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.

A House of Dust - Alison Knowles

Attitudine Diplomatica - Hermann Pitz

The lmprobable Flow - Larry Bell

Making for Art - 100 Unsucceeded Presentation - 1995, 1996,  - Yutaka Sone

The pyramids...to be seen to be believed - Jonathan Monk

CIVITAS Stadtpostkarten - Lothar Baumgarten

Tower Cranes, Paris  - Tadashi Kawamata

Arrangement Stroom HCBK Den Haag - Ange Leccia

Jake and Dinos Chapman's five proposals for an empty plinth situated on central londons trafalgar square - Jake and Dinos Chapman

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

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W4376
25.05.2011
Dreams of Little Nemo  - MICHEL GERARD
WWW
Dreams of Little Nemo is a public sculpture about a personage in a comic book that I read as a child during the Second World War in occupied Paris. Little Nemo in Slumberland is a book about a scared small boy with whom I identified completely. He was ...
Dreams of Little Nemo is a public sculpture about a personage in a comic book that I read as a child during the Second World War in occupied Paris. Little Nemo in Slumberland is a book about a scared small boy with whom I identified completely. He was ...
W4395
25.05.2011
63 Minutes  - Lawrence Daley
WWW
63 Minutes At precisely 01:00 on 31 October British Summer Time will, for 2010 at least, come to an end. As a result the sun will set at 16:37 and a full 63 minutes of daylight will have been lost. I want to remind the people of Brighton that come late ...
63 Minutes At precisely 01:00 on 31 October British Summer Time will, for 2010 at least, come to an end. As a result the sun will set at 16:37 and a full 63 minutes of daylight will have been lost. I want to remind the people of Brighton that come late ...
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 ...
W3501
11.05.2011
The Replacement Weather - Rebecca Hackemann
WWW
The Replacement Weather consists of replacement clouds for replacement weather, consisting of sculptural light installation. In case the real clouds become defunct, obsolete or unusable, I am proposing a quasi spoof proposal format of a light and sculptur ...
The Replacement Weather consists of replacement clouds for replacement weather, consisting of sculptural light installation. In case the real clouds become defunct, obsolete or unusable, I am proposing a quasi spoof proposal format of a light and sculptur ...
W4680
26.05.2011
Heads in Starlight - Kathryn Macdonald
WWW
Heads in Starlight, a closing event, for Feel Felt (see background on page 2) night performance for up to 100. We bring pre-cut unassembled tall paper-cone hats and on site we thread tall grass stalks and fine light-optic cables through the tips of the h ...
Heads in Starlight, a closing event, for Feel Felt (see background on page 2) night performance for up to 100. We bring pre-cut unassembled tall paper-cone hats and on site we thread tall grass stalks and fine light-optic cables through the tips of the h ...
W4269
24.05.2011
Untitled,  - Ye Qin Zhu
WWW
Untitled, In my wallet, main flap front pocket and in the back of my NYS Driver's license, there is a card with a note on it: (Front side) In my time of death, give this card to an English speaking close relative or friend. (Back side) To the receiv ...
Untitled, In my wallet, main flap front pocket and in the back of my NYS Driver's license, there is a card with a note on it: (Front side) In my time of death, give this card to an English speaking close relative or friend. (Back side) To the receiv ...
W10569
12.06.2014
Roof Garden Proposal, Queen Street Station, Glasgow - Logan Sisley
WWW
This was a proposal in 2005 to plant a roof garden on a canopy connecting Queen Street Rail Station to Buchanan Street Subway Station. The idea was sent to various representatives in Scottish Rail and Strathclyde Passenger Transport. While it was deemed u ...
This was a proposal in 2005 to plant a roof garden on a canopy connecting Queen Street Rail Station to Buchanan Street Subway Station. The idea was sent to various representatives in Scottish Rail and Strathclyde Passenger Transport. While it was deemed u ...
W5245
10.10.2012
No.2 - Jim Bay
WWW
No.2 Come on Jim, make it happen. Do it. Focus. You can do it. I know that what you do isn't easy, but you chose this path Jim and have been treading it a good many years now. This fear, is amateurish. Come on Jim, you have lived, loved and lost. You h ...
No.2 Come on Jim, make it happen. Do it. Focus. You can do it. I know that what you do isn't easy, but you chose this path Jim and have been treading it a good many years now. This fear, is amateurish. Come on Jim, you have lived, loved and lost. You h ...
