Agency of Unrealised Projects
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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.

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Messages to the Public - Nancy Spero

Monument to Democracy - Kounellis

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

Untitled, modeled after the Leipzig Völkerschlachtdenkmal...  - Jenny Holzer

Visual Poem: Cap I Cua - Joan Brossa

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

Why New Worlds Conceived by Artists Do Not Get Built - Peter Fend

AUSSICHTSTURM, HOLZHAUS (WOHNHAUS), SCHWIMMBECKEN, FREIE FAHRT - Maria Eichhorn

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

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

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W4569
25.05.2011
Giraffe  - Eduardo Villanueva
WWW
Giraffe A film idea by Eduardo Villanueva. The main idea depart from one story to creat another one. The piece is simple and consist in release a Giraffe in the streets of Venice, Italy and make a film with the Giraffe interacting with the people and ...
Giraffe A film idea by Eduardo Villanueva. The main idea depart from one story to creat another one. The piece is simple and consist in release a Giraffe in the streets of Venice, Italy and make a film with the Giraffe interacting with the people and ...
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W5012
30.08.2012
Stalactite Machine - Karen Lofgren
WWW
Stalactite Machine is an unrealized mechanical sculpture that was prototyped 3 times in metal and in wood over two years before being laid to rest. Karen Lofgren: Unrealized Art Project: Stalactite Machine Stalactite Machine is a sculpture that bui ...
Stalactite Machine is an unrealized mechanical sculpture that was prototyped 3 times in metal and in wood over two years before being laid to rest. Karen Lofgren: Unrealized Art Project: Stalactite Machine Stalactite Machine is a sculpture that bui ...
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W4593
25.05.2011
Sketch-collage for a project - antonio menchen
WWW
Untitled. 2008. Sketch-collage for a project. Variable measures. ...
Untitled. 2008. Sketch-collage for a project. Variable measures. ...
W4647
25.05.2011
Este No Es Refugio Para Jornaleros - Jenny Polak
WWW
Este No Es Refugio Para Jornaleros A 2008 proposal for Corona Plaza, Queens, by Jenny Polak Invited by the Queens Museum of Art. The 103 st. 7 station connects Corona to the train known by some as the Immigrant Express. I want to put a small camoufla ...
Este No Es Refugio Para Jornaleros A 2008 proposal for Corona Plaza, Queens, by Jenny Polak Invited by the Queens Museum of Art. The 103 st. 7 station connects Corona to the train known by some as the Immigrant Express. I want to put a small camoufla ...
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W4351
24.05.2011
R118 G223 B209 - Walter Benjamin Smith
WWW
Walter Benjamin Smith, R118 G223 B209, 2010- 2035, 40” x 68”, enamel on panel R118 G223 B209 is a billboard-like panel that color matches, at full saturation, the scaffolding surrounding the Manhattanville demolition site. This color has multi ...
Walter Benjamin Smith, R118 G223 B209, 2010- 2035, 40” x 68”, enamel on panel R118 G223 B209 is a billboard-like panel that color matches, at full saturation, the scaffolding surrounding the Manhattanville demolition site. This color has multi ...
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W4887
10.08.2012
Caravan Tour - An Inverted World - Ann Messner
WWW
caravan tour — an inverted world A Proposal for a Transportable Camera Obscura for the Courts of Lower Manhattan The Lower Manhattan court buildings in their neoclassical grandeur and scale endure as visual tropes of the solidity of the power of justice ...
caravan tour — an inverted world A Proposal for a Transportable Camera Obscura for the Courts of Lower Manhattan The Lower Manhattan court buildings in their neoclassical grandeur and scale endure as visual tropes of the solidity of the power of justice ...
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W5024
31.08.2012
Generali Project - Omri Livne
WWW
Generali Project. Generali Project is a project I started to develop this year in Vienna, Austria and transferred to Jerusalem, I eventually fitted it to the needs of Jerusalem, Israel. The project is in format of a lecture or projected presentation as ...
Generali Project. Generali Project is a project I started to develop this year in Vienna, Austria and transferred to Jerusalem, I eventually fitted it to the needs of Jerusalem, Israel. The project is in format of a lecture or projected presentation as ...
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W4269
24.05.2011
Untitled,  - Ye Qin Zhu
WWW
Untitled, In my wallet, main flap front pocket and in the back of my NYS Driver's license, there is a card with a note on it: (Front side) In my time of death, give this card to an English speaking close relative or friend. (Back side) To the receiv ...
Untitled, In my wallet, main flap front pocket and in the back of my NYS Driver's license, there is a card with a note on it: (Front side) In my time of death, give this card to an English speaking close relative or friend. (Back side) To the receiv ...
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W4067
23.05.2011
