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.

Engel-Detektor - Jakob Gautel & Jason Karaïndros

Monumento all'agricoltura 1969-70 - Alighiero Boetti

Time Magazine Cover - Robert Rauschenberg

den anonymen Tod ausstellen - Gregor Schneider

Invitation Space No.1 - Tania Mouraud

Passage - Richard Wentworth

Projets non réalisés: - Daniel Buren

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

Attitudine Diplomatica - Hermann Pitz

<A Public Misery Message> - Critical Art Ensemble

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W3571
12.05.2011
Guardian Givers - Urban Belina
WWW
The invisible has the same importance as the visible, because the meaning is not in the material, it is in the change. The artwork dissolves its matter and its concept; when revealed it gradually diminishes over a limited time period; leaving behind only ...
The invisible has the same importance as the visible, because the meaning is not in the material, it is in the change. The artwork dissolves its matter and its concept; when revealed it gradually diminishes over a limited time period; leaving behind only ...
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 ...
W4847
08.08.2012
In Theater - James Brendan Williams
WWW
In Theater I’d like to propose a sculptural installation of silent television monitors each displaying a fixed view of a performance stage from around the world. Forty Sony Cubes or Hantarex EQs are to be stacked in the form of a four-sided pyrami ...
In Theater I’d like to propose a sculptural installation of silent television monitors each displaying a fixed view of a performance stage from around the world. Forty Sony Cubes or Hantarex EQs are to be stacked in the form of a four-sided pyrami ...
W3629
14.05.2011
Central Park Monument to the Nimbus of Victory, 2009 - Peter Joslyn
WWW
The monument is one of a series of proposals for large scale public sculptures to celebrate the visionary nature of the artist. The aim is to bring to the world an understanding of the artists point of view by providing the spectacular, and by sharing the ...
The monument is one of a series of proposals for large scale public sculptures to celebrate the visionary nature of the artist. The aim is to bring to the world an understanding of the artists point of view by providing the spectacular, and by sharing the ...
W5085
09.09.2012
The Great Public Sale of unrealized but brilliant Ideas - Prinz Gholam
WWW
In 2008 we made a collage which was a sketch to a deeper longing to create a performance in and for the Kamihohikawa studio of Kazuo Ohno. It was built by Ohno to create and practice his work. In 2010 Sarah Vanhee approached us to take part in her project ...
In 2008 we made a collage which was a sketch to a deeper longing to create a performance in and for the Kamihohikawa studio of Kazuo Ohno. It was built by Ohno to create and practice his work. In 2010 Sarah Vanhee approached us to take part in her project ...
W3590
13.05.2011
IN-OUTDOOR PROJECT - Helena Trindade
WWW
Unrealized Public Art Project For images and text please refer to the PDF ...
Unrealized Public Art Project For images and text please refer to the PDF ...
W4939
19.08.2012
Horizontal Fall - Julia Davis
WWW
JULIA DAVIS 2012 Unrealized Project: HORIZONTAL FALL 13 minute HD Video, Four channel surround sound A ten-minute video shot in the restricted access area of the Wieliczka Salt mine in Poland 2009 is projected in a 3.5m diameter area on the floor o ...
JULIA DAVIS 2012 Unrealized Project: HORIZONTAL FALL 13 minute HD Video, Four channel surround sound A ten-minute video shot in the restricted access area of the Wieliczka Salt mine in Poland 2009 is projected in a 3.5m diameter area on the floor o ...
W3764
18.05.2011
The Children of the Divine Understanding of All (1914-?): Documentation of a Forgotten Religion - Kevin Swenson
WWW
NEW COMERS Welcome, and do not be nervous, for you will soon broaden your understandings on every aspect of this life you have been given. Children of All do things very differently. We do not focus or dwell upon the wrong things we have done; instead, w ...
NEW COMERS Welcome, and do not be nervous, for you will soon broaden your understandings on every aspect of this life you have been given. Children of All do things very differently. We do not focus or dwell upon the wrong things we have done; instead, w ...
W11050
01.06.2016
B R E A T H E - Acrylicize
WWW
‘Breathe’ intrinsically tells the unique story about the new St Mary’s Square Development, reflecting its past and celebrating the character of the area. This forward thinking modern artistic sculpture is artistically progressive in nature. It creat ...
‘Breathe’ intrinsically tells the unique story about the new St Mary’s Square Development, reflecting its past and celebrating the character of the area. This forward thinking modern artistic sculpture is artistically progressive in nature. It creat ...
