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.

Financial Times Millennium Bridge Competition - Richard Serra and Frank Gehry

Attitudine Diplomatica - Hermann Pitz

Unbetitelt, Gänse-Projekt + Noch unbetitelt , " Durch den Mund sehen " + Kartoffeln  - Carsten Holler

KEEPING IN TOUCH - Allan Kaprow

Billboard - Jimmie Durham

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

Broadway Musicals - Christian Marclay

Chen H.V.O + G.T. - Bertrand Lavier

The World Record - General Idea

Aus: Katalog 'Kunst bleibt Kunst' - Hans Peter Feldman

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W4778
02.06.2011
Twin Towers - Joao Felino
WWW
The work title is Twin Towers, and is constituted by two piles of Letter size office paper sheets with overall dimensions around 21.5" x 22" and 60" high, according not with scale but with the proportions of the World Trade Center buildings 1 and 2 once e ...
The work title is Twin Towers, and is constituted by two piles of Letter size office paper sheets with overall dimensions around 21.5" x 22" and 60" high, according not with scale but with the proportions of the World Trade Center buildings 1 and 2 once e ...
W3537
11.05.2011
‘Against the fall’ - Sarah Luedemann
WWW
Project outline (Version Ia): ‘Against the fall’ consists of a fully functioning white parachute and about 300 (or more) A4 rejection letters from art students and artists worldwide, which are printed onto the parachute. The parachute as such is ...
Project outline (Version Ia): ‘Against the fall’ consists of a fully functioning white parachute and about 300 (or more) A4 rejection letters from art students and artists worldwide, which are printed onto the parachute. The parachute as such is ...
W4532
25.05.2011
Sculpture Center In Practice  - Kristin Jones / Andrew Ginzel
WWW
KRISTIN JONES / ANDREW GINZEL Sculpture Center In Practice PROPOSAL In the open-air volume of the garden courtyard adjacent to the mass of the main building we propose to draw three precise geometries that the site itself suggests: Two planes of pa ...
KRISTIN JONES / ANDREW GINZEL Sculpture Center In Practice PROPOSAL In the open-air volume of the garden courtyard adjacent to the mass of the main building we propose to draw three precise geometries that the site itself suggests: Two planes of pa ...
W4821
07.08.2012
Column - Hannes Bend
WWW
Column, 2010 Candy cast sculpture of a Greek column, multi-colored, white or translucent Proposal for Sculpture Center New York Open Call in June 2010 Column Project Proposal for Sculpture Center New York 2010 by Hannes Bend Candy Column, 2010 is ...
Column, 2010 Candy cast sculpture of a Greek column, multi-colored, white or translucent Proposal for Sculpture Center New York Open Call in June 2010 Column Project Proposal for Sculpture Center New York 2010 by Hannes Bend Candy Column, 2010 is ...
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 ...
W5452
20.10.2012
TRANSCULTURAL BODHISATTVA STUDIES: RE-CONSIDERING THE BODHISATTVA ICON IN A TRANSCULTURAL AND GLOBAL CONTEXT - Isabel Seliger
WWW
Oct. 20, 2012 Isabel Seliger, PhD Proposal for Berliner Künstlerprogramm/ DAAD “unrealized projects” TRANSCULTURAL BODHISATTVA STUDIES: RE-CONSIDERING THE BODHISATTVA ICON IN A TRANSCULTURAL AND GLOBAL CONTEXT Project Abstract: Art histor ...
Oct. 20, 2012 Isabel Seliger, PhD Proposal for Berliner Künstlerprogramm/ DAAD “unrealized projects” TRANSCULTURAL BODHISATTVA STUDIES: RE-CONSIDERING THE BODHISATTVA ICON IN A TRANSCULTURAL AND GLOBAL CONTEXT Project Abstract: Art histor ...
W5090
10.09.2012
Glass Drummers Pavilion - Olivia Booth
WWW
Call for Unrealized Projects Olivia Booth September, 2012 oabooth@yahoo.com www.oliviabooth.net GLASS DRUMMERS PAVILION This repositionable glass drummer's pavilion is meant to latch on to the ground level of any international style ...
Call for Unrealized Projects Olivia Booth September, 2012 oabooth@yahoo.com www.oliviabooth.net GLASS DRUMMERS PAVILION This repositionable glass drummer's pavilion is meant to latch on to the ground level of any international style ...
W3587
13.05.2011
Christopher Otto
WWW
In 2001, when I was 23, I attempted to make a computer art program which would dial each entry in Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus as a phone number and speak the line to whomever picked up. I was accepted to present it at a few events, but w ...
In 2001, when I was 23, I attempted to make a computer art program which would dial each entry in Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus as a phone number and speak the line to whomever picked up. I was accepted to present it at a few events, but w ...
W5129
19.09.2012
SFAI Project Proposal - Leo Morrissey
WWW
