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.

Post Photographic apparatus - Steven Pippin

Social Resource Project For the Munich Olympics - Stephen Willats

Douglas Gordon - 5 year drive-by; proposal for a public artwork.

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

Aguapracasa - Gabriel Orozco

Projets non réalisés: - Daniel Buren

2 Architecture Towers - Robert Irwin

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

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

Monument to Democracy - Kounellis

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W3939
20.05.2011
R. Marcos Mota
WWW
DESCRIPTION The project consists of built inside the Civic Centre Sant Andreu a toilet for the disabled who do not meet standards of accessibility measures.

 It will build a separate room of existing toilets within the Civic Center that the dynamics ...
DESCRIPTION The project consists of built inside the Civic Centre Sant Andreu a toilet for the disabled who do not meet standards of accessibility measures.

 It will build a separate room of existing toilets within the Civic Center that the dynamics ...
W4285
24.05.2011
Overlords - Tom Estes
WWW
Overlords by Tom Estes Description Overlords was originally conceived as a video installation comprised of images of ‘Time Travel’ projected on to a book called ‘Local History and Antiquities’. The work was deliberately left incomplete. The ph ...
Overlords by Tom Estes Description Overlords was originally conceived as a video installation comprised of images of ‘Time Travel’ projected on to a book called ‘Local History and Antiquities’. The work was deliberately left incomplete. The ph ...
W4630
25.05.2011
Newark Orphan Asylum - Ann LePore
WWW
Newark Orphan Asylum is a proposal for public art at NJIT Alumni Center at 323 Marlin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Newark. In conjunction with Do1thing.org, an organization for homeless youth, and/or Heart Gallery of New Jersey (heartgallerynj.org), an organiz ...
Newark Orphan Asylum is a proposal for public art at NJIT Alumni Center at 323 Marlin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Newark. In conjunction with Do1thing.org, an organization for homeless youth, and/or Heart Gallery of New Jersey (heartgallerynj.org), an organiz ...
W3899
20.05.2011
SIN TITULO - Daniela Huerta
WWW
SIN TITULO Nails, wall, dust and red thread. Dimensions variable 2010 This is a project that perhaps was never intended to be realized. It was rather an action and a documentation of it. The beginning and the end is the wall, as it works as a state ...
SIN TITULO Nails, wall, dust and red thread. Dimensions variable 2010 This is a project that perhaps was never intended to be realized. It was rather an action and a documentation of it. The beginning and the end is the wall, as it works as a state ...
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 ...
W4248
24.05.2011
Travis Brown
WWW
Leaving New York City and heading to Florida for my Spring Break sounded like a great idea, beaches and relaxation is just what I needed. Being the photographer that I am led me to discover an abandoned subdivision within Loxahatchee, Florida referred to ...
Leaving New York City and heading to Florida for my Spring Break sounded like a great idea, beaches and relaxation is just what I needed. Being the photographer that I am led me to discover an abandoned subdivision within Loxahatchee, Florida referred to ...
W4202
24.05.2011
The Eisenstein Project - janet hodgson
WWW
BATH SPA STATION - DAY A trolley with high wire-mesh sides stands on the platform, and propped inside is a crate - it’s big enough to contain an adult but doesn’t look like a coffin. A large consignment note is pasted on to it. It’s in Russian: an ...
BATH SPA STATION - DAY A trolley with high wire-mesh sides stands on the platform, and propped inside is a crate - it’s big enough to contain an adult but doesn’t look like a coffin. A large consignment note is pasted on to it. It’s in Russian: an ...
W4232
24.05.2011
Framing al-Zarqawi - Nicholas Knight
WWW
Nicholas Knight Framing al-Zarqawi, 2006 Mixed media installation, including framed photographs, podium, US and Iraqi flags, rugs, easels, curtain, furniture, etc. Size determined by installation [never realized] In June 2006, US-led forces in Ir ...
Nicholas Knight Framing al-Zarqawi, 2006 Mixed media installation, including framed photographs, podium, US and Iraqi flags, rugs, easels, curtain, furniture, etc. Size determined by installation [never realized] In June 2006, US-led forces in Ir ...
W4258