U9978
01.01.1972
Social Resource Project For the Munich Olympics - Stephen Willats
Unbuilt Roads
The social resource project for the Munich Olympics is specifically directed at members of athletic clubs and the audience of athletic fixtures. The project aims to get participants to articulate the rules and perceptual structure of the athletic social e ...
The social resource project for the Munich Olympics is specifically directed at members of athletic clubs and the audience of athletic fixtures. The project aims to get participants to articulate the rules and perceptual structure of the athletic social e ...
W4426
25.05.2011
The Unicorn Lake - Yona Friedman
WWW
The Unicorn Lake Project for the lake of sculptures of Vassivière island, France July 2009 On the lake of Vassivière After creating in 2009, in the framework of the exhibition Etc. Balkis Island, The Vassivière Unicorn ("Unicorn Eiffel"), a sculp ...
The Unicorn Lake Project for the lake of sculptures of Vassivière island, France July 2009 On the lake of Vassivière After creating in 2009, in the framework of the exhibition Etc. Balkis Island, The Vassivière Unicorn ("Unicorn Eiffel"), a sculp ...
W5473
21.10.2012
On Recalling - Rodrigo Hgz
WWW
In this initiative, I sought companies (corporations) and organizations that held in their name a twisted pride on our colonial past in Canada. The companies closed down long ago, but the pride in their names expressed a perspective that has been collecti ...
In this initiative, I sought companies (corporations) and organizations that held in their name a twisted pride on our colonial past in Canada. The companies closed down long ago, but the pride in their names expressed a perspective that has been collecti ...
W4833
07.08.2012
A Room for Persephone - Noa P. Kaplan
WWW
A Room for Persephone Complex beauty can be located even in spaces of hopelessness. In a dark room, you would encounter a hollow sphere with a round opening large enough to fit through. Inside, you would find soft white walls and four seed-like ...
A Room for Persephone Complex beauty can be located even in spaces of hopelessness. In a dark room, you would encounter a hollow sphere with a round opening large enough to fit through. Inside, you would find soft white walls and four seed-like ...
W5234
09.10.2012
Chocolate Video - Erika Norris
WWW
PROJECT: CHOCOLATE VIDEO – September 2012 The idea is to create a video where I use the images of someone (myself) eating large quantities of chocolate. I then want to include images of my body interacting with chocolate. I am thinking of pouring cho ...
PROJECT: CHOCOLATE VIDEO – September 2012 The idea is to create a video where I use the images of someone (myself) eating large quantities of chocolate. I then want to include images of my body interacting with chocolate. I am thinking of pouring cho ...
W4745
26.05.2011
Solar City Tower for Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics - Rafael Schmidt, RAFAA
WWW
International Architecture Competition for the Olympic Games 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. „The project under consideration should be located in the bay of the city of Rio de Janeiro on the Cotonduba Island, which is the obligatory approach for aircraft la ...
International Architecture Competition for the Olympic Games 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. „The project under consideration should be located in the bay of the city of Rio de Janeiro on the Cotonduba Island, which is the obligatory approach for aircraft la ...
W4095
23.05.2011
UNREALIZEABLE PROJECT A000013 - Stefano W. Pasquini
WWW
UNREALIZEABLE PROJECT A000013. As the political times have changed after 911, even my Unrealizeable Projects reflected this change. This one plays with the difficulties foreigners face when trying to move to the United States nowadays. ...
UNREALIZEABLE PROJECT A000013. As the political times have changed after 911, even my Unrealizeable Projects reflected this change. This one plays with the difficulties foreigners face when trying to move to the United States nowadays. ...
W5075
05.09.2012
Nico Dockx
WWW
"Since I first met with Hans Ulrich Obrist on 15.03.2002 in his office at the Musée d'Art moderne de la ville de Paris -talking together about new kinds of slowness…- we tried for almost 10 years to go and visit the Greek filmmaker Theo Angelopoulos at ...
"Since I first met with Hans Ulrich Obrist on 15.03.2002 in his office at the Musée d'Art moderne de la ville de Paris -talking together about new kinds of slowness…- we tried for almost 10 years to go and visit the Greek filmmaker Theo Angelopoulos at ...
W5046
03.09.2012
Hegel's Lecture - Robert Linsley
WWW
Unrealized film proposal of 1997 entitled "Hegel's Lecture" OUTLINE FOR A FILM: HEGEL’S LECTURE Storyline: The door of the lecture hall opens and the camera enters over the shoulder of a student. We see the face of the doorman standing inside brief ...