SFAI Project Proposal. (2012) The project will entail spending one day walking throughout various neighborhoods in San Francisco. Through out the day I will digitally document various manhole covers, utility covers, water meter covers, etc…. ...
SFAI Project Proposal. (2012) The project will entail spending one day walking throughout various neighborhoods in San Francisco. Through out the day I will digitally document various manhole covers, utility covers, water meter covers, etc…. ...
W3980
21.05.2011
Untitled - Sky Fairchild-Waller
WWW
'Untitled' is a photo and text-based work that explores the poetics of a young mother raising a young girl. Meredith admired the speckles of flour that had landed on her apron. The print was floral; violet and pink flower buds, small and slightly fade ...
'Untitled' is a photo and text-based work that explores the poetics of a young mother raising a young girl. Meredith admired the speckles of flour that had landed on her apron. The print was floral; violet and pink flower buds, small and slightly fade ...
W3509
11.05.2011
I gave you this picture because I was afraid you might forget me - Yvonne O'Reilly
WWW
CORNERHOUSE MICRO COMMISSIONS - (a site specific proposal) 'I gave you this picture because I was afraid you might forget me.' About your idea: What is your idea? The location – the CORNERHOUSE would provide me with the opportunity to create a ...
CORNERHOUSE MICRO COMMISSIONS - (a site specific proposal) 'I gave you this picture because I was afraid you might forget me.' About your idea: What is your idea? The location – the CORNERHOUSE would provide me with the opportunity to create a ...
W4637
25.05.2011
Tesseract - Darr Tah Lei
WWW
Inside a Tesseract is a project for a polyptych of six installations placed inside the structure of an imaginary folding/unfolding cube. The content of the six installations will correlate to each other organically, by the composition of essential element ...
Inside a Tesseract is a project for a polyptych of six installations placed inside the structure of an imaginary folding/unfolding cube. The content of the six installations will correlate to each other organically, by the composition of essential element ...
W3691
16.05.2011
Rolf Hinterecker
WWW
The train will be fixed in a steal frame construction Most of the complex construction is placed under the water surface. Counterbalances in the cube are needed for the balance. Several boom supports floating short above the ground will protect an overset ...
The train will be fixed in a steal frame construction Most of the complex construction is placed under the water surface. Counterbalances in the cube are needed for the balance. Several boom supports floating short above the ground will protect an overset ...
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 ...
W4176
24.05.2011
MEDIA TORTURE CHAMBER - Mitya Nesterov
WWW
MEDIA TORTURE CHAMBER is room one cannot leave without permission. Inside that room you have a baroque-styled bed one cannot sleep on because it is covered with sharp nails, four powerful speakers playing classical music all the time, and plasma TV-screen ...
MEDIA TORTURE CHAMBER is room one cannot leave without permission. Inside that room you have a baroque-styled bed one cannot sleep on because it is covered with sharp nails, four powerful speakers playing classical music all the time, and plasma TV-screen ...
W4458
25.05.2011
Transfer of a palm tree - Rahel Hegnauer
WWW
Transfer of a palm tree (Paris, 2007) (Unrealised project idea developed after realisation of a temporary garden in Paris, 2006 / 07 by Rahel Hegnauer / www.rahelhegnauer.ch.) Summary of the project idea Transfer: Transfer of a palm tree - usually a dec ...
Transfer of a palm tree (Paris, 2007) (Unrealised project idea developed after realisation of a temporary garden in Paris, 2006 / 07 by Rahel Hegnauer / www.rahelhegnauer.ch.) Summary of the project idea Transfer: Transfer of a palm tree - usually a dec ...
W5016
30.08.2012
TOTEM WAR - WHEN ARCHITECTURE BECOMES RIVAL CLANS’ BATTLEFIELD - Martial MARQUET
WWW
TOTEM WAR - WHEN ARCHITECTURE BECOMES RIVAL CLANS’ BATTLEFIELD autors : Louisa Gouesnard, Martial Marquet, Nicolas Polaert. date : Jan 2011 Place : Sliznevo, RUSSIA. Dimensions : variables Materials : Wood/Steel What is happening in Sliznevo ? ...
TOTEM WAR - WHEN ARCHITECTURE BECOMES RIVAL CLANS’ BATTLEFIELD autors : Louisa Gouesnard, Martial Marquet, Nicolas Polaert. date : Jan 2011 Place : Sliznevo, RUSSIA. Dimensions : variables Materials : Wood/Steel What is happening in Sliznevo ? ...
U9968
25.03.1997
Passage - Richard Wentworth
Unbuilt Roads
In August 1996 I was invited to propose a pedestrian bridge across the river Thames to connect St Pauls Cathedral to the new Tate Gallery of Modern Art. Realising that bridges are conventionally controlled by the economics of wheeled traffic, and invariab ...
