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.

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

Battery Park City - Per Kirkeby

Time Magazine Cover - Robert Rauschenberg

Project 1 + Project 2 - Simryn Gill

Project pour le parc de sculpture de Vassiviére - Paul-Armand Gette

Electronic Theater - Laurie Anderson

Billboard - Jimmie Durham

Theater der Leere - Werner Ruhnau and Yves Klein

Eight Days a Week - Joe Scanlan

The pyramids...to be seen to be believed - Jonathan Monk

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
U9528
01.01.1988
Billboard - Jimmie Durham
Unbuilt Roads
a "U.S, Highway" - size billboard structure built along some street or auto-route. It would be complete with lights, but built on a structure to look at, that is to say, without a 'message' Without text or images superimposed. (eventually reasons why ...
a "U.S, Highway" - size billboard structure built along some street or auto-route. It would be complete with lights, but built on a structure to look at, that is to say, without a 'message' Without text or images superimposed. (eventually reasons why ...
W4319
24.05.2011
(Twitter Carrier Pigeon) - seth marshall weiner
WWW
(Social Networking Utilities and the Argument for Physical Space (Twitter Carrier Pigeon) As social networking utilities continue to provide open forums for users to communicate, protest and organize, they lack the necessity for a physical space. T ...
(Social Networking Utilities and the Argument for Physical Space (Twitter Carrier Pigeon) As social networking utilities continue to provide open forums for users to communicate, protest and organize, they lack the necessity for a physical space. T ...
U9268
24.02.1997
The lmprobable Flow - Larry Bell
Unbuilt Roads
Dear Hans: The most passionate times in the studio is the birth of a new idea. It gets all the juices that make being an artist flow. Sadly many wonderful ideas are not realized because one is in the wrong place at the wrong time. I chose to live a ...
Dear Hans: The most passionate times in the studio is the birth of a new idea. It gets all the juices that make being an artist flow. Sadly many wonderful ideas are not realized because one is in the wrong place at the wrong time. I chose to live a ...
W3801
18.05.2011
Wish Fountain  - T. Mikey
WWW
Website: tmikey.com/wish Wish Fountain is over 512 square feet of Glowing, Flowing Water Cascading down the sides of an 18 Foot High Transparent Pyramid. Wish Fountain is over 512 square feet of Glowing, Flowing Water Cascading down the sides of ...
Website: tmikey.com/wish Wish Fountain is over 512 square feet of Glowing, Flowing Water Cascading down the sides of an 18 Foot High Transparent Pyramid. Wish Fountain is over 512 square feet of Glowing, Flowing Water Cascading down the sides of ...
W4045
22.05.2011
Bag - Ellie Brown
WWW
I have been collecting the contents of peoples' bags, purses, backpacks, etc. for the past 18 months as part of the BAG project. http://elliebrown.com/section/94108_BAG.html I would like to display all 144 bag of what people were willing to part with. ...
I have been collecting the contents of peoples' bags, purses, backpacks, etc. for the past 18 months as part of the BAG project. http://elliebrown.com/section/94108_BAG.html I would like to display all 144 bag of what people were willing to part with. ...
W4284
24.05.2011
Mr. Imagination’s Arch of Unity - Mr. Imagination (Gregory Warmack)
WWW
Mr. Imagination (Gregory Warmack) Mr. Imagination’s Arch of Unity Proposal for Vision and Vernacular Eight African American Artists in Venice Presented by American Folk Art Museum at Fondaco dei Tedeschi, June 2011 Artist Statement The su ...
Mr. Imagination (Gregory Warmack) Mr. Imagination’s Arch of Unity Proposal for Vision and Vernacular Eight African American Artists in Venice Presented by American Folk Art Museum at Fondaco dei Tedeschi, June 2011 Artist Statement The su ...