Graffiti Saving - János Sugár
WWW
Writing texts on the wall has a tremendous tradition in the folklore of big cities. It is one of the simplest ways to express freedom; the creators communicate with every citizen of the city in principle. They turn an intrinsically illegible town legible. ...
Writing texts on the wall has a tremendous tradition in the folklore of big cities. It is one of the simplest ways to express freedom; the creators communicate with every citizen of the city in principle. They turn an intrinsically illegible town legible. ...
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U9892
16.02.1997
Fax Transmission - Raymond Pettibone and Jason Rhoades
Unbuilt Roads
Fax to: HANS-ULRICH OBRIST From Jason Rhoades Greeting HAN-ULRICH Well the project sounded great but I didn't have any unfulfilled projects that I sad appropriate for the project, but just last sunday I was at the race track with raymon pettibone ...
Fax to: HANS-ULRICH OBRIST From Jason Rhoades Greeting HAN-ULRICH Well the project sounded great but I didn't have any unfulfilled projects that I sad appropriate for the project, but just last sunday I was at the race track with raymon pettibone ...
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W4028
22.05.2011
The width of a grin - Matthew Geller
WWW
Proposal for a temporary public artwork on West San Fernando Street under the Highway 87 overpass and over the Guadalupe River, San Jose, CA It takes about 68 seconds to cross under Highway 87 and over the Guadalupe River while walking on West San Fern ...
Proposal for a temporary public artwork on West San Fernando Street under the Highway 87 overpass and over the Guadalupe River, San Jose, CA It takes about 68 seconds to cross under Highway 87 and over the Guadalupe River while walking on West San Fern ...
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W10481
28.04.2014
The Geese of Feliferhof - Esther Shalev-Gerz with Jochen Gerz
WWW
Graz, Austria In 1996, Esther Shalev-Gerz and Jochen Gerz won an international competition launched by the Austrian government to pay tribute to those who opposed the Nazi regime. The artists proposed installing four white flags carrying red inscriptio ...
Graz, Austria In 1996, Esther Shalev-Gerz and Jochen Gerz won an international competition launched by the Austrian government to pay tribute to those who opposed the Nazi regime. The artists proposed installing four white flags carrying red inscriptio ...
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W4081
23.05.2011
Présentation du projet: « FREE », - Kasia Ozga
WWW
FREE (Sculpture in steel with real or fake birds) La question des rapports désirables entre les êtres humains et leur environnement est devenue une des plus importants de notre temps. Le passage du temps peut être ressenti avec le corps et pensée c ...
FREE (Sculpture in steel with real or fake birds) La question des rapports désirables entre les êtres humains et leur environnement est devenue une des plus importants de notre temps. Le passage du temps peut être ressenti avec le corps et pensée c ...
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W3889
20.05.2011
Fireflies - Fani Zguro
WWW
“Fireflies” is a site-specific installation, I got the idea while traveling for Bogota to Medellin by land, through the mountain. For the first time after sever years I saw groups of fireflies in the woods. Why there are not so many fireflies around t ...
“Fireflies” is a site-specific installation, I got the idea while traveling for Bogota to Medellin by land, through the mountain. For the first time after sever years I saw groups of fireflies in the woods. Why there are not so many fireflies around t ...
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W4005
22.05.2011
Chris Johnson
WWW
I propose to cut involute spur gears into the ice of a central park lake. Imposing a simple machine will add something to the natural world. A prototype of the proposal can be seen at: http://vimeo.com/23778323 ...
I propose to cut involute spur gears into the ice of a central park lake. Imposing a simple machine will add something to the natural world. A prototype of the proposal can be seen at: http://vimeo.com/23778323 ...
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W4314
24.05.2011
Unfinished Projects - Catarina Alexandra Costa Cubelo Morais
WWW
Unfinished Projects This project is about sound and comunication It is also about the nervous consequences that came with the repetition of the same type of sound, which at first cause a strangeness and annoyance, and then the questioning of the phen ...
Unfinished Projects This project is about sound and comunication It is also about the nervous consequences that came with the repetition of the same type of sound, which at first cause a strangeness and annoyance, and then the questioning of the phen ...
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W4346
24.05.2011
Sane Jung
WWW
Through my art, I can go fishing, I can eat burgers, I can play with balls, I can go to the sea and go to mountain. I can meet people and talk to people, I can see the sky and I can see the moon. How gorgeous it is and what a wonderful, exciting privilege ...
Through my art, I can go fishing, I can eat burgers, I can play with balls, I can go to the sea and go to mountain. I can meet people and talk to people, I can see the sky and I can see the moon. How gorgeous it is and what a wonderful, exciting privilege ...
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W3593
13.05.2011
VINE PEOPLE ARE NOT TERRORISTS - Dyan Marie
WWW
News reports claim my actions are that of an environmental terrorist organization: that we have unleashed a harmful toxin in the halls of power throughout the North America. ...
News reports claim my actions are that of an environmental terrorist organization: that we have unleashed a harmful toxin in the halls of power throughout the North America. ...
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W3672
15.05.2011
An Island - jeroen doorenweerd
WWW
An Island' is a proposal for a large scale work in public space, commissioned by the province of North-Holland in the Netherlands. 'Kunstgebouw' was involved with the choice of artists. My proposal will not be realised. How many kubic metres of soil ca ...
An Island' is a proposal for a large scale work in public space, commissioned by the province of North-Holland in the Netherlands. 'Kunstgebouw' was involved with the choice of artists. My proposal will not be realised. How many kubic metres of soil ca ...
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W3542
12.05.2011
Nathan Danilowicz
WWW
The working title for this yet to be realized sculpture is "untitled (covered bridge)." It is based largely on covered bridges found in Pennsylvania and the surrounding Mid-Atlantic United States. These historic bridges are predominantly red. This sculptu ...
The working title for this yet to be realized sculpture is "untitled (covered bridge)." It is based largely on covered bridges found in Pennsylvania and the surrounding Mid-Atlantic United States. These historic bridges are predominantly red. This sculptu ...
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W4213
24.05.2011
MAXXI TV - ELASTIC Group of Artistic Research
WWW
MAXXI TV, unrealized project by ELASTIC Group of Artistic Research for the MAXXI- National Museum of the 21st Century Arts in Rome (Italy) Report on the approach to the subject,work placement and dialogue with the architecture of the museum: ...
MAXXI TV, unrealized project by ELASTIC Group of Artistic Research for the MAXXI- National Museum of the 21st Century Arts in Rome (Italy) Report on the approach to the subject,work placement and dialogue with the architecture of the museum: ...
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W5390
20.10.2012
Jesvin Yeo
WWW
Unrealized Project by Jesvin Yeo The initial intention of this project was to design and create a series of dolls to illustrate the dark period of Singapore in 1950s. When there had been more than 30 secret societies and almost everyday, there were gan ...
Unrealized Project by Jesvin Yeo The initial intention of this project was to design and create a series of dolls to illustrate the dark period of Singapore in 1950s. When there had been more than 30 secret societies and almost everyday, there were gan ...
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W4205
24.05.2011
Dublin girl sells soul for drugs  - Catherine Harty
WWW
One of my many unrealized projects A number of years ago I saw a headline on the front of an evening paper. It read ‘Dublin girl sells soul for drugs’. Its a phrase which stayed with me, it generated an image in my mind of a track- suit glad young ...
One of my many unrealized projects A number of years ago I saw a headline on the front of an evening paper. It read ‘Dublin girl sells soul for drugs’. Its a phrase which stayed with me, it generated an image in my mind of a track- suit glad young ...
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W4065
23.05.2011
THE COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND RADIATION (CMB) FROM THE BIG BANG - Rick Doble
WWW
A PROPOSAL BY RICK DOBLE FOR AN UNREALIZED ART PROJECT BASED ON PROCESSING THE COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND RADIATION (CMB) FROM THE BIG BANG In 2003 I proposed an art project (see my submitted copy of my proposal to the Exploratorium in San Francisco ...
A PROPOSAL BY RICK DOBLE FOR AN UNREALIZED ART PROJECT BASED ON PROCESSING THE COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND RADIATION (CMB) FROM THE BIG BANG In 2003 I proposed an art project (see my submitted copy of my proposal to the Exploratorium in San Francisco ...
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W3590
13.05.2011
IN-OUTDOOR PROJECT - Helena Trindade
WWW
Unrealized Public Art Project For images and text please refer to the PDF ...
Unrealized Public Art Project For images and text please refer to the PDF ...
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W4914
14.08.2012
Possible Areas of Joint Action - Alec Steadman
WWW
The Experimental Art Action group present: Possible Areas of Joint Action A “Due to an electrical fault at the enlightenment gallery…” production 01/01/2013 - 01/01/2014 For the period of 1 year, beginning at midnight on the 01/01/2013 and e ...
The Experimental Art Action group present: Possible Areas of Joint Action A “Due to an electrical fault at the enlightenment gallery…” production 01/01/2013 - 01/01/2014 For the period of 1 year, beginning at midnight on the 01/01/2013 and e ...
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