W4813
07.08.2012
Guerrilla Moustaches - Carolyn McKay
WWW
Unrealized Project- Guerrilla Moustaches Earlier this year I travelled from Sydney to Berlin and started a guerrilla moustache campaign on areas of graffiti and street posters. Unfortunately, many of the moustaches I had brought from Australia had lost ...
Unrealized Project- Guerrilla Moustaches Earlier this year I travelled from Sydney to Berlin and started a guerrilla moustache campaign on areas of graffiti and street posters. Unfortunately, many of the moustaches I had brought from Australia had lost ...
W4618
25.05.2011
L’Auditorium A,  - DEHOVE Claire
WWW
L’Auditorium A, Dans sa proximité se construit aujourd’hui l’un des derniers tronçons autorou- tiers. Si cette construction a défiguré le paysage naturel en laissant des cicatrices indélébiles dans la terre et la végétation, si elle a occa ...
L’Auditorium A, Dans sa proximité se construit aujourd’hui l’un des derniers tronçons autorou- tiers. Si cette construction a défiguré le paysage naturel en laissant des cicatrices indélébiles dans la terre et la végétation, si elle a occa ...
W3965
21.05.2011
OKAMOTO Mitsuhiro
WWW
In this case, I mean unaccomplished exhibition period as 'unrealized project'. After the show started, Louis Vuitton has asked KOBE FASHION MUSEUM to stop showing my artwork 'Batta Mon', to stop selling the show catalog and also to remove the show poster ...
In this case, I mean unaccomplished exhibition period as 'unrealized project'. After the show started, Louis Vuitton has asked KOBE FASHION MUSEUM to stop showing my artwork 'Batta Mon', to stop selling the show catalog and also to remove the show poster ...
W4037
22.05.2011
Lynn Carlson
WWW
An Installation, on site, composed of baskets and crates on waist high tables offering musical instruments while supermarket music wafts through the space. An art project is full of possibilities. For the artist, it may mean expanding on a theme. F ...
An Installation, on site, composed of baskets and crates on waist high tables offering musical instruments while supermarket music wafts through the space. An art project is full of possibilities. For the artist, it may mean expanding on a theme. F ...
W5374
19.10.2012
Broken Window - Alex Villar
WWW
Between '71 and '73, during the time Gordon Matta-Clark, Caroline Goodden and others ran the restaurant Food in Soho on 127 Prince Street, artists submitted projects for an event series hosted at the restaurant and called Sunday Night Guest Chef Dinners. ...
Between '71 and '73, during the time Gordon Matta-Clark, Caroline Goodden and others ran the restaurant Food in Soho on 127 Prince Street, artists submitted projects for an event series hosted at the restaurant and called Sunday Night Guest Chef Dinners. ...
W3773
18.05.2011
MEMORY OF AN UTOPIA Graphic Novel of the Popular Government in Chile, 1970-1973 - Luis Guerra
WWW
Introduction During 2003 and 2004, I was working at the The National Commission on Political Imprisonment and Torture Report, the Valech Commission, a Governmental institution created by former President Ricardo Lagos. My work at the Commission consist ...
Introduction During 2003 and 2004, I was working at the The National Commission on Political Imprisonment and Torture Report, the Valech Commission, a Governmental institution created by former President Ricardo Lagos. My work at the Commission consist ...
W4065
23.05.2011
THE COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND RADIATION (CMB) FROM THE BIG BANG - Rick Doble
WWW
A PROPOSAL BY RICK DOBLE FOR AN UNREALIZED ART PROJECT BASED ON PROCESSING THE COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND RADIATION (CMB) FROM THE BIG BANG In 2003 I proposed an art project (see my submitted copy of my proposal to the Exploratorium in San Francisco ...
A PROPOSAL BY RICK DOBLE FOR AN UNREALIZED ART PROJECT BASED ON PROCESSING THE COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND RADIATION (CMB) FROM THE BIG BANG In 2003 I proposed an art project (see my submitted copy of my proposal to the Exploratorium in San Francisco ...
U9848
01.01.1997
Right-of-Privacy Release - Tony Oursler
Unbuilt Roads
Miscellaneous Instruments FORM 5:I-3.02 RIGHT-OF-PRIVACY RELEASE Short Form [Name of Motion Picture Company] [Address] Dear Sirs: I am one of the persons of whom [name of author] wrote in his book [name of book]. You are p ...
Miscellaneous Instruments FORM 5:I-3.02 RIGHT-OF-PRIVACY RELEASE Short Form [Name of Motion Picture Company] [Address] Dear Sirs: I am one of the persons of whom [name of author] wrote in his book [name of book]. You are p ...
W4274
24.05.2011
