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.

Project 1 + Project 2 - Simryn Gill

Billboard - Jimmie Durham

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

Just Before Dawn - David Lamelas

Attitudine Diplomatica - Hermann Pitz

Niemandsland - Hans Haacke

Museum - Katharina Fritsch

Broadway Musicals - Christian Marclay

Jake and Dinos Chapman's five proposals for an empty plinth situated on central londons trafalgar square - Jake and Dinos Chapman

WATERWORKS - Mona Hatoum

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W4955
20.08.2012
Museum of Rene's Contemptorary Art - Rene Price
WWW
MORCA Museum of Rene’s Contemporary Art Rene has produced too much Artstuff. He likes all of it and he has been able to afford to keep it all in storage. His website (www.reneprice.ca) presents 1000 of his more than 2000 3 ...
MORCA Museum of Rene’s Contemporary Art Rene has produced too much Artstuff. He likes all of it and he has been able to afford to keep it all in storage. His website (www.reneprice.ca) presents 1000 of his more than 2000 3 ...
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 ...
W4326
24.05.2011
Becoming a Tree - Malin Stahl
WWW
Malin Ståhl: Becoming a Tree Inside of me there is a wish to Become a Tree, to stand very still and serenely let my my branches wave in the wind. I made my first attempt at Becoming a Tree in 1999 shielding my naked body with the bark of a spruce tree ...
Malin Ståhl: Becoming a Tree Inside of me there is a wish to Become a Tree, to stand very still and serenely let my my branches wave in the wind. I made my first attempt at Becoming a Tree in 1999 shielding my naked body with the bark of a spruce tree ...
W5143
23.09.2012
The Phoenix Atlas - The Phoenix Atlas
WWW
The Phoenix Atlas is an Internet-based art collective, run by Dutch curator/art critic Okke De Groot, Brazilian artist Ana Laura Ferreira and Croatian art writer/publisher Jan Karan. The project focuses on writing as a practice between fiction, art criti ...
The Phoenix Atlas is an Internet-based art collective, run by Dutch curator/art critic Okke De Groot, Brazilian artist Ana Laura Ferreira and Croatian art writer/publisher Jan Karan. The project focuses on writing as a practice between fiction, art criti ...
W5083
08.09.2012
Safety for 24 hours - tat ort (Alexandra Berlinger, Wolfgang Fiel)
WWW
Commissioned by curator Thomas Kaestle on behalf of the city of Hannover, the project - among others – was expected to invigorate the discourse on public art in general as well as to provide an example for the future development of public art initiative ...
Commissioned by curator Thomas Kaestle on behalf of the city of Hannover, the project - among others – was expected to invigorate the discourse on public art in general as well as to provide an example for the future development of public art initiative ...
W4965
21.08.2012
Unrealized/able photography - Ana-Maria Huluban
WWW
Unrealized/able photography Ana-Maria Huluban anamariahuluban.com Photograph - possible to be taken directly: A glass cube with 2m sides, full of clear water. Inside the cube there are mirrors which reflect the surroundings and each other. ...
Unrealized/able photography Ana-Maria Huluban anamariahuluban.com Photograph - possible to be taken directly: A glass cube with 2m sides, full of clear water. Inside the cube there are mirrors which reflect the surroundings and each other. ...
U9945
01.01.1994
MAK - Wien  - Rosemarie Trockel
Unbuilt Roads
Idee: linke Autospur de [unleserlich] durch dis [?]halle (Saal) verlege[?]. ...
Idee: linke Autospur de [unleserlich] durch dis [?]halle (Saal) verlege[?]. ...
W3753
18.05.2011
24 hours – surveillance of the sun - renata padovan
WWW
"24 Hs - Surveillance of the sun" is a project that maps sunsets and sunrises around the world. It aims at placing the viewer face to face with the idea of relative time and space. Considering that in 24 hours the Earth completes a full rotation in re ...
"24 Hs - Surveillance of the sun" is a project that maps sunsets and sunrises around the world. It aims at placing the viewer face to face with the idea of relative time and space. Considering that in 24 hours the Earth completes a full rotation in re ...
W3582
13.05.2011
Umfassung (verborgen) - Sabine Hagmann
WWW
Idee Der Perimeter des St. Johanns-Platz wird während einem Jahr exakt mit einer zweieinhalb Meter hohen Wand eingefasst. Sie schliesst das ganze Gelände ein, mit Rasen, Wegen und Parkbänken. Die kleine Rasenfläche wird durch die Wand als Volu ...
