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.

Proposal for a permanent video installation for the NYC headquarters of Sony Corporation - Dara Birnbaum

Financial Times Millennium Bridge Competition - Richard Serra and Frank Gehry

Square Depression - Bruce Nauman

Right-of-Privacy Release - Tony Oursler

The insurer - Fabrice Hybert

The Rosetta Garden - Gary Simmons

Placid Earth: A Project for the Meeting of Millennia - Cai Guo Quiang

To Two Too; Hypothetical Monument for a Natural Disaster - Jeffrey Wisniewski

Engel-Detektor - Jakob Gautel & Jason Karaïndros

Der New-Babyloner - Constant

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W5313
17.10.2012
“The Account” 2011 - Georgina Criddle
WWW
“The Account” 2011, is a detailed sketch and testimony of an unrealised installation project in a gas station in Berlin. The two pieces attempt to suspend the work in a potential space between fiction and reality. ...
“The Account” 2011, is a detailed sketch and testimony of an unrealised installation project in a gas station in Berlin. The two pieces attempt to suspend the work in a potential space between fiction and reality. ...
W3557
12.05.2011
Liberties - Esin Turan
WWW
Abstract Liberties is an experiment in giving and receiving and working together peacefully to create something of universal value and at the same time benefit individually. It is an interactive lear- ning experience, in which each participant learns tha ...
Abstract Liberties is an experiment in giving and receiving and working together peacefully to create something of universal value and at the same time benefit individually. It is an interactive lear- ning experience, in which each participant learns tha ...
W5499
09.11.2012
CUBICAL PROGRESSION  - Ada Avetist
WWW
Status: This project runs in the spirit of “concrete Utopia”, a project which is yet to be realized. This implies that it might take the duration of my lifetime to realize this work, but has to be realized at some point because I believe in its potent ...
Status: This project runs in the spirit of “concrete Utopia”, a project which is yet to be realized. This implies that it might take the duration of my lifetime to realize this work, but has to be realized at some point because I believe in its potent ...
W4516
25.05.2011
Viktor Timofeev
WWW
In this painting I have "created" a triumphal arch constructed out of 13 worker-housing units, stacked precariously and defying the laws of physics. While this village/monument is rendered to appear structurally sound, its context is most certainly utopia ...
In this painting I have "created" a triumphal arch constructed out of 13 worker-housing units, stacked precariously and defying the laws of physics. While this village/monument is rendered to appear structurally sound, its context is most certainly utopia ...
W3603
13.05.2011
francine LeClercq
WWW
in memoriam of a work not yet done ...
in memoriam of a work not yet done ...
W4293
24.05.2011
BATIBURRILLO(S) - BATIBURRILLOS
WWW
BATIBURRILLO(S) According to the Dictionary of the Royal Academy of Spanish Language (RAE) ‘Batiburrillo(s)’ means: 1. m. Mezcla de cosas, especialmente de guisados, que no dicen bien unas con otras. 1. m. Mixture of things, especially stews, t ...
BATIBURRILLO(S) According to the Dictionary of the Royal Academy of Spanish Language (RAE) ‘Batiburrillo(s)’ means: 1. m. Mezcla de cosas, especialmente de guisados, que no dicen bien unas con otras. 1. m. