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.

City Hall Tower Night Ilumination - Krysztof Wodiczko

Projekt für die Landschaft des Mont-de-Sene (Burgund) im Rahmen eines öffentlichen Auftrags des französischen Kultusministeriums - Markus Raetz

Monument with Rust - Gustav Metzger

Monument to Democracy - Kounellis

Attitudine Diplomatica - Hermann Pitz

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

Battery Park City - Per Kirkeby

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

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

La Guerra De Los Simbolos - Victor Grippo

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
#
Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W4344
24.05.2011
Proposal for installation March 2010 - John Kenny
WWW
Proposal for installation March 2010 ...
Proposal for installation March 2010 ...
W4310
24.05.2011
The “Mariah Carey Perpetual God Machine" - Reynard Loki
WWW
The Mariah Carey Perpetual God Machine Based on Fractal Technology An unrealized project by Reynard Loki http://reynardloki.blogspot.com/ The “Mariah Carey Perpetual God Machine Based on Fractal Technology” is an unrealized project consisti ...
The Mariah Carey Perpetual God Machine Based on Fractal Technology An unrealized project by Reynard Loki http://reynardloki.blogspot.com/ The “Mariah Carey Perpetual God Machine Based on Fractal Technology” is an unrealized project consisti ...
W5030
31.08.2012
Spectral Horse - Mags Harries & Lajos Heder
WWW
Mags Harries & Lajos Héder Spectral Horse Location: Spectacle Island, Boston Harbor, MA (Proposal 2006) Size: 400’ x 250’ Materials: Lighting and light reflective materials Description: Spectacle Island lies in a very prominent position in Bost ...
Mags Harries & Lajos Héder Spectral Horse Location: Spectacle Island, Boston Harbor, MA (Proposal 2006) Size: 400’ x 250’ Materials: Lighting and light reflective materials Description: Spectacle Island lies in a very prominent position in Bost ...
W4762
28.05.2011
M. Fielder
WWW
I had planned on submitting an unrealizable idea for the AUP archives project but I had failed to submit my online proposal by its deadline of May 15th. This non-action and my inability to meet that deadline has transformed into a new unrealized project,. ...
I had planned on submitting an unrealizable idea for the AUP archives project but I had failed to submit my online proposal by its deadline of May 15th. This non-action and my inability to meet that deadline has transformed into a new unrealized project,. ...
W4161
23.05.2011
Failure - Pauline Hanson
WWW
http://www.severalpursuits.org/?pageid=72 http://www.severalpursuits.org/?pageid=78 ...
http://www.severalpursuits.org/?pageid=72 http://www.severalpursuits.org/?pageid=78 ...
W4824
07.08.2012
1nflow - hamilton monteiro
WWW
improvisations on an idea... it is called 1nflow... ...
improvisations on an idea... it is called 1nflow... ...
W3680
16.05.2011
THE STREAM - robert sherwood duffield
WWW
The Stream was a research project I had proposed at The University of Newcastle to be set and running by the year 2000 in Sydney. The Stream was to a 100-year continuous movie that would be available via a web page http://www.The-Stream.cc. There was to ...
The Stream was a research project I had proposed at The University of Newcastle to be set and running by the year 2000 in Sydney. The Stream was to a 100-year continuous movie that would be available via a web page http://www.The-Stream.cc. There was to ...
W4120
23.05.2011
Virginia Mastrogiannaki
WWW
The principal idea of the project has its roots on the "cosmogonist" myth of the Cosmic Egg, references of which we find in the history of almost all primitive cultures. We have been asked to research a "cosmogonist" myth and then to carry out a project ...
The principal idea of the project has its roots on the "cosmogonist" myth of the Cosmic Egg, references of which we find in the history of almost all primitive cultures. We have been asked to research a "cosmogonist" myth and then to carry out a project ...
W3711
17.05.2011
Place Jacques-Cartier, Montréal 1990 (with Tony Fretton) - Mark Pimlott
WWW
This project proposed a monumental surface for Place Jacques-Cartier that resembled the streets an unconscious places that were typical of Montréal’s topography. The ground was conceived of as a portion of the granite shield that the city is built on, ...
This project proposed a monumental surface for Place Jacques-Cartier that resembled the streets an unconscious places that were typical of Montréal’s topography. The ground was conceived of as a portion of the granite shield that the city is built on, ...
W3511
11.05.2011
