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.

Grand Concours International D'Architecture  - Mahe Gilles

Festival du film de famille - Pierre Huyghe

Temple of the western buddha (1971 Kathmedu) - Herman de Vries

Merci, Thank you, Danke: Les 2 sujets  - Thomas Hirschorn

119. PROJET DE DESTRUCTION DU MUSEE 1970 - 1971 - Jef Geys

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

Eislandschaft - P. Fischli und D. Weiss

A FAIRLY TALL TOWER, 48,000 Miles High -  - Siah Armajani

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

Visual Poem: Cap I Cua - Joan Brossa

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W5256
12.10.2012
The vaporization of 500 liters of perfume over a landlocked city - Dane Mitchell
WWW
Unrealized Project Dane Mitchell The vaporization of 500 liters of perfume over a landlocked city. The scent would predominantly contain ambergris, a substance produced in the digestive system of and regurgitated by sperm whales. ...
Unrealized Project Dane Mitchell The vaporization of 500 liters of perfume over a landlocked city. The scent would predominantly contain ambergris, a substance produced in the digestive system of and regurgitated by sperm whales. ...
W4094
23.05.2011
UNREALIZEABLE PROJECT A000008 - Stefano W. Pasquini
WWW
UNREALIZEABLE PROJECT A000008: The gallery wall gets shot with a machine gun. The project almost got realized in 1996 in a gallery in Maastricht. Unfortunately the Dutch Police wouldn't allow the shooting to happen, even without public, and advised the us ...
UNREALIZEABLE PROJECT A000008: The gallery wall gets shot with a machine gun. The project almost got realized in 1996 in a gallery in Maastricht. Unfortunately the Dutch Police wouldn't allow the shooting to happen, even without public, and advised the us ...
W4636
25.05.2011
C.Q - Ioanna Pantazopoulou
WWW
C.Q., 2010 honey jars, cosmetic containers, lipsticks, glue, mirror C.Q. is a maquette study for a fantastical monument, a ‘Disney Palace on acid’, a tribute to Beauty. It is an arrangement of cosmetics that are used as pigments to add tones to ...
C.Q., 2010 honey jars, cosmetic containers, lipsticks, glue, mirror C.Q. is a maquette study for a fantastical monument, a ‘Disney Palace on acid’, a tribute to Beauty. It is an arrangement of cosmetics that are used as pigments to add tones to ...
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 ...
W4466
25.05.2011
LEAVE UR MYTH - Lea Petrou
WWW
LEAVE UR MYTH, 2007 For a never realized exhibition at the city of Sarajevo, I proposed a floor-based installation that consists of some hundreds of souvenir bottles of ouzo, (4.5 x 4.5 x 15 cm each). The miniature bottles have the shape of Evzonas, a ...
LEAVE UR MYTH, 2007 For a never realized exhibition at the city of Sarajevo, I proposed a floor-based installation that consists of some hundreds of souvenir bottles of ouzo, (4.5 x 4.5 x 15 cm each). The miniature bottles have the shape of Evzonas, a ...
W4758
27.05.2011
A Witch Diary - Megumi Shimizu
WWW
“A witch diary _ great grandmother _” When I was a child, I lived in the grandmother house for about 6 month. Her house is very old wooden Japanese style home. And the main gate is opened only for guests coming; usually ...
“A witch diary _ great grandmother _” When I was a child, I lived in the grandmother house for about 6 month. Her house is very old wooden Japanese style home. And the main gate is opened only for guests coming; usually ...
W3612
13.05.2011
Gonna Make you Sweat (2008) - Divya Mehra
WWW
Filmed & edited (2007-2008) during Columbia University's planned expansion in Harlem, Gonna Make you Sweat (2008) had big plans to rival Harlem's monolithic neighborhood endorsements. The work teeters within a space of uncertainty; does it function as a ...
Filmed & edited (2007-2008) during Columbia University's planned expansion in Harlem, Gonna Make you Sweat (2008) had big plans to rival Harlem's monolithic neighborhood endorsements. The work teeters within a space of uncertainty; does it function as a ...
W5200
03.10.2012
The plan of scientific work « Russian branch Mecklenburg - Strelitz family. Russia - Germany. Sight of the artist of XXI century. » - Yuri Wassiliew
WWW
Wassiliew J.A., dozent of drawing department in A.I.Gertzen Russian State Pedagogical University, Sankt Petersburg, Russia. The plan of scientific work « Russian branch Mecklenburg - Strelitz family. Russia - Germany. Sight of the art ...
Wassiliew J.A., dozent of drawing department in A.I.Gertzen Russian State Pedagogical University, Sankt Petersburg, Russia. The plan of scientific work « Russian branch Mecklenburg - Strelitz family. Russia - Germany. Sight of the art ...
