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.

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

NON REALIZED PROJECTS - Christo and Jeanne-Claude

Project tor the Veterans Administration Hospital--Bay Pines, Florida. - Robert Morris

Douglas Gordon - 5 year drive-by; proposal for a public artwork.

2 Architecture Towers - Robert Irwin

d'un projet dédié aux victimes de la Shoah. - Christian Boltanski

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

CIVITAS Stadtpostkarten - Lothar Baumgarten

PROJEKT - Ulrich Rückreim

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

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W4606
25.05.2011
“LA MEMOIRE DU GESTE” - Maria Dundakova
WWW
MARIA DUNDAKOVA © PROJECT “LA MEMOIRE DU GESTE”- SOLSTICE Theme: Art and Environment. Landscape interacting between natural event and social event 1995 Luxembourg, European Capital of Culture, Valley of the Corn ...
MARIA DUNDAKOVA © PROJECT “LA MEMOIRE DU GESTE”- SOLSTICE Theme: Art and Environment. Landscape interacting between natural event and social event 1995 Luxembourg, European Capital of Culture, Valley of the Corn ...
W4736
26.05.2011
WHITE FLAG PROJECT - WHITE FLAG PROJECT
WWW
The Project is to display a white flag on the top on contemporary artistic institutions in as many country as possible for a determined length of time. After a year of exposure to the elements, all the flags will be collected and brought back to France... ...
The Project is to display a white flag on the top on contemporary artistic institutions in as many country as possible for a determined length of time. After a year of exposure to the elements, all the flags will be collected and brought back to France... ...
W4133
23.05.2011
Accumulation of space - Jerzy Olek
WWW
Jerzy Olek Accumulation of space – idea for an exhibition For me, space is a form of sculpture. It is generally formless, but its manifestations assume definite formal shapes. These forms—imagined, found, constructed—appear in my works as proj ...
Jerzy Olek Accumulation of space – idea for an exhibition For me, space is a form of sculpture. It is generally formless, but its manifestations assume definite formal shapes. These forms—imagined, found, constructed—appear in my works as proj ...
W4028
22.05.2011
The width of a grin - Matthew Geller
WWW
Proposal for a temporary public artwork on West San Fernando Street under the Highway 87 overpass and over the Guadalupe River, San Jose, CA It takes about 68 seconds to cross under Highway 87 and over the Guadalupe River while walking on West San Fern ...
Proposal for a temporary public artwork on West San Fernando Street under the Highway 87 overpass and over the Guadalupe River, San Jose, CA It takes about 68 seconds to cross under Highway 87 and over the Guadalupe River while walking on West San Fern ...
W10322
01.01.2009
The Untouchable  - John Xaviers
WWW
Proposal submitted by John Xaviers for City as Studio to SARAI, CSDS In the form of a graphic novel/essay, I would like to explore Delhi-Gurgaon bus journey. These buses which are always crowded become the space and occasion where physical touch is per ...
Proposal submitted by John Xaviers for City as Studio to SARAI, CSDS In the form of a graphic novel/essay, I would like to explore Delhi-Gurgaon bus journey. These buses which are always crowded become the space and occasion where physical touch is per ...
U9796
28.02.1995
Broadway Musicals - Christian Marclay
Unbuilt Roads
Proposal for a Times Square Business Improvement District Traffic Median Public Art Project Febuary 28th, 1995 Artist: Christian Marclay Title: Broadway Musicals Site: Traffic median between Broadway and Seventh Avenue, from 4 ...
Proposal for a Times Square Business Improvement District Traffic Median Public Art Project Febuary 28th, 1995 Artist: Christian Marclay Title: Broadway Musicals Site: Traffic median between Broadway and Seventh Avenue, from 4 ...
W4996
30.08.2012
Chinese American Flag - Maarten Daudeij
WWW
(Working) Title: Chinese American Flag Artist: Maarten Daudeij (The Netherlands, Australia) Year of origination of idea: 2011 Concept: To wave a large size flag of which the design is a collage of the Chinese and the American Flag on top of the Museum ...