Brand New Door - Brian Hubble
WWW
In exchange for a discount on my bill, I built a door for the makeshift storage unit adjacent to my mechanic’s garage. I wanted the door to be functional but look as if it had been there for years, fitting in the weathered environment. I collected mater ...
In exchange for a discount on my bill, I built a door for the makeshift storage unit adjacent to my mechanic’s garage. I wanted the door to be functional but look as if it had been there for years, fitting in the weathered environment. I collected mater ...
W3683
16.05.2011
Mumfordshire - A Megalopolis - Bruce Asbestos
WWW
Mumfordshire is unrealised plan for a megalopolis (a series of interconnected urban areas), which seeks to re-imagine a complex but positive future of mega-cities and society. Mumfordshire is partly based on revising Lewis Mumford’s idea that the Roman ...
Mumfordshire is unrealised plan for a megalopolis (a series of interconnected urban areas), which seeks to re-imagine a complex but positive future of mega-cities and society. Mumfordshire is partly based on revising Lewis Mumford’s idea that the Roman ...
W4225
24.05.2011
Climbing the Devil's table / the Daredevil - Romain Sein
WWW
Climbing the Devil's table / the Daredevil (approximatively traduced from french) Climbing the Devil's table is an unrealized project but it's not unrealizable. «The Teufelstisch», the devil table, is a spectacular sandstone from the region of ...
Climbing the Devil's table / the Daredevil (approximatively traduced from french) Climbing the Devil's table is an unrealized project but it's not unrealizable. «The Teufelstisch», the devil table, is a spectacular sandstone from the region of ...
W3670
15.05.2011
Kay Swiss
WWW
This work was proposed for a group show I was slated to be in at a university art gallery which will remain unnamed. Ultimately this work was not allowed to be installed in this form because the gallery directors were concerned the work might offend guest ...
This work was proposed for a group show I was slated to be in at a university art gallery which will remain unnamed. Ultimately this work was not allowed to be installed in this form because the gallery directors were concerned the work might offend guest ...
W4603
25.05.2011
FOOD | CITIES | EATS - allan siegel
WWW
• The Unrealised Project FOOD | CITIES | EATS was to be created from themes relating to food production, shopping routines and the public and private spaces shaped by the needs of human survival, economic competition and social interaction. It was to d ...
• The Unrealised Project FOOD | CITIES | EATS was to be created from themes relating to food production, shopping routines and the public and private spaces shaped by the needs of human survival, economic competition and social interaction. It was to d ...
W4329
24.05.2011
Nicolau Tudela
WWW
This unfinished work was an installation based on the deficiency of the author. The base of the conception was in fact his right arm and it would reflect the, some what, painful and discomfort feelings that the author felt and feels about and with it. The ...
This unfinished work was an installation based on the deficiency of the author. The base of the conception was in fact his right arm and it would reflect the, some what, painful and discomfort feelings that the author felt and feels about and with it. The ...
W4439
25.05.2011
Maria Over Mount Athos - Maria Papadimitriou
WWW
By Jennifer Allen Maria Over Mount Athos A hot air balloon floats silently over Mount Athos... Not just any balloon but one carrying an image of Maria's face. Much to the surprise of the monks living on the peninsula, the face does not belong to th ...
By Jennifer Allen Maria Over Mount Athos A hot air balloon floats silently over Mount Athos... Not just any balloon but one carrying an image of Maria's face. Much to the surprise of the monks living on the peninsula, the face does not belong to th ...
W3540
11.05.2011
New Bridge for Dilligence  - Tomas Pecha
WWW
new bridge for dilligence beer bridge for oversitting. sitting on more chairs, oversitting from place to placeinstead of direct movement and compulsory czech beer.some ideas are thirsty.some need to be oversitted. tommorrow reality. intention of new bri ...
new bridge for dilligence beer bridge for oversitting. sitting on more chairs, oversitting from place to placeinstead of direct movement and compulsory czech beer.some ideas are thirsty.some need to be oversitted. tommorrow reality. intention of new bri ...
W4254
24.05.2011
Jim Foster
WWW
JIM FOSTER 10315 N. County Rd. 15 • Fort Collins CO 80524 • USA 970.568.7768 fostart.jimart@gmail.com Museum Exhibitions/Selected 2010 - Fukuoka Asian Art Museum: Fukuoka, Japan. World Peace Through Art: Matsuda Bokuden & H ...