W3735
18.05.2011
Revelation - Felippe Moraes
WWW
The installation “Revelation” consisits in a room where everything is White and with a White marble sand in the floor. A white peacock inhabits the room where it can freely walk over the furniture, the objects and those continuously mod ...
The installation “Revelation” consisits in a room where everything is White and with a White marble sand in the floor. A white peacock inhabits the room where it can freely walk over the furniture, the objects and those continuously mod ...
W4143
23.05.2011
Brighton Seafront Public Art Commission - Cornford & Cross
WWW
Our proposal for the ‘Brighton Seafront Public Art Commission’ took as a starting point the representation, myth and collective memory of Brighton, England, as a Bank Holiday destination for displays of public disorder by rival gangs of ‘Mods’ and ...
Our proposal for the ‘Brighton Seafront Public Art Commission’ took as a starting point the representation, myth and collective memory of Brighton, England, as a Bank Holiday destination for displays of public disorder by rival gangs of ‘Mods’ and ...
W3779
18.05.2011
Docks - Dina Weiss
WWW
By highlighting these remnants of the past, “Docks’ aims to animate history. The significance and impact of the past commerce in the water ways of the city and highlighting the beauty of the discarded and unused residues. ...
By highlighting these remnants of the past, “Docks’ aims to animate history. The significance and impact of the past commerce in the water ways of the city and highlighting the beauty of the discarded and unused residues. ...
W4228
24.05.2011
Sacred Sister - Bettina WitteVeen
WWW
Sacred Sister by Bettina WitteVeen GLOSSARY AMAZONS: Society of women warriors whose kingdom was believed to be to the north of the civilized world and who tolerated men only as servants or as father of female children. They cut off one breast i ...
Sacred Sister by Bettina WitteVeen GLOSSARY AMAZONS: Society of women warriors whose kingdom was believed to be to the north of the civilized world and who tolerated men only as servants or as father of female children. They cut off one breast i ...
W3838
19.05.2011
Nicole Mortiboys
WWW
The images submitted to AUP are pages taken from a book on how to draw cartoons. (The title of the book has been forgotten). The book was found at Central Library, whilst studying on the MA fine Art course at, Birmingham City University, Margaret S ...
The images submitted to AUP are pages taken from a book on how to draw cartoons. (The title of the book has been forgotten). The book was found at Central Library, whilst studying on the MA fine Art course at, Birmingham City University, Margaret S ...
W3938
20.05.2011
LETTER OF INTEREST for “Art Mediator” - Verina Gfader
WWW
The attached letter bears witness to a mail exchange following the Manifesta 8 (in the region of Murcia, Spain) announcement and job vacancies within education there. The proposal tries to create a space of uncertainty for the Manifesta organisers. ...
The attached letter bears witness to a mail exchange following the Manifesta 8 (in the region of Murcia, Spain) announcement and job vacancies within education there. The proposal tries to create a space of uncertainty for the Manifesta organisers. ...
W4611
25.05.2011
Prototype of an opportunistic monument or a monument on call - Sylvie Boisseau
WWW
Prototype of an opportunistic monument or a monument on call (in memory of the Stasi* victims) The monument consist of an orthogonal concrete block of 200 x 150 x 50 cm which is embedded under the ground, It should be erected at places where the orig ...
Prototype of an opportunistic monument or a monument on call (in memory of the Stasi* victims) The monument consist of an orthogonal concrete block of 200 x 150 x 50 cm which is embedded under the ground, It should be erected at places where the orig ...
W4132
23.05.2011
A Labyrinth of Illusions - Jerzy Olek
WWW
A Labyrinth of Illusions The exhibition would present my works from the series “The Dimensionslessness of Illusion”. Drawings, photographs, collages, computer graphics and stereomontages–all reflecting the variety of techniques used in the const ...
A Labyrinth of Illusions The exhibition would present my works from the series “The Dimensionslessness of Illusion”. Drawings, photographs, collages, computer graphics and stereomontages–all reflecting the variety of techniques used in the const ...
U9913
01.01.1974
654 THINGS from The United States - Edward Ruscha
Unbuilt Roads
