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.

Unrealized project for Tate Gallery + ICA, 1969 - Gilbert and George

The Clock - Ayse Erkmen

Visual Poem: Cap I Cua - Joan Brossa

Memorial - Ilya Kabakov

No title, as the project only reached proposal stage - Rikrit Tiravanija

Ceinture - Huang Ping Yong

Tulips for Amsterdam - Isa Genzken

NON REALIZED PROJECTS - Christo and Jeanne-Claude

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

Eight Days a Week - Joe Scanlan

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W5238
09.10.2012
Nicole De Brabandere
WWW
AUP - Berliner Künstlerprogramm/ DAAD Nicole De Brabandere In 2009 I put in motion the possibility of amassing all of the doorknobs from an institutional building that was slated for demolition. After many phone calls to various authorities I disco ...
AUP - Berliner Künstlerprogramm/ DAAD Nicole De Brabandere In 2009 I put in motion the possibility of amassing all of the doorknobs from an institutional building that was slated for demolition. After many phone calls to various authorities I disco ...
W5290
16.10.2012
Polo Picasso - Matthew Britton
WWW
After catching the revamped Art Attack series on the Disney Channel, I came across the character ‘Vincent Van Coconut’. I felt that this was a poor parody and wanted to create a better teaching aid. So I built a maquette for a character called ‘Polo ...
After catching the revamped Art Attack series on the Disney Channel, I came across the character ‘Vincent Van Coconut’. I felt that this was a poor parody and wanted to create a better teaching aid. So I built a maquette for a character called ‘Polo ...
W10947
11.08.2015
Conduit - A.V. Ryan and Malin Abrahamsson
WWW
Conduit is many things: a recycling project, a purification ritual, a reclamation, a gift. One of the communities we aim to reach is the one that the gallery-going public habitually overlooks in Chelsea – the network of auto body shops and gas stati ...
Conduit is many things: a recycling project, a purification ritual, a reclamation, a gift. One of the communities we aim to reach is the one that the gallery-going public habitually overlooks in Chelsea – the network of auto body shops and gas stati ...
W4230
24.05.2011
Monument for bridges. - Dico Kruijsse
WWW
Monument for bridges. Visuals of a monumental sculpture to be made out of the remains of two countryside bridges. A road of about 20 kilometres long was rebuild. Therefore as much as 50 bridges accessing the farmlands where taken apart and demolished. ...
Monument for bridges. Visuals of a monumental sculpture to be made out of the remains of two countryside bridges. A road of about 20 kilometres long was rebuild. Therefore as much as 50 bridges accessing the farmlands where taken apart and demolished. ...
W10630
09.07.2014
Stitch In Time - Joel Leibowitz
WWW
20 Foot High x 12 foot circumference Spool of Thread; 3" foam core thread / yellow/ aluminum spool . The large spool of thread is positioned next to Cleopatra's "Needle" ( obelisk ) in Central Park , NYC. Location behind Metropolitan Museum of Art. ...
20 Foot High x 12 foot circumference Spool of Thread; 3" foam core thread / yellow/ aluminum spool . The large spool of thread is positioned next to Cleopatra's "Needle" ( obelisk ) in Central Park , NYC. Location behind Metropolitan Museum of Art. ...
W5064
04.09.2012
SolarCircuit RAYsponse  - c a l c (omi - Thomas Scheiderbauer)
WWW
SolarCircuit RAYsponse is a project with the aim to let the façade of an institution (= a meaning charged façade) express itself in the public environment. its two architectonic/technical elements consist of a solar panel and a proportional related ima ...
SolarCircuit RAYsponse is a project with the aim to let the façade of an institution (= a meaning charged façade) express itself in the public environment. its two architectonic/technical elements consist of a solar panel and a proportional related ima ...
W4399
25.05.2011
Go Find me a Boy - Mansha Chhatwal
WWW
I, Mansha Chhatwal, am an artist with a background in advertising. After a 15 year stint in advertising, during which I worked in several agencies including Rediffusion Y&R, Bates India, Everest brand communications and Mudra DDB , I quit finally about a ...