Proposal for The Embarcadero - Kristin Jones / Andrew Ginzel
WWW
Proposal for The Embarcadero San Francisco, California 1991 ...
Proposal for The Embarcadero San Francisco, California 1991 ...
W4142
23.05.2011
Get Carter - Cornford & Cross
WWW
Get Carter 1997 We proposed to install a fully operational prison door into the entrance of the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. All other doors and windows into the gallery space were to be closed and sealed. The prison door was to ...
Get Carter 1997 We proposed to install a fully operational prison door into the entrance of the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. All other doors and windows into the gallery space were to be closed and sealed. The prison door was to ...
W5435
20.10.2012
ART FOR THE CITY - Matej Metlikovič
WWW
Unrealised projects ART FOR THE CITY, 2008 I'm sending you two photos of the unrealised projects created in 2008 on the theme »Art for the city«. The Society of Ljubljana's visual artists invited artists of Ljubljana to contribute ideas how to make ...
Unrealised projects ART FOR THE CITY, 2008 I'm sending you two photos of the unrealised projects created in 2008 on the theme »Art for the city«. The Society of Ljubljana's visual artists invited artists of Ljubljana to contribute ideas how to make ...
W4713
26.05.2011
CHROMA - spmb [Eduardo Aquino & Karen Shanski]
WWW
CHROMA [2011] was a proposal by spmb for a permanent public art project for the Mount Dennis Neighbourhood in Toronto, Canada. It is derived from the neighbourhood’s desire to signify one entrance into Mount Dennis through art, more specifically marking ...
CHROMA [2011] was a proposal by spmb for a permanent public art project for the Mount Dennis Neighbourhood in Toronto, Canada. It is derived from the neighbourhood’s desire to signify one entrance into Mount Dennis through art, more specifically marking ...
W4290
24.05.2011
Strategia Della Tensione - Faber Lorne
WWW
Strategia Della Tensione By Faber Lorne “Strategia Della Tensione” is plans to be made with plastic fence used on construction site. Once placed in a specific environment, the plastic fence of safety activates the temporary subtraction of ...
Strategia Della Tensione By Faber Lorne “Strategia Della Tensione” is plans to be made with plastic fence used on construction site. Once placed in a specific environment, the plastic fence of safety activates the temporary subtraction of ...
W3625
14.05.2011
Radical Artist Workshop (RAW) - Radical Artist Workshop
WWW
Conceived in 2007, Radical Artist Workshop (RAW) is a blog of proposed projects and fictitious/real testimonials that question notions of radicality in contemporary art. ...
Conceived in 2007, Radical Artist Workshop (RAW) is a blog of proposed projects and fictitious/real testimonials that question notions of radicality in contemporary art. ...
W4805
07.08.2012
MATTHEW ROSE
WWW
Where Does It Itch? is a project involving 100 of my framed collage works aligned in grid or horizon on a wall. Originally slated for Ogilvy Mather Direct as a proposal, it was abandoned. This PDF is that original proposal. Matthew Rose is an Americ ...
Where Does It Itch? is a project involving 100 of my framed collage works aligned in grid or horizon on a wall. Originally slated for Ogilvy Mather Direct as a proposal, it was abandoned. This PDF is that original proposal. Matthew Rose is an Americ ...
W3675
15.05.2011
OmniPhantasmic* - Neil Craver
WWW
OmniPhantasmic* *Omni-             1. A combining form denoting all, every, everywhere; as in omnipotent, all-powerful; omnipresent; omnivorous.  *Phantasmic-          1. Something apparently s ...
OmniPhantasmic* *Omni-             1. A combining form denoting all, every, everywhere; as in omnipotent, all-powerful; omnipresent; omnivorous.  *Phantasmic-          1. Something apparently s ...
W4418
25.05.2011
#GUIDE NO.1  - Oana Stoica & Vilhelem Jozsef Hunor
WWW
SUBJECT: What would have happened if, at 20 years old, you had gone to college for art instead of architecture? What would have happened if you had been a visual artist who expressed himself through two-dimensional video, objects, etc...? What if we offer ...
SUBJECT: What would have happened if, at 20 years old, you had gone to college for art instead of architecture? What would have happened if you had been a visual artist who expressed himself through two-dimensional video, objects, etc...? What if we offer ...
W4194
24.05.2011
Fleury Jean Damien
WWW
Rotation terrestre avec différentiel / projet d'harmonisation par réglage des écoulements temporels ...
Rotation terrestre avec différentiel / projet d'harmonisation par réglage des écoulements temporels ...