Idee Der Perimeter des St. Johanns-Platz wird während einem Jahr exakt mit einer zweieinhalb Meter hohen Wand eingefasst. Sie schliesst das ganze Gelände ein, mit Rasen, Wegen und Parkbänken. Die kleine Rasenfläche wird durch die Wand als Volu ...
W5059
03.09.2012
Unrealized Perfumes - Chaveli Sifre
WWW
Unrealized PerFumes: The following images depict a perfume bottle and its accompanying poem from a series of unrealized PerFumes—part of an ongoing collection of impossible aromas that engage in a cautious interplay between concepts of desire and ritua ...
Unrealized PerFumes: The following images depict a perfume bottle and its accompanying poem from a series of unrealized PerFumes—part of an ongoing collection of impossible aromas that engage in a cautious interplay between concepts of desire and ritua ...
U9828
01.01.1970
Invitation Space No.1 - Tania Mouraud
Unbuilt Roads
1 carré en béton dimension 150 cm epaisseur 15 cm, accroché au flauc d 'une monVague Publications: Galerie "Ben donte de tout" 1971 (Invitation à l'exposition Mouraud) feuille volaute Galerie LP 220, Turin, Milan "Paysage sonore urbain" Be ...
1 carré en béton dimension 150 cm epaisseur 15 cm, accroché au flauc d 'une monVague Publications: Galerie "Ben donte de tout" 1971 (Invitation à l'exposition Mouraud) feuille volaute Galerie LP 220, Turin, Milan "Paysage sonore urbain" Be ...
W3651
15.05.2011
A Lighthouse - Goran Tomcic
WWW
“A Lighthouse” is an installation consisting of three main parts: 1. Three walls (each wall app. 15’ long/20’ high) completely wallpapered with cut outs of many different designs of gold holographic films; 2. The floor space in between the walls c ...
“A Lighthouse” is an installation consisting of three main parts: 1. Three walls (each wall app. 15’ long/20’ high) completely wallpapered with cut outs of many different designs of gold holographic films; 2. The floor space in between the walls c ...
W5427
20.10.2012
POINT 59 - hiramandirina
WWW
POINT 59 In July 1999, Irina Danilova with support of Arts Link CEC Partners went from New York to the only intersection of 59th Longitude and 59th latitude on land, in the Siberian woods of Ural mountains (3 other intersections sunk in the ocean ...
POINT 59 In July 1999, Irina Danilova with support of Arts Link CEC Partners went from New York to the only intersection of 59th Longitude and 59th latitude on land, in the Siberian woods of Ural mountains (3 other intersections sunk in the ocean ...
W3925
20.05.2011
Proposal for Witches Memorial in Salem MA - Ed Levine
WWW
Proposal for Witches Memorial in Salem MA Giving voice to Witches Each of the 17 sculptural element is a musical instrument. Compressed air is cycled randomly through the internal pipe in each element. Consequently the sound will project around the si ...
Proposal for Witches Memorial in Salem MA Giving voice to Witches Each of the 17 sculptural element is a musical instrument. Compressed air is cycled randomly through the internal pipe in each element. Consequently the sound will project around the si ...
W5483
22.10.2012
How much spices? - Mirna Arsovska
WWW
International İstanbul Biennial Proposal for interactive installation “How much spices?” by Mirna Arsovska A: TEHNICAL DESCRIPTION 1. Exhibition space Large enough space / hall, separated in tree colored segments: black, grey, white 2. O ...
International İstanbul Biennial Proposal for interactive installation “How much spices?” by Mirna Arsovska A: TEHNICAL DESCRIPTION 1. Exhibition space Large enough space / hall, separated in tree colored segments: black, grey, white 2. O ...
W4338
24.05.2011
Untitled (Paper Cuts), - Raluca Popa
WWW
RALUCA POPA Untitled (Paper Cuts), paper, glue, dimensions variable (2011) No one to talk. This work is in progress. This work addresses the subject of failure – the failure of the object and the failure of the event. This work might create ...
RALUCA POPA Untitled (Paper Cuts), paper, glue, dimensions variable (2011) No one to talk. This work is in progress. This work addresses the subject of failure – the failure of the object and the failure of the event. This work might create ...
W4511
25.05.2011
Big Pending Coloured Glass Pipe Organ - Tina Braegger
WWW
Big Pending Coloured Glass Pipe Organ (Unrealized, Mai 2011) (50m x 36m x 18m Pending Coloured Glass Pipe Organ, Uyuni salt desert, Bolivia) What (form): It has long since been an idea of mine to build a big pending pipe organ out of co ...
