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.

Battery Park City - Per Kirkeby

The Rosetta Garden - Gary Simmons

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

<A Public Misery Message> - Critical Art Ensemble

Fax Transmission - Raymond Pettibone and Jason Rhoades

Electronic Theater - Laurie Anderson

PROJECT FOR A COMMUNITY CENTER, AVENUE DES NARCISSES, CHENOVE - Vito Acconci

Niemandsland - Hans Haacke

WATERWORKS - Mona Hatoum

Catwalk - Sylive Fleury

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
#
Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W3754
18.05.2011
DATENRAUM DEUTSCHLAND (GERMANY DATA SPACE) (A TOPOGRAPHIC, NON-NARRATIVE INFORMATION COLLAGE / VIDEO INSTALLATION) - Ira Schneider
WWW
With support from the Fulbright Commission, Ira Schneider has produced a video installation which in one space presents the historic and contemporary German contribution to world culture. A map of Germany with its 16 federal states (Bundeslands) is tra ...
With support from the Fulbright Commission, Ira Schneider has produced a video installation which in one space presents the historic and contemporary German contribution to world culture. A map of Germany with its 16 federal states (Bundeslands) is tra ...
W4094
23.05.2011
UNREALIZEABLE PROJECT A000008 - Stefano W. Pasquini
WWW
UNREALIZEABLE PROJECT A000008: The gallery wall gets shot with a machine gun. The project almost got realized in 1996 in a gallery in Maastricht. Unfortunately the Dutch Police wouldn't allow the shooting to happen, even without public, and advised the us ...
UNREALIZEABLE PROJECT A000008: The gallery wall gets shot with a machine gun. The project almost got realized in 1996 in a gallery in Maastricht. Unfortunately the Dutch Police wouldn't allow the shooting to happen, even without public, and advised the us ...
W4734
26.05.2011
Dead but not gone - Gaurav Dhwaj Khadka
WWW
Dead but not gone …. Dead but not gone is a project about the dead things that once was live and living in this world. This was unrealized photography project that, recently I found as going back to my photography archive from 2005 to 2011, I have take ...
Dead but not gone …. Dead but not gone is a project about the dead things that once was live and living in this world. This was unrealized photography project that, recently I found as going back to my photography archive from 2005 to 2011, I have take ...
W4589
25.05.2011
Joseph Moore
WWW
I hear words, half spoken words, and weeping both melodious and in staccato. Hands clap to the rhythm of music. A young man runs laps around the perimeter of the church’s large nave. There is the sound of voices that approach language albeit an incompl ...
I hear words, half spoken words, and weeping both melodious and in staccato. Hands clap to the rhythm of music. A young man runs laps around the perimeter of the church’s large nave. There is the sound of voices that approach language albeit an incompl ...
W4428
25.05.2011
The architectural charter - Philippe Rahm
WWW
The architectural charter Project for Vassivière, France From 2003 All the territory of Vassivière, France ...
The architectural charter Project for Vassivière, France From 2003 All the territory of Vassivière, France ...
W3552
12.05.2011
THE SECOND LIFE MARTYRS SHOW! - margherita isola
WWW
Thanks an experience of life at the Freedom Theatre of Jenin with the kids of the refugee camp, I decide to start this project about Palestinian people and their martyrs. The Second Life martyrs show!is an alternative utopia to the violence that people ...
Thanks an experience of life at the Freedom Theatre of Jenin with the kids of the refugee camp, I decide to start this project about Palestinian people and their martyrs. The Second Life martyrs show!is an alternative utopia to the violence that people ...
W4068
23.05.2011
Alishia Duncanson
WWW
Title: “Mission Impossible 1” Materials: Wood and M.D.F board Corridor space containing 5- 20 drawings in space, creating semi obstructed spaces to be engaged with by the viewer. The work asks the viewer to investigate both space and time as each ...
Title: “Mission Impossible 1” Materials: Wood and M.D.F board Corridor space containing 5- 20 drawings in space, creating semi obstructed spaces to be engaged with by the viewer. The work asks the viewer to investigate both space and time as each ...
W4613
25.05.2011
'Fish tank of snake eyes' - Valerie Driscoll
WWW
'Fish tank of snake eyes' A glass tank (measuring 60 cm x 60 cm and 40 cm tall). On the base of the tank will stand approximately 50-60 erect penises made from glass. Each glass penis will be life size and will be different in shape and size (preferably ...