I, Mansha Chhatwal, am an artist with a background in advertising. After a 15 year stint in advertising, during which I worked in several agencies including Rediffusion Y&R, Bates India, Everest brand communications and Mudra DDB , I quit finally about a ...
W3730
18.05.2011
“Priceless”, a proposal - Ama Saru Hsiao Chen
WWW
A proposal for an art fair. The difference between collections initiated through private sector and public fund raises concern of artworks value. As when artwork is purchased by a collector, it automatically obtains market value for future economic act ...
A proposal for an art fair. The difference between collections initiated through private sector and public fund raises concern of artworks value. As when artwork is purchased by a collector, it automatically obtains market value for future economic act ...
W4677
26.05.2011
storefront display sale - Jenny Polak
WWW
Alien Vernacular: storefront display sale Jenny Polak, In Practice Proposal for Sculpture Center, 2008 For this project I will to go round stores in different NY neighbourhoods, to collect (document by drawing and photographing) their designs for exte ...
Alien Vernacular: storefront display sale Jenny Polak, In Practice Proposal for Sculpture Center, 2008 For this project I will to go round stores in different NY neighbourhoods, to collect (document by drawing and photographing) their designs for exte ...
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 ...
W3591
13.05.2011
Museum of Unrealized Projects - Stephen Perkins
WWW
Please find attached a work titled "Museum of Unrealized Projects," (2011). This museum can be utilized as the final resting place of the Agency of Unrealized Projects - this museum charges no entrance fees and accepts donations on an unjuried basis. ...
Please find attached a work titled "Museum of Unrealized Projects," (2011). This museum can be utilized as the final resting place of the Agency of Unrealized Projects - this museum charges no entrance fees and accepts donations on an unjuried basis. ...
W3992
21.05.2011
Ranjit Sidhu
WWW
In a fierce contest in 1961, I was commissioned to create drawings based on “Devotion to Duty”, “Dignity of Labour” and, “Work is Worship” – the themes floated by 505 Command Workshop, Ministry of Defense, Govt. of India for eight large wall ...
In a fierce contest in 1961, I was commissioned to create drawings based on “Devotion to Duty”, “Dignity of Labour” and, “Work is Worship” – the themes floated by 505 Command Workshop, Ministry of Defense, Govt. of India for eight large wall ...
W4894
10.08.2012
The Wave - Mac Adams
WWW
'The Wave' 1989. Proposal for the Merchant marines memorial off shore Battery Park New York City. More information can be found on. macadamsstudio.com ...
'The Wave' 1989. Proposal for the Merchant marines memorial off shore Battery Park New York City. More information can be found on. macadamsstudio.com ...
W5419
20.10.2012
UTOPIAS ARE FOR BIRDS - Alvaro Urbano
WWW
UTOPIAS ARE FOR BIRDS 2012 - Ongoing Utopia is a non-place, a good-place. Utopia is defined as an idyllic society with a legal system and socio-political ideals, a society living in harmony, between geographical dislocation and intellectual positivi ...
UTOPIAS ARE FOR BIRDS 2012 - Ongoing Utopia is a non-place, a good-place. Utopia is defined as an idyllic society with a legal system and socio-political ideals, a society living in harmony, between geographical dislocation and intellectual positivi ...
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 ...
W3769
18.05.2011
The Twitstat Project - Renee Zepeda and Chris Weige
WWW
The Twitstat Project exists as a collaborative book of poetry, which we envisioned to be the script for a film. It involves a young Japanese-American woman, a middle-aged German-American man, and a young Jewish-American woman. ...
The Twitstat Project exists as a collaborative book of poetry, which we envisioned to be the script for a film. It involves a young Japanese-American woman, a middle-aged German-American man, and a young Jewish-American woman. ...
W4898
11.08.2012
Space and Time - Joe Sobel
WWW
In graduate school I would rearrange my studio constantly. It wasn’t until after I learned of the term tabulology, while studying The Peter Principle. It is the study of unusual arrangements of desks, workbenches, etc. with acts of habituation and repet ...