W4848
08.08.2012
Human/ Animal: Mandibulae - Carla Lombardo
WWW
Human/ Animal. Mandibulae installation. “Mandibulae installation” is part of the body of work “Human/ Animal” I have been doing since last year. At the moment this project installation that consists of a family of 5 pieces is postponed. The pi ...
Human/ Animal. Mandibulae installation. “Mandibulae installation” is part of the body of work “Human/ Animal” I have been doing since last year. At the moment this project installation that consists of a family of 5 pieces is postponed. The pi ...
U9807
01.01.1997
Cruzeiro Do Sul, (Southern Cross) (Crucero del Sur) 1969-70* - Cildo Meireles
Unbuilt Roads
A cube with a side measurement of 9 mm, consisting of two transverse sections: one of pine and the other of oak, trees that represented mythical beings in the cosmology of the Tupi Indians, beings whose correlation (mistakenly interpreted by the Jesuits a ...
A cube with a side measurement of 9 mm, consisting of two transverse sections: one of pine and the other of oak, trees that represented mythical beings in the cosmology of the Tupi Indians, beings whose correlation (mistakenly interpreted by the Jesuits a ...
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 ? ...
W4498
25.05.2011
Elaine Leader
WWW
Proposal Model for Installation – Sensor activated walls that move back and forth alternately in the space very slowly using an automatic gate mechanism, dissecting the space and controlling the movement of the viewer within it, creating a disruption of ...
Proposal Model for Installation – Sensor activated walls that move back and forth alternately in the space very slowly using an automatic gate mechanism, dissecting the space and controlling the movement of the viewer within it, creating a disruption of ...
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 ...
W4076
23.05.2011
Reuniting ‘Between You & I - Sara Brannan
WWW
In 2007 Anthony McCall produced a limited edition number of prints (150) to coincide with his exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery in London. What I’d like to do in this work is try to reunite as many as possible of the prints to be exhibited togethe ...
In 2007 Anthony McCall produced a limited edition number of prints (150) to coincide with his exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery in London. What I’d like to do in this work is try to reunite as many as possible of the prints to be exhibited togethe ...
U9958
01.01.1993
Project for the Initiative Mahnmal Homosexuellenverfolgung, Frankfurt  - Jeff Wall
Unbuilt Roads
My monument would be a free-standing structure, a life-size open air cafe-terrace that the public could enter. It is a 12-sided ellipse with two entrances, and would be a careful recreation of such a place in a style typical of the 1920s. It would be made ...
My monument would be a free-standing structure, a life-size open air cafe-terrace that the public could enter. It is a 12-sided ellipse with two entrances, and would be a careful recreation of such a place in a style typical of the 1920s. It would be made ...
W5359
19.10.2012
Malignant Ego Boxes - Levan Manjavidze
WWW
Idea for installation, sculpture, which is impossible to realize for me at the moment because of time that runs so fast! One peaceful evening I observed feeling of jealousy and clearly saw that its similar of feeling envy.
In both cases you long fo ...
Idea for installation, sculpture, which is impossible to realize for me at the moment because of time that runs so fast! One peaceful evening I observed feeling of jealousy and clearly saw that its similar of feeling envy.
In both cases you long fo ...
W3633
14.05.2011
Le déclin du jour - Berger&Berger
WWW
Marché Couvert, Metz, France