'Fish tank of snake eyes' A glass tank (measuring 60 cm x 60 cm and 40 cm tall). On the base of the tank will stand approximately 50-60 erect penises made from glass. Each glass penis will be life size and will be different in shape and size (preferably ...
W3713
17.05.2011
A passage, London 1999 (project, with Sergison Bates architects) - Mark Pimlott
WWW
Sutton-walk is a special place poised between two differently proposed versions or conceptions of London. One is chaotic, the other has an idea of itself as ideal, a fantasy about how London could be. Both are London, both are legitimate, both are produ ...
Sutton-walk is a special place poised between two differently proposed versions or conceptions of London. One is chaotic, the other has an idea of itself as ideal, a fantasy about how London could be. Both are London, both are legitimate, both are produ ...
W4547
25.05.2011
ICONIC VIRTUALITY - Peter Dyson/THE ALTERMODERN GROUP
WWW
ICONIC VIRTUALITY Uluru, the World Heritage-listed site in central Australia has been a spiritual icon for the indigenous people of the island continent for over 60,000 years and a focus for white man’s tourism for a mere 160 years. It is a formida ...
ICONIC VIRTUALITY Uluru, the World Heritage-listed site in central Australia has been a spiritual icon for the indigenous people of the island continent for over 60,000 years and a focus for white man’s tourism for a mere 160 years. It is a formida ...
W4909
14.08.2012
Bring Your Own Balloon Party Invitations - Anna Wolfe-Pauly
WWW
This is a set of invitations made for a Bring Your Own Balloon Party. The invitations have come to serve the grid rather than the balloon community. The premise of the unrealized party is that each person holding an invitation would escort a balloon into ...
This is a set of invitations made for a Bring Your Own Balloon Party. The invitations have come to serve the grid rather than the balloon community. The premise of the unrealized party is that each person holding an invitation would escort a balloon into ...
W4426
25.05.2011
The Unicorn Lake - Yona Friedman
WWW
The Unicorn Lake Project for the lake of sculptures of Vassivière island, France July 2009 On the lake of Vassivière After creating in 2009, in the framework of the exhibition Etc. Balkis Island, The Vassivière Unicorn ("Unicorn Eiffel"), a sculp ...
The Unicorn Lake Project for the lake of sculptures of Vassivière island, France July 2009 On the lake of Vassivière After creating in 2009, in the framework of the exhibition Etc. Balkis Island, The Vassivière Unicorn ("Unicorn Eiffel"), a sculp ...
W4565
25.05.2011
FICTITIOUS ISLANDS  - Eduardo Villanueva
WWW
FICTITIOUS ISLANDS A proyect by : Eduardo Villanueva & the sightless people of Murcia; for the new life residency Manifesta 8, Murcia Spain. 2010 Experimenting with the consciousness and interacting with blind people is the main argument here to presen ...
FICTITIOUS ISLANDS A proyect by : Eduardo Villanueva & the sightless people of Murcia; for the new life residency Manifesta 8, Murcia Spain. 2010 Experimenting with the consciousness and interacting with blind people is the main argument here to presen ...
W3610
13.05.2011
Click An inverted press conference.  - Tina Willgren
WWW
From the opposing sides of a conference room, two groups of press photographers, videographers and sound technicians (20-40 persons in all) enter. Their aim is to document the movements, poses, sounds and facial expressions of the other group, as well as ...
From the opposing sides of a conference room, two groups of press photographers, videographers and sound technicians (20-40 persons in all) enter. Their aim is to document the movements, poses, sounds and facial expressions of the other group, as well as ...
W3526
11.05.2011
T h e S o l a r E n e r g y F i e l d - Michael Jantzen
WWW
T h e S o l a r E n e r g y F i e l d Michael Jantzen © 2010 www.michaeljantzen.com ​My design inspiration for this alternative energy producing sculpture in the desert, comes from a conceptual symbolic representation of the micro energe ...
T h e S o l a r E n e r g y F i e l d Michael Jantzen © 2010 www.michaeljantzen.com ​My design inspiration for this alternative energy producing sculpture in the desert, comes from a conceptual symbolic representation of the micro energe ...
W4387
25.05.2011
Pristine Project - Andrea Röpke
WWW
Research proposal Andrea Röpke - Pristine Project 2008 - In February this year the Kontekst gallery in Belgrade opened the Exhibition "Exception" of works by young Kosovar Albanian artists. The exhibition came to my attention through a Belgrade-bas ...