In August 1996 I was invited to propose a pedestrian bridge across the river Thames to connect St Pauls Cathedral to the new Tate Gallery of Modern Art. Realising that bridges are conventionally controlled by the economics of wheeled traffic, and invariab ...
W3977
21.05.2011
Cornflower tea and concealing chocolate - Alena Zhandarova
WWW
Alena Zhandarova was born in 1988 and lives in Russia. Meanwhile her marketing studies she decided to open her creative chakras and started to probe and go deeper to herself. This way her series “Cornflower tea and concealing chocolate” came up. It ...
Alena Zhandarova was born in 1988 and lives in Russia. Meanwhile her marketing studies she decided to open her creative chakras and started to probe and go deeper to herself. This way her series “Cornflower tea and concealing chocolate” came up. It ...
W3872
19.05.2011
I TO EYE - Jacek Smolicki
WWW
"I to eye" project is an unfinished photo- documentation of author's face to face confrontation with 400 CCTV cameras of Old Town of Jerusalem (2010) Confronting the unrealized city... Jacek Smolicki 2010 Jerusalem is a specific place. The parad ...
"I to eye" project is an unfinished photo- documentation of author's face to face confrontation with 400 CCTV cameras of Old Town of Jerusalem (2010) Confronting the unrealized city... Jacek Smolicki 2010 Jerusalem is a specific place. The parad ...
W4756
27.05.2011
“Collectors” Series - Soo Kim
WWW
Unfinished and ongoing project called "Collectors" -all kinds of things and creatures are collected, and create a melody and tune. Initial idea for “Collectors” series started after thinking how we miss unnoticeable things around surroundings, and th ...
Unfinished and ongoing project called "Collectors" -all kinds of things and creatures are collected, and create a melody and tune. Initial idea for “Collectors” series started after thinking how we miss unnoticeable things around surroundings, and th ...
W5348
18.10.2012
The house skin project - Rebecca Harris
WWW
The house skin project was intended to explore the transitory and fragile nature of home. Placing lightweight muslin fabric onto the entire side of a windowless brick wall an indexical print would remain. The project got as far as a trial piece, as seen ...
The house skin project was intended to explore the transitory and fragile nature of home. Placing lightweight muslin fabric onto the entire side of a windowless brick wall an indexical print would remain. The project got as far as a trial piece, as seen ...
W4020
22.05.2011
Rural pleasure trip / an investigation of sounds - Gisela Weimann
WWW
Gisela Weimann >www.giselaweimann.de< Since the 80s the focal points of my projects are sound installations and experimental music-theatre productions that include artists and theorists from different fields and national descend. Gisela Weimann ...
Gisela Weimann >www.giselaweimann.de< Since the 80s the focal points of my projects are sound installations and experimental music-theatre productions that include artists and theorists from different fields and national descend. Gisela Weimann ...
W3703
17.05.2011
Izabela Ołdak
WWW
Artist Statement Artists don't make objects. Artists make mythologies. 
Anish Kapoor Art has the power to cause a revolution, to change minds. It is for me a communication aimed at the search for truth, in life and in reality. Art has an immense p ...
Artist Statement Artists don't make objects. Artists make mythologies. 
Anish Kapoor Art has the power to cause a revolution, to change minds. It is for me a communication aimed at the search for truth, in life and in reality. Art has an immense p ...
W4305
24.05.2011
BENEATH SAND AND SEA - Holger C. Lönze
WWW
BENEATH SAND AND SEA INTRODUCTION The proposed project is set within the physical and social context of Portobello Beach and intends to bring an aspect of the area’s hidden history back out into the light. It focuses on the historic Portobello Harbo ...
BENEATH SAND AND SEA INTRODUCTION The proposed project is set within the physical and social context of Portobello Beach and intends to bring an aspect of the area’s hidden history back out into the light. It focuses on the historic Portobello Harbo ...
W3573
12.05.2011
MOROSO Prize 2010 Proposal - Gabriele De Santis
WWW
Introduction Before this opportunity, I knew of Moroso, but I was not fortunate enough to fully engage with it in-depth. The first step was obviously to carefully explore the website. Through the images and literature offered I gained a better underst ...
Introduction Before this opportunity, I knew of Moroso, but I was not fortunate enough to fully engage with it in-depth. The first step was obviously to carefully explore the website. Through the images and literature offered I gained a better underst ...