24.05.2011
A Dead Voice from a Lost Age - John Patrick Egan
WWW
So, the work I would like to submit is (was?) intended to bear the moniker (working title) A Dead Voice from a Lost Age. The concept for the piece derived, initially, from my training as a musician, specifically my specialisation in the baroque and transi ...
So, the work I would like to submit is (was?) intended to bear the moniker (working title) A Dead Voice from a Lost Age. The concept for the piece derived, initially, from my training as a musician, specifically my specialisation in the baroque and transi ...
W4672
26.05.2011
Neural Portal - Stephen Pusey
WWW
Neural Portal Transient installation on 26th Street, West Chelsea, NYC Artist: Stephen Pusey The image would be created by high intensity pulses of light emitted from hundreds of lasers embedded in the frame. The effect is to create a warping field tha ...
Neural Portal Transient installation on 26th Street, West Chelsea, NYC Artist: Stephen Pusey The image would be created by high intensity pulses of light emitted from hundreds of lasers embedded in the frame. The effect is to create a warping field tha ...
U9238
01.01.1994
PROJECT FOR A COMMUNITY CENTER, AVENUE DES NARCISSES, CHENOVE - Vito Acconci
Unbuilt Roads
Vito Acconci & Studio (Luis Vera, Jenny Schrider, Charles Doherty; with James Harrison, Jennifer Zackin, Jean Hahn) COMMUNITY CENTER, AVENUE DES NARCISSES, CHENOVE, FRANCE 1994 (To be built, 1998) Grass, trees, concrete, asphalt, steel, glass, lights, ...
Vito Acconci & Studio (Luis Vera, Jenny Schrider, Charles Doherty; with James Harrison, Jennifer Zackin, Jean Hahn) COMMUNITY CENTER, AVENUE DES NARCISSES, CHENOVE, FRANCE 1994 (To be built, 1998) Grass, trees, concrete, asphalt, steel, glass, lights, ...
W3751
18.05.2011
A FIRED FIELD - HECTOR MAVRIDIS
WWW
The action of breaking and turning over earth with a plow always fascinated me, the clods of earth being the result of this action, a simple 'gesture' from a machine which nevertheless brings about a dramatic change to the landscape, an awesome ephemeral ...
The action of breaking and turning over earth with a plow always fascinated me, the clods of earth being the result of this action, a simple 'gesture' from a machine which nevertheless brings about a dramatic change to the landscape, an awesome ephemeral ...
W5050
03.09.2012
EMVS - Taller Básico de Arquitectura [TBA]
WWW
EMVS (2011) Two planes We build two thick and porous planes. Between them, there are contained 100 housings. The lobby emerges from the gap between the planes, and it is limited by two stairs. The planes open their porous cavities towards the best s ...
EMVS (2011) Two planes We build two thick and porous planes. Between them, there are contained 100 housings. The lobby emerges from the gap between the planes, and it is limited by two stairs. The planes open their porous cavities towards the best s ...
W4960
20.08.2012
Exit - Darko Aleksovski
WWW
Darko Aleksovski Name of the project: EXIT participatory and research art project EXIT is a series of interventions in open, public space that can be anywhere except the space of organized walking (main streets, boulevards, city squares etc). The ...
Darko Aleksovski Name of the project: EXIT participatory and research art project EXIT is a series of interventions in open, public space that can be anywhere except the space of organized walking (main streets, boulevards, city squares etc). The ...
W4221
24.05.2011
alhena
WWW
W4147
23.05.2011
The End of Art Theory - Cornford & Cross
WWW
The End of Art Theory We were invited to submit proposals for the 2002 Liverpool Biennial. We proposed to commission a Group 4 private security vehicle and uniformed crew, as used by HM Courts and Prison Service to transport defendants. During the Bi ...
The End of Art Theory We were invited to submit proposals for the 2002 Liverpool Biennial. We proposed to commission a Group 4 private security vehicle and uniformed crew, as used by HM Courts and Prison Service to transport defendants. During the Bi ...
W3624
14.05.2011
Steve Rosenthal
WWW
Unrealized project from March 2008. The proposal was made to Acantia Health and Beauty Ltd, seeking sponsorship in the form of 6000 bars of Coal Tar Soap to realize the construction of a 'Yellow Brick Road' for my final degree show. Please see text (i ...
Unrealized project from March 2008. The proposal was made to Acantia Health and Beauty Ltd, seeking sponsorship in the form of 6000 bars of Coal Tar Soap to realize the construction of a 'Yellow Brick Road' for my final degree show. Please see text (i ...