This was a proposal for the Defense Urban Development area in the city of Paris. The work, which takes on the appearance of a monument, would consist of stone or marble plates, bolted together to create a weather proof box-shaped container, housing shelve ...
This was a proposal for the Defense Urban Development area in the city of Paris. The work, which takes on the appearance of a monument, would consist of stone or marble plates, bolted together to create a weather proof box-shaped container, housing shelve ...
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 ...
W4197
24.05.2011
HOME–WORLD - Madeleine Preston & Silvija Lomanaite
WWW
HOME–WORLD, The Sustainable Debate – Project Space proposal Silvija Lomanaite – Interior Designer and Madeleine Preston – Artist We met while working at the Whitehouse Institute of Design and found a common interest in contemporary issues in a ...
HOME–WORLD, The Sustainable Debate – Project Space proposal Silvija Lomanaite – Interior Designer and Madeleine Preston – Artist We met while working at the Whitehouse Institute of Design and found a common interest in contemporary issues in a ...
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 ...
W5240
09.10.2012
Stephanie Douet
WWW
Imagine a long, long, long rectangle, rolled up into the smallest tube. Take the end of the rectangle and begin to unfurl it. As it peels open, three small rectangles cut randomly into its surface swing open, at random angles. With no effort of arrangemen ...
Imagine a long, long, long rectangle, rolled up into the smallest tube. Take the end of the rectangle and begin to unfurl it. As it peels open, three small rectangles cut randomly into its surface swing open, at random angles. With no effort of arrangemen ...
W4392
25.05.2011
Dig a hole through the middle of the Earth.  - Gernot Wieland
WWW
Dig a hole through the middle of the Earth. When one jumps into this hole, he or she flies, for example, from Berlin to China. Naturally, with gravity, the speed of travel be- comes enormous. However, as one flies past the centre of the Earth the s ...
Dig a hole through the middle of the Earth. When one jumps into this hole, he or she flies, for example, from Berlin to China. Naturally, with gravity, the speed of travel be- comes enormous. However, as one flies past the centre of the Earth the s ...
W5207
04.10.2012
Image Intermission - Andreas M. Kaufmann
WWW
Dear all, here comes another submission for possible inclusion in AUP at the daadgalerie in Berlin: Project "Bilderpause" / "Image Intermission" 1996/2000 The Project and the photographs are attached to that form. Enjoy! Bilderpause Ein Pause ...
Dear all, here comes another submission for possible inclusion in AUP at the daadgalerie in Berlin: Project "Bilderpause" / "Image Intermission" 1996/2000 The Project and the photographs are attached to that form. Enjoy! Bilderpause Ein Pause ...
W4840
08.08.2012
Tableau Vivant and the subversive Feminine - andreas guibert
WWW
Academy of Fine Arts Vienna PhD in Practice (Doctor of Philosophy in Practice) Personal number: 0003 Andres Guibert Abstract The proposed project analyses how individual gay identities contest cultural policies in repressive regimes reformulating ...
Academy of Fine Arts Vienna PhD in Practice (Doctor of Philosophy in Practice) Personal number: 0003 Andres Guibert Abstract The proposed project analyses how individual gay identities contest cultural policies in repressive regimes reformulating ...
W4920
16.08.2012
Performance of my fairy tale on the Pfaueninsel - Ann McCoy
WWW
Unrealized Project: Performance of my fairy tale on the Pfaueninsel. I have written a fairy tale about the alchemist Johan Kunckel who lived on the Pfauenisel and made red glass. I would like to stage a performance of the fairy tale on the Pfaueninsel.. ...
Unrealized Project: Performance of my fairy tale on the Pfaueninsel. I have written a fairy tale about the alchemist Johan Kunckel who lived on the Pfauenisel and made red glass. I would like to stage a performance of the fairy tale on the Pfaueninsel.. ...
W3521
11.05.2011
Booming Bratislava - PJ Bruyniks
WWW
Booming Bratislava (= working title) or Make Hot Spots instead of Cold War A combination of an art project, road movie, art scouting, crash course and hype-setting. But also the start of a network of art sister cities (art town twinning). Th ...
Booming Bratislava (= working title) or Make Hot Spots instead of Cold War A combination of an art project, road movie, art scouting, crash course and hype-setting. But also the start of a network of art sister cities (art town twinning). Th ...