In graduate school I would rearrange my studio constantly. It wasn’t until after I learned of the term tabulology, while studying The Peter Principle. It is the study of unusual arrangements of desks, workbenches, etc. with acts of habituation and repet ...
W4102
23.05.2011
IMNOW (I-aM-NOW) - Shlomit Lehavi
WWW
IMNOW is an emergent identity composed of digital footprints across major social media platforms that challenges and explores current definitions of space (public vs. private, physical vs. virtual,) and time, with regard to contemporary notions of friends ...
IMNOW is an emergent identity composed of digital footprints across major social media platforms that challenges and explores current definitions of space (public vs. private, physical vs. virtual,) and time, with regard to contemporary notions of friends ...
W3481
11.05.2011
Experiments In Organza - Helen Maher
WWW
Press release. Helen maher. ‘Experiments In Organza’ Textile Sculptor, living & working in London. Current project, ‘Experiments in Organza’, investigates the interaction between Primary Elements- Solids, Liquids & Gases & Secondary Elem ...
Press release. Helen maher. ‘Experiments In Organza’ Textile Sculptor, living & working in London. Current project, ‘Experiments in Organza’, investigates the interaction between Primary Elements- Solids, Liquids & Gases & Secondary Elem ...
W5464
21.10.2012
Electron Self-Portrait - Lauren Jo
WWW
An electron microscope uses a beam of electrons to illuminate a specimen and produce a magnified image. In particular, a scanning electron microscope shoots focused electron beams that rather than carrying an image itself back to the lens, probes the spec ...
An electron microscope uses a beam of electrons to illuminate a specimen and produce a magnified image. In particular, a scanning electron microscope shoots focused electron beams that rather than carrying an image itself back to the lens, probes the spec ...
W4487
25.05.2011
lori brown
WWW
The wificommune is a retro-fitted environmentally sustainable bus providing social services for the Seneca Nation communities in Upstate New York. Using solar power as a source of energy, this bus is designed to provide internet connections, a classroom ...
The wificommune is a retro-fitted environmentally sustainable bus providing social services for the Seneca Nation communities in Upstate New York. Using solar power as a source of energy, this bus is designed to provide internet connections, a classroom ...
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 ...
W4208
24.05.2011
One-way toilet - Will Foster
WWW
One-way toilet. Shitting in the street. 2001 A toilet for public use is sited in an inner city location. The walls of the toilet are made entirely from Pellicle mirror glass, which is partially reflective and partially transparent. ...
One-way toilet. Shitting in the street. 2001 A toilet for public use is sited in an inner city location. The walls of the toilet are made entirely from Pellicle mirror glass, which is partially reflective and partially transparent. ...
W3602
13.05.2011
Dreamland: A great Freudian Theme Park - Zoe Beloff
WWW
This as yet unrealized project aims rebuild Coney Island’s famous Dreamland amusement park that burned down in 1911, as a true Freudian theme park. ...
This as yet unrealized project aims rebuild Coney Island’s famous Dreamland amusement park that burned down in 1911, as a true Freudian theme park. ...
W5402
20.10.2012
AHIMSA  - Tiziana Pers
WWW
The project is composed by a series of photograph, a performance, and an installation that will remain after the action. Ahimsa is an ancient Sanskrit term meaning 'do not harm' (literally: the avoidance of violence - himsa). It is an important tenet of t ...
The project is composed by a series of photograph, a performance, and an installation that will remain after the action. Ahimsa is an ancient Sanskrit term meaning 'do not harm' (literally: the avoidance of violence - himsa). It is an important tenet of t ...
D10785
01.01.2013
TO BUY A CAR AND DROP IT IN THE OCEAN IN THE MIDDLE OF A FULLMOON NIGHT - Bruzzone
DAAD
TO BUY A CAR AND DROP IT IN THE OCEAN IN THE MIDDLE OF A FULLMOON NIGHT ...
TO BUY A CAR AND DROP IT IN THE OCEAN IN THE MIDDLE OF A FULLMOON NIGHT ...