W3886
19.05.2011
Flags - Luciana Maiorana
WWW
In “Flags,” I would use color and geometry to deconstruct and then reassemble, in multiple permutations, the world’s national flags. I would employ multiple media (paper, fabric, encaustic, photography, video, . . . ) to emphasize the “variety” ...
In “Flags,” I would use color and geometry to deconstruct and then reassemble, in multiple permutations, the world’s national flags. I would employ multiple media (paper, fabric, encaustic, photography, video, . . . ) to emphasize the “variety” ...
W4974
24.08.2012
Y - l a n d - c a l c
WWW
Y - l a n d (speak: why land) is a purely visual project, which intends to promote the Israeli - Palestinian dialogue. The basis is given through a basic and joint Israeli - Palestinian cultural element: the hexagon. Y - L A N D is making the proposal, an ...
Y - l a n d (speak: why land) is a purely visual project, which intends to promote the Israeli - Palestinian dialogue. The basis is given through a basic and joint Israeli - Palestinian cultural element: the hexagon. Y - L A N D is making the proposal, an ...
W4482
25.05.2011
Frontispiece  - Paul Landon
WWW
Frontispiece An unrealised project by Paul Landon On 1 August 1953, under Reorganization Plan No. 8, the United States Information Agency (USIA) was created as an independent organization within the Executive Branch responsible for the U.S. governmentʼ ...
Frontispiece An unrealised project by Paul Landon On 1 August 1953, under Reorganization Plan No. 8, the United States Information Agency (USIA) was created as an independent organization within the Executive Branch responsible for the U.S. governmentʼ ...
W5049
03.09.2012
Civic Centre in Salburua  - Taller Basico de Arquitectura [TBA]
WWW
Civic Centre in Salburua (2009) The expansion of the city towards the peripheral neighborhoods has occupied the green limits between the inhabited zone and the world. These areas still retain their limit character, and they don’t appear on the city a ...
Civic Centre in Salburua (2009) The expansion of the city towards the peripheral neighborhoods has occupied the green limits between the inhabited zone and the world. These areas still retain their limit character, and they don’t appear on the city a ...
U9903
01.01.1994
Art and Ourselves: A Proposal for the city of Nordhorn - Allen Rupperssberg
Unbuilt Roads
see my catalog from the Magazine. The complete text is there. (eventually reasons why the work has not been realised) Political Previous Publications (?) Catalog from where art Magazine 1996 Exisiting Documents: to be requested from No ...
see my catalog from the Magazine. The complete text is there. (eventually reasons why the work has not been realised) Political Previous Publications (?) Catalog from where art Magazine 1996 Exisiting Documents: to be requested from No ...
W5299
17.10.2012
Difficult Pony - Sue Palmer
WWW
Difficult Pony. In 2007, I began to make a project about horses and women, ponies and girls. I love what horses are - I've always been curious about this equine human relationship. So I started with the 1960s toy gymkhana I played with as a child, watchi ...
Difficult Pony. In 2007, I began to make a project about horses and women, ponies and girls. I love what horses are - I've always been curious about this equine human relationship. So I started with the 1960s toy gymkhana I played with as a child, watchi ...
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 ...
W4222
24.05.2011
C’era una volta il West (Spiel mir das Lied vom Tod) - Costa Vece
WWW
C’era una volta il West (Spiel mir das Lied vom Tod) Projekt von Costa Vece, 2005 Künstlerischer Wettbewerb für den Speichervorplatz in Bremen-Vegesack "Man hängt immer zwischen Himmel und Erde und gehört weder hier noch dort hin." E ...
C’era una volta il West (Spiel mir das Lied vom Tod) Projekt von Costa Vece, 2005 Künstlerischer Wettbewerb für den Speichervorplatz in Bremen-Vegesack "Man hängt immer zwischen Himmel und Erde und gehört weder hier noch dort hin." E ...
W3877
19.05.2011
Sound Of Trains - Derek Michael Besant
WWW
sound of underground train from another city as audio integration downtown in Canadian city Client: City of Calgary Development Dept. / Canada Date: 2002 Audio art integration into minor city pedestrian sidewalk downtown Calgary Alberta Canada. T ...
sound of underground train from another city as audio integration downtown in Canadian city Client: City of Calgary Development Dept. / Canada Date: 2002 Audio art integration into minor city pedestrian sidewalk downtown Calgary Alberta Canada. T ...