d’art et du paysage A block of granite chosen in the wooden part of Vassivière is ...
Paul-Armand Gette Untitled Project for the wood of sculptures of Vassivière island, France July 1991 On the top of a forest area behind the Centre international d’art et du paysage A block of granite chosen in the wooden part of Vassivière is ...
W5009
30.08.2012
Structure for Formal and Material Imagination - Scott Massey
WWW
Structure for Formal and Material Imagination Travel to another dimension has long held our fascination. From Alice’s tentative leap down the rabbit hole, Wade Davis’ experients with the world’s psychotropic flora, or teleporting from the bridg ...
Structure for Formal and Material Imagination Travel to another dimension has long held our fascination. From Alice’s tentative leap down the rabbit hole, Wade Davis’ experients with the world’s psychotropic flora, or teleporting from the bridg ...
W4455
25.05.2011
"GLOBAL SATELLITE PROJECT" - Joaquim Pereira Eires
WWW
"GLOBAL SATELLITE PROJECT" is een eigen concept waarin satellietbeelden, een snapshot van een bepaalde tijd en omgeving, "horizontaal" worden geïntegreerd in de publieke ruimte van meestal diezelfde omgeving. De digitale basis-satellietbeelden die hiervo ...
"GLOBAL SATELLITE PROJECT" is een eigen concept waarin satellietbeelden, een snapshot van een bepaalde tijd en omgeving, "horizontaal" worden geïntegreerd in de publieke ruimte van meestal diezelfde omgeving. De digitale basis-satellietbeelden die hiervo ...
W3514
11.05.2011
“Future Show”  - Alexandra Hopf
WWW
“Future Show” is an ongoing investigation into objects of art that have vanished from the field of vision.  These objects were once housed within the original Future Show in the New York's Museum of Non-Objective Art from November to December of 1 ...
“Future Show” is an ongoing investigation into objects of art that have vanished from the field of vision.  These objects were once housed within the original Future Show in the New York's Museum of Non-Objective Art from November to December of 1 ...
W4650
25.05.2011
La Fonataine  - silvia pereira
WWW
La Fonataine – Lasershot by Sílvia Pereira    Inside a museum room. A laser machine is mounted in a distance of 4 meters to the outer wall. Every thirty minutes it`s being activated and shoots its laser beam ag ...
La Fonataine – Lasershot by Sílvia Pereira    Inside a museum room. A laser machine is mounted in a distance of 4 meters to the outer wall. Every thirty minutes it`s being activated and shoots its laser beam ag ...
W4078
23.05.2011
Infinity and Tipi - Kasia Ozga
WWW
2 site-specific environmental art proposals in wicker: Infinity and Tipi I am proposing two different projects for and international residency in 2010. The first piece, entitled Infinity, will be a permanent work installed and braided on site by loc ...
2 site-specific environmental art proposals in wicker: Infinity and Tipi I am proposing two different projects for and international residency in 2010. The first piece, entitled Infinity, will be a permanent work installed and braided on site by loc ...
W4519
25.05.2011
Gdansk, 2011-05-25 - Malgorzata Lisiewicz
WWW
Gdansk, 2011-05-25 In response to your call for unrealized projects I would like to submit the two from my archives: PROJECT no.1: The submission being as a response to the call for exhibition projects organized on the occasion of the Tenth Anniversar ...
Gdansk, 2011-05-25 In response to your call for unrealized projects I would like to submit the two from my archives: PROJECT no.1: The submission being as a response to the call for exhibition projects organized on the occasion of the Tenth Anniversar ...
W3652
15.05.2011
Dederon – The Fabric of the East - Daniel Blochwitz
WWW
One of the most complex and yet unrealized projects of mine is “Dederon – The Fabric of the East” (2003-present), which literally uses the (polyester) thread named after the DDR (engl.: G.D.R.) to trace the initially noble and ambitious project of e ...
One of the most complex and yet unrealized projects of mine is “Dederon – The Fabric of the East” (2003-present), which literally uses the (polyester) thread named after the DDR (engl.: G.D.R.) to trace the initially noble and ambitious project of e ...
W4166
24.05.2011
heaven and hell box - jonathan paul gillette
WWW
heaven and hell box the heaven and hell box is a three chamber room. the viewer enters the front space through a centered pvc curtain and then chooses to enter the right or left space via two side orientated pvc curtains. the left space is climate cont ...
heaven and hell box the heaven and hell box is a three chamber room. the viewer enters the front space through a centered pvc curtain and then chooses to enter the right or left space via two side orientated pvc curtains. the left space is climate cont ...