Unrealized film proposal of 1997 entitled "Hegel's Lecture" OUTLINE FOR A FILM: HEGEL’S LECTURE Storyline: The door of the lecture hall opens and the camera enters over the shoulder of a student. We see the face of the doorman standing inside brief ...
W3595
13.05.2011
A Year of Tomorrows - Heman Chong
WWW
A Year of Tomorrows is a large scale public art work that will occur in New York over the time span of a year. 365 science fiction films will be selected and screened over 365 days over 365 locations in the city. In a nutshell, the project is formulated a ...
A Year of Tomorrows is a large scale public art work that will occur in New York over the time span of a year. 365 science fiction films will be selected and screened over 365 days over 365 locations in the city. In a nutshell, the project is formulated a ...
W3897
20.05.2011
Public Sculpture - Margaret Honda
WWW
"Public Sculpture" could not exist without an active public but it can exist without a strictly predetermined space and material form. Public Sculpture is a work produced by the people of Limerick and their animals. Following is text for a sign that wi ...
"Public Sculpture" could not exist without an active public but it can exist without a strictly predetermined space and material form. Public Sculpture is a work produced by the people of Limerick and their animals. Following is text for a sign that wi ...
W5472
21.10.2012
Ismael Duá
WWW
Berlin, October 7th 2012 Dear publishers, from my numerous unrealised ideas, I uphold this one as the dearest, for I feel that we need it most these days: a paradigm shift across the arts, the sciences and politics which will allow to surpass des ...
Berlin, October 7th 2012 Dear publishers, from my numerous unrealised ideas, I uphold this one as the dearest, for I feel that we need it most these days: a paradigm shift across the arts, the sciences and politics which will allow to surpass des ...
W5079
06.09.2012
Urban Void 04  - Toornend & Post
WWW
Urban Void 04 (Church), Breidscheidplatz, Berlin (D) 2006 (lambdaprint 2480×5100 pixels) Urban Voids offer spatial relief, unexpected views and twisted collective memories by the apparently simple act of removal; Urban Voids are architectures antipo ...
Urban Void 04 (Church), Breidscheidplatz, Berlin (D) 2006 (lambdaprint 2480×5100 pixels) Urban Voids offer spatial relief, unexpected views and twisted collective memories by the apparently simple act of removal; Urban Voids are architectures antipo ...
W3704
17.05.2011
Making Aliyah - Nathaniel Katz and Valentina Curandi
WWW
We are proposing to immigrate to the Jewish Autonomous Oblast in Russia. The concept of this proposal derives from the implied duty of Jews in diaspora to immigrate, make “Aliyah” to the State of Israel. (Literally “Aliyah” means ascension. To mak ...
We are proposing to immigrate to the Jewish Autonomous Oblast in Russia. The concept of this proposal derives from the implied duty of Jews in diaspora to immigrate, make “Aliyah” to the State of Israel. (Literally “Aliyah” means ascension. To mak ...
W4779
03.06.2011
Trolling - Karen Hibbard
WWW
This project is too expensive for me to make without a grant and physically too large without paying for storage. However, the theme is relevant as it addresses issues around global warming and climate change as well as our addiction to consumerism an ...
This project is too expensive for me to make without a grant and physically too large without paying for storage. However, the theme is relevant as it addresses issues around global warming and climate change as well as our addiction to consumerism an ...
U9293
01.01.1978
The World is a Theater and we each have a role - Louise Bourgeois
Unbuilt Roads
A circular construction in wood, painted sky blue and white. In 3 dimensions. An upside down dome. A small figure stands in the center. (eventually reasons why the work has not be realized) Complicated and too expensive but never discarded. ...
A circular construction in wood, painted sky blue and white. In 3 dimensions. An upside down dome. A small figure stands in the center. (eventually reasons why the work has not be realized) Complicated and too expensive but never discarded. ...
W4295
24.05.2011
Tides, Wind and Sails - Holger C. Lönze
WWW
Tides, Wind and Sails Context The island of Rathlin and its mainland port of Ballycastle on the north-eastern coast of Co. Antrim are linked by one of the most challenging tidal waters of Northern Europe: the Street of Moyle. These difficult sea con ...
Tides, Wind and Sails Context The island of Rathlin and its mainland port of Ballycastle on the north-eastern coast of Co. Antrim are linked by one of the most challenging tidal waters of Northern Europe: the Street of Moyle. These difficult sea con ...