Big Pending Coloured Glass Pipe Organ (Unrealized, Mai 2011) (50m x 36m x 18m Pending Coloured Glass Pipe Organ, Uyuni salt desert, Bolivia) What (form): It has long since been an idea of mine to build a big pending pipe organ out of co ...
W3575
12.05.2011
CD COVER SCULPTURE. Concepts. - Javier Lamela
WWW
It sums up a trip to a temporary place where you live and work for a period of time. It depicts a leaf, not a seed which calls for roots, transported by wind, in a movement that goes along with the Planet Earth. It is, in fact, a digital leaf consisting o ...
It sums up a trip to a temporary place where you live and work for a period of time. It depicts a leaf, not a seed which calls for roots, transported by wind, in a movement that goes along with the Planet Earth. It is, in fact, a digital leaf consisting o ...
W5346
18.10.2012
Lisa Bateman
WWW
An installation of public smell (ocean, brine, tar, old fish) -housed inside an abandoned parking shack at the site of the old Fulton Fish Market, NYC. Smell is emitted from a DMX HVAC scent through the fence and into public space. ...
An installation of public smell (ocean, brine, tar, old fish) -housed inside an abandoned parking shack at the site of the old Fulton Fish Market, NYC. Smell is emitted from a DMX HVAC scent through the fence and into public space. ...
W3513
11.05.2011
“Bus Stop” by Mira Hnatyshyn - Mira Hnatyshyn
WWW
“Bus Stop” is a moveable painting based on an image of local commuters waiting for their bus ride. “Bus Stop” explores the cultural significance that public transportation plays in society. As a physical object, t ...
“Bus Stop” is a moveable painting based on an image of local commuters waiting for their bus ride. “Bus Stop” explores the cultural significance that public transportation plays in society. As a physical object, t ...
W5898
18.10.2013
Open tunnel - Matthijs Muller
WWW
A hilly landscape makes lines of trees disappear behind nearby hills or offers a view at a tree from above. In the Netherlands the flatness of the landscape makes that impossible. But, since the whole country is manmade, the solution for this is also ma ...
A hilly landscape makes lines of trees disappear behind nearby hills or offers a view at a tree from above. In the Netherlands the flatness of the landscape makes that impossible. But, since the whole country is manmade, the solution for this is also ma ...
W4836
08.08.2012
1000 Alexandras - Zoran Poposki
WWW
Made up of randomly chosen female names found on social networks of current citizens of Skopje named Alexandra, "1000 Alexandras" is conceived as a multimedia monument to all Alexandras currently living in Skopje, Macedonia. ...
Made up of randomly chosen female names found on social networks of current citizens of Skopje named Alexandra, "1000 Alexandras" is conceived as a multimedia monument to all Alexandras currently living in Skopje, Macedonia. ...
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 ...
W3660
15.05.2011
Hannah Ross
WWW
Inspired by Janet Cardiff, creating a room for observation that requires community participation. It will be a life sized entry hallway, with a side table, telephone, and answering machine. I will have a public campaign of distributing the phone number wi ...
Inspired by Janet Cardiff, creating a room for observation that requires community participation. It will be a life sized entry hallway, with a side table, telephone, and answering machine. I will have a public campaign of distributing the phone number wi ...
W3690
16.05.2011
It’s Not You, Me, or the Dog - Cecile B. Evans
WWW
Summary of Intent I plan to produce a series of video works that use trained animals, instead of humans, to “act out” or represent various emotional states and scenarios. Continuing my previous investigations of the production and construction of i ...
Summary of Intent I plan to produce a series of video works that use trained animals, instead of humans, to “act out” or represent various emotional states and scenarios. Continuing my previous investigations of the production and construction of i ...
W3863
19.05.2011
RE:BORN - Chris Twomey
WWW
“RE:BORN” is a futuristic art installation challenging our direction as a species, our choices in our lives, and our genetic choices for a future life and its ramifications. It is an opportunity to participate in a sci-fi art fantasy, perhaps soon to ...
“RE:BORN” is a futuristic art installation challenging our direction as a species, our choices in our lives, and our genetic choices for a future life and its ramifications. It is an opportunity to participate in a sci-fi art fantasy, perhaps soon to ...