JIM FOSTER 10315 N. County Rd. 15 • Fort Collins CO 80524 • USA 970.568.7768 fostart.jimart@gmail.com Museum Exhibitions/Selected 2010 - Fukuoka Asian Art Museum: Fukuoka, Japan. World Peace Through Art: Matsuda Bokuden & H ...
W4195
24.05.2011
PURGATORIUM - Zoran Velimanovic
WWW
PURGATORIUM Purgatorium is a total art project with site-specific concept, which combines a contemporary visual art work with classical cultural values. The project focuses on the great and challenging theme of the Purgatory and tries to discover its mea ...
PURGATORIUM Purgatorium is a total art project with site-specific concept, which combines a contemporary visual art work with classical cultural values. The project focuses on the great and challenging theme of the Purgatory and tries to discover its mea ...
W4093
23.05.2011
UNREALIZEABLE PROJECT A000005 - Stefano W. Pasquini
WWW
UNREALIZEABLE PROJECT A000005: dealing with the memory of the Desaparecidos of Argentina. ...
UNREALIZEABLE PROJECT A000005: dealing with the memory of the Desaparecidos of Argentina. ...
W4764
28.05.2011
Juliana BIttencourt
WWW
I would like to ask if I still can submit my project. It was part of an exhibition en Brazil of unrealized projects. http://projetosnatemporada.org/en/ The curators told me about this site but I´m afraid is to late. Thanks a lot, Juliana Bittencourt ...
I would like to ask if I still can submit my project. It was part of an exhibition en Brazil of unrealized projects. http://projetosnatemporada.org/en/ The curators told me about this site but I´m afraid is to late. Thanks a lot, Juliana Bittencourt ...
W4750
27.05.2011
l’Arc d’University Street - Jack Mackie
WWW
For the better part of the last 75 years, Seattle’s Alaska Way Viaduct has dominated Seattle’s Central Waterfront. Now scheduled for demolition, Seattle will, as apparently planned, simply clearcut the viaduct form the waterfront in as attempted exor ...
For the better part of the last 75 years, Seattle’s Alaska Way Viaduct has dominated Seattle’s Central Waterfront. Now scheduled for demolition, Seattle will, as apparently planned, simply clearcut the viaduct form the waterfront in as attempted exor ...
W5057
03.09.2012
Sheltered Apartments in Buztintxuri  - Taller Basico de Arquitectura [TBA]
WWW
Sheltered Apartments in Buztintxuri (2009) We understand the site as an opportunity to inhabit a space that ends in a dividing wall, and so, an uncompleted space. From this wall, we build a bone that links the existing buildings with the new project an ...
Sheltered Apartments in Buztintxuri (2009) We understand the site as an opportunity to inhabit a space that ends in a dividing wall, and so, an uncompleted space. From this wall, we build a bone that links the existing buildings with the new project an ...
W3749
18.05.2011
THE FRIEZE ART FAIR! - Matthew Shannon
WWW
This project, a comic book, was one of the 5 finalists for the 2011 Frieze Art Fair EMDASH award. Written Treatment. The proposed work is an amplification of the fair and its potential meanings across different levels of reality. The epileptic segue o ...
This project, a comic book, was one of the 5 finalists for the 2011 Frieze Art Fair EMDASH award. Written Treatment. The proposed work is an amplification of the fair and its potential meanings across different levels of reality. The epileptic segue o ...
U9282
22.11.1992
Proposal for a permanent video installation for the NYC headquarters of Sony Corporation - Dara Birnbaum
Unbuilt Roads
INSTALLATION DESCRIPTION: At one end of the proposed installation space (main dining area designated for Sony employees), a wall is used to support a video wall or projection screen, which displays a seam-less flow of large-scale images. These large-s ...
INSTALLATION DESCRIPTION: At one end of the proposed installation space (main dining area designated for Sony employees), a wall is used to support a video wall or projection screen, which displays a seam-less flow of large-scale images. These large-s ...
W4319
24.05.2011
(Twitter Carrier Pigeon) - seth marshall weiner
WWW
(Social Networking Utilities and the Argument for Physical Space (Twitter Carrier Pigeon) As social networking utilities continue to provide open forums for users to communicate, protest and organize, they lack the necessity for a physical space. T ...
(Social Networking Utilities and the Argument for Physical Space (Twitter Carrier Pigeon) As social networking utilities continue to provide open forums for users to communicate, protest and organize, they lack the necessity for a physical space. T ...