(Working) Title: Chinese American Flag Artist: Maarten Daudeij (The Netherlands, Australia) Year of origination of idea: 2011 Concept: To wave a large size flag of which the design is a collage of the Chinese and the American Flag on top of the Museum ...
W4179
24.05.2011
Queen Anne Island  - Kurt Kiefer
WWW
Queen Anne Island As the earth warms, the waters rise and our world becomes a very different place, we need to start making the changes to our cities, towns and neighborhoods that will allow us to move seamlessly into new realities. Locavorism will be ...
Queen Anne Island As the earth warms, the waters rise and our world becomes a very different place, we need to start making the changes to our cities, towns and neighborhoods that will allow us to move seamlessly into new realities. Locavorism will be ...
W3858
19.05.2011
Cheryl K. Shurtleff
WWW
I propose to construct cat hair figures from fur collected from the cats housed at the Idaho Humane Shelter over a period of time. In order to realize this project I propose to visit the Humane Shelter twice per week over a period of one month. I will pet ...
I propose to construct cat hair figures from fur collected from the cats housed at the Idaho Humane Shelter over a period of time. In order to realize this project I propose to visit the Humane Shelter twice per week over a period of one month. I will pet ...
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 ...
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 ...
W5417
20.10.2012
Untitled - Rachel Alliston
WWW
This untitled project was for a temporary installation in London’s Gordon Square. It was planned over the course of ten months by Rachel Alliston and Laura Weatherly. Before starting work on building the piece, Alliston and Weatherly made an exhibition ...
This untitled project was for a temporary installation in London’s Gordon Square. It was planned over the course of ten months by Rachel Alliston and Laura Weatherly. Before starting work on building the piece, Alliston and Weatherly made an exhibition ...
W5131
19.09.2012
Gods Acre - Leo Morrissey
WWW
Project: gods acre Each day I walk to work I walk through God’s Acre, a Moravian cemetery. The section of the cemetery I walk through is where the women and men are buried. An important part of the Moravian burial practice is that individuals ar ...
Project: gods acre Each day I walk to work I walk through God’s Acre, a Moravian cemetery. The section of the cemetery I walk through is where the women and men are buried. An important part of the Moravian burial practice is that individuals ar ...
W5369
19.10.2012
University of Toledo
Centennial Mall Legacy - Stephen Canneto
WWW
Progney, Competition winning proposal the the University of Toledo, Ohio's public art program. Progeny is inspired by the University of Toledo’s Legacy program. The sculpture’s site engendered forms, materials, location and functions reflect the U ...
Progney, Competition winning proposal the the University of Toledo, Ohio's public art program. Progeny is inspired by the University of Toledo’s Legacy program. The sculpture’s site engendered forms, materials, location and functions reflect the U ...
W5481
21.10.2012
Jae Yeon Chung
WWW
This work is about an imaginary private emergency shelter underneath church crypt. The work consists of a short video and two installed pieces, one inside and one outside the church, which demarcate the entrance and the exit to the emergency shelter.... ...
This work is about an imaginary private emergency shelter underneath church crypt. The work consists of a short video and two installed pieces, one inside and one outside the church, which demarcate the entrance and the exit to the emergency shelter.... ...
W5099
13.09.2012
Seal of Salomon - Copa & Sordes
WWW
another idea for an ornament in public space See PDF ...
another idea for an ornament in public space See PDF ...
W5121
18.09.2012
Mo White
WWW
In 2009 I made a film whose completion has been continually postponed. I made the film quickly with materials to hand, in Super 8 format. The making of the work was an immediate reaction and response to a small event. ‘In March 2009 I bought a lime ...
In 2009 I made a film whose completion has been continually postponed. I made the film quickly with materials to hand, in Super 8 format. The making of the work was an immediate reaction and response to a small event. ‘In March 2009 I bought a lime ...