Research proposal Andrea Röpke - Pristine Project 2008 - In February this year the Kontekst gallery in Belgrade opened the Exhibition "Exception" of works by young Kosovar Albanian artists. The exhibition came to my attention through a Belgrade-bas ...
W3622
14.05.2011
SIGHT UNSEEN - Marcy B. Freedman
WWW
“Message to curators: Whatever you’re doing right now, do something else next.” Roberta Smith (New York Times, February 14, 2010) THE CONCEPT: SIGHT UNSEEN is intended to challenge traditional notions of curatorial practice. The project establis ...
“Message to curators: Whatever you’re doing right now, do something else next.” Roberta Smith (New York Times, February 14, 2010) THE CONCEPT: SIGHT UNSEEN is intended to challenge traditional notions of curatorial practice. The project establis ...
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 ...
W3934
20.05.2011
No Vacancy 2008 - ANNA LASCARI
WWW
“No Vacancy” is a multi-layer installation. It has obvious references to Led Zeppelin’s song “Stairway to Heaven,” to crystal utopias of fairy tales and to the stairways of Louise Bourgeois, which lead to dark attics. ...
“No Vacancy” is a multi-layer installation. It has obvious references to Led Zeppelin’s song “Stairway to Heaven,” to crystal utopias of fairy tales and to the stairways of Louise Bourgeois, which lead to dark attics. ...
W4082
23.05.2011
Mohamed Ibrahim Elmasry
WWW
Book is based on Arabic calligraphy and images to produce a book works on notice of the Heritage Logistic requirements Human resources:- This includes the job titles and job description The model:- We will contact a various number of actors, act ...
Book is based on Arabic calligraphy and images to produce a book works on notice of the Heritage Logistic requirements Human resources:- This includes the job titles and job description The model:- We will contact a various number of actors, act ...
W4475
25.05.2011
Veronica Wilton
WWW
W4138
23.05.2011
No manʼs land - Constanza Alarcón Tennen
WWW
No manʼs land This installation was projected for Sala SAM, a gallery in Santiago de Chile, to be exhibited in August 2010. Because of the abrupt closure of the gallery, the Project was stoped a month before opening. No manʼs land was based in the obs ...
No manʼs land This installation was projected for Sala SAM, a gallery in Santiago de Chile, to be exhibited in August 2010. Because of the abrupt closure of the gallery, the Project was stoped a month before opening. No manʼs land was based in the obs ...
W3995
21.05.2011
Action Pants Proposal for Off the Strip - Cindy Rehm
WWW
Rejected proposal "Action Pants" for Off the Strip at the Contemporary Art Center, Las Vegas. Action Pants Proposal for Off the Strip Contemporary Art Center, Las Vegas February 2009 In 1968, artist Valie Export performed her work Action Pants ...
Rejected proposal "Action Pants" for Off the Strip at the Contemporary Art Center, Las Vegas. Action Pants Proposal for Off the Strip Contemporary Art Center, Las Vegas February 2009 In 1968, artist Valie Export performed her work Action Pants ...
W4727
26.05.2011
Household aluminium foil sculptures - Michel NORTH
WWW
Household aluminium foil sculptures – development of a “fa presto” technique in sculpture Those are two examples of statues (image 1: 1978; image 2: 1985), unrealised in that sense that the technique used and developed by me about 50 years ago ...
Household aluminium foil sculptures – development of a “fa presto” technique in sculpture Those are two examples of statues (image 1: 1978; image 2: 1985), unrealised in that sense that the technique used and developed by me about 50 years ago ...
W5124
18.09.2012
Leaching The Grease Out Of A Cheese Pyramid - Michael Arata
WWW
"Leaching The Grease Out Of A Cheese Pyramid" 1991-2012 The project (1991) consisted of ten pounds of white cheddar cheese carved into the shape of a stepped pyramid. The pyramid was placed on a 30 inch stack of newspapers bound together with braide ...
"Leaching The Grease Out Of A Cheese Pyramid" 1991-2012 The project (1991) consisted of ten pounds of white cheddar cheese carved into the shape of a stepped pyramid. The pyramid was placed on a 30 inch stack of newspapers bound together with braide ...
W5187
30.09.2012
Untitled (‘Hold my Emotions’)  - Betty Nigianni
WWW
Untitled (‘Hold my Emotions’) - - Cast objects, plaster moulds, and coloured wax, 10x8 cm approx. (2011) The objects were developed around the Romantic idea that physical forms can gain the significance of projected emotions. Objects, which were f ...
Untitled (‘Hold my Emotions’) - - Cast objects, plaster moulds, and coloured wax, 10x8 cm approx. (2011) The objects were developed around the Romantic idea that physical forms can gain the significance of projected emotions. Objects, which were f ...