 2010 City of Metz, France

 Structural Engineer : Bollinger + Grohmann (France) 

The advent of artificial light, which grew strongly during XXst century,
has gradually freed the man from the natural rhyt ...
Marché Couvert, Metz, France

 2010 City of Metz, France

 Structural Engineer : Bollinger + Grohmann (France) 

The advent of artificial light, which grew strongly during XXst century,
has gradually freed the man from the natural rhyt ...
W3689
16.05.2011
Mike Mosher
WWW
Painting community murals in early 1980s San Francisco, California [see "Artist!" on Bad Subjects website], I made many sketches and proposals, like the "Children's Checkerboard". After 1984, I began to link imagery in paintings with symbols & schematics ...
Painting community murals in early 1980s San Francisco, California [see "Artist!" on Bad Subjects website], I made many sketches and proposals, like the "Children's Checkerboard". After 1984, I began to link imagery in paintings with symbols & schematics ...
W4934
18.08.2012
A Walk in Paradise - Andreas Gedin
WWW
Andreas Gedin: Plan for Berlin: ”A Walk in Paradise”, 1997 This project concerned the specific conditions for the fauna in the No mans land (or what is left of it) surrounding the former Berlin wall. It was neither a city park or a forest. What int ...
Andreas Gedin: Plan for Berlin: ”A Walk in Paradise”, 1997 This project concerned the specific conditions for the fauna in the No mans land (or what is left of it) surrounding the former Berlin wall. It was neither a city park or a forest. What int ...
W4615
25.05.2011
Tia-Simone Gardner
WWW
The project that I am working on is a more involved video project, developed out of an installation of stills, that will re-narrate, and re-edit, Ousmane Sembene's 1966 film 'La noire de.' I began the ground work for this project over a year ago while thi ...
The project that I am working on is a more involved video project, developed out of an installation of stills, that will re-narrate, and re-edit, Ousmane Sembene's 1966 film 'La noire de.' I began the ground work for this project over a year ago while thi ...
W4003
22.05.2011
Subject to Terms of Use - Caspar Lam
WWW
Thought experiment visualization: the view through a pair of Search Engine Spectacles Artist: Caspar Lam (casparlam@aya.yale.edu) Title: Subject to Terms of Use Description: Thought experiment visualization: the view through a pair of Search Engine ...
Thought experiment visualization: the view through a pair of Search Engine Spectacles Artist: Caspar Lam (casparlam@aya.yale.edu) Title: Subject to Terms of Use Description: Thought experiment visualization: the view through a pair of Search Engine ...
U9538
01.01.1996
The Clock - Ayse Erkmen
Unbuilt Roads
The location is Domplatz, Münster. The Place is the reconstructed wall at the west wing of the Dome. This was the previous entrance of the Dome before it was destroyed in the way. It does not have an entrance any more but has twelve large windows forming ...
The location is Domplatz, Münster. The Place is the reconstructed wall at the west wing of the Dome. This was the previous entrance of the Dome before it was destroyed in the way. It does not have an entrance any more but has twelve large windows forming ...
W4085
23.05.2011
Scope, movements with changing parts 2.0 - Marit Neeb
WWW
Concept Scope, movements with changing parts 2.0 draws a stagelike terrain, playfully involving visitors
in movement and reflexion. The basic concept involves the construction of several open frames, which act as the framework for individual sec ...
Concept Scope, movements with changing parts 2.0 draws a stagelike terrain, playfully involving visitors
in movement and reflexion. The basic concept involves the construction of several open frames, which act as the framework for individual sec ...
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 ...
W4393
25.05.2011
Ground Control - Sylvia Schwenk
WWW
SYLVIA SCHWENK PROJECT CONCEPT STATEMENT Ground Control is a work of participatory performance art that will be presented in two stages. The first stage will be a live performance that will take place at night-time by everyday-people-cum-performers ...
SYLVIA SCHWENK PROJECT CONCEPT STATEMENT Ground Control is a work of participatory performance art that will be presented in two stages. The first stage will be a live performance that will take place at night-time by everyday-people-cum-performers ...
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 ...
W5448
20.10.2012
BUILDING DRAWING I: “THE LITTLE EASE” - Ann Daly
WWW
Ann Daly adaly@aya.yale.edu BUILDING DRAWING I: “THE LITTLE EASE” Room within a room within a room. Smallest internal room is a plywood box, upright, approx. 6.5 ft tall and 3ft. wide. This internal box is drilled with 'viewholes' at various po ...
Ann Daly adaly@aya.yale.edu BUILDING DRAWING I: “THE LITTLE EASE” Room within a room within a room. Smallest internal room is a plywood box, upright, approx. 6.5 ft tall and 3ft. wide. This internal box is drilled with 'viewholes' at various po ...
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 ...