U9958
01.01.1993
Project for the Initiative Mahnmal Homosexuellenverfolgung, Frankfurt  - Jeff Wall
Unbuilt Roads
My monument would be a free-standing structure, a life-size open air cafe-terrace that the public could enter. It is a 12-sided ellipse with two entrances, and would be a careful recreation of such a place in a style typical of the 1920s. It would be made ...
My monument would be a free-standing structure, a life-size open air cafe-terrace that the public could enter. It is a 12-sided ellipse with two entrances, and would be a careful recreation of such a place in a style typical of the 1920s. It would be made ...
W4544
25.05.2011
BOOTSCHAFT - Sabine Kacunko
WWW
BOOTSCHAFT germ-(cell) F2 Medieninstallation National Center for Performing Arts (NCPA) BOOTSCHAFT germ-(cell) F2 Konzept BOOTSCHAFT ist ein multimedial und global angelegtes Projekt, das Objekte im öffent- lichen Raum mit einem besonderen kulturellen od ...
BOOTSCHAFT germ-(cell) F2 Medieninstallation National Center for Performing Arts (NCPA) BOOTSCHAFT germ-(cell) F2 Konzept BOOTSCHAFT ist ein multimedial und global angelegtes Projekt, das Objekte im öffent- lichen Raum mit einem besonderen kulturellen od ...
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° ...
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 ...
W4553
25.05.2011
Roc Parés
WWW
Self-disassembling Robot: Designing and building a robot which consists of the parts, functions and behaviors strictly necessary to develop its only task: self-disassembly. After its one-and-only performance, this robot will stop working (being) as a cons ...
Self-disassembling Robot: Designing and building a robot which consists of the parts, functions and behaviors strictly necessary to develop its only task: self-disassembly. After its one-and-only performance, this robot will stop working (being) as a cons ...
W5062
04.09.2012
(CAPTURING) FOG IN A BOX (2012) - Caroline Parks
WWW
(CAPTURING) FOG IN A BOX (2012) This unrealized project is to capture fog in a box (a clear Lucite type of box) so that the fog can be seen inside the box. The box can then be carried around (further into the fog) on a walk down the beach shoreline. T ...
(CAPTURING) FOG IN A BOX (2012) This unrealized project is to capture fog in a box (a clear Lucite type of box) so that the fog can be seen inside the box. The box can then be carried around (further into the fog) on a walk down the beach shoreline. T ...
W4649
25.05.2011
Treska - Utopian Recreation  - Lundebye & Tham
WWW
Treska - Utopian Recreation | Recreating Utopia is a collaboration between Anette Lundebye and Mathilda Tham in partnership with Press to Exit Project Space, Macedonia. This project was invited as part of Press to Exit’s programme: Lectures, Presentati ...
Treska - Utopian Recreation | Recreating Utopia is a collaboration between Anette Lundebye and Mathilda Tham in partnership with Press to Exit Project Space, Macedonia. This project was invited as part of Press to Exit’s programme: Lectures, Presentati ...
U9711
01.01.1989
2 Architecture Towers - Robert Irwin
Unbuilt Roads
A competition won in 1989 Tower One: was proposed to sit in a roundabout next to the Chicago river .. 65' (feet) in height, the base an octagonal cast iron construction stands on a slightly mounded cast rubber base ... eight triangular beams thrust upw ...
A competition won in 1989 Tower One: was proposed to sit in a roundabout next to the Chicago river .. 65' (feet) in height, the base an octagonal cast iron construction stands on a slightly mounded cast rubber base ... eight triangular beams thrust upw ...
W4280
24.05.2011
Vision and Vernacular: Eight African American Artists in Venice - Martha Henry
WWW
American Folk Art Museum Presents Vision and Vernacular: Eight African American Artists in Venice Four Self-Taught Visionaries: Lonnie Holley, Mr. Imagination, Charlie Lucas, Kevin Sampson American culture, values and spirituality c ...
American Folk Art Museum Presents Vision and Vernacular: Eight African American Artists in Venice Four Self-Taught Visionaries: Lonnie Holley, Mr. Imagination, Charlie Lucas, Kevin Sampson American culture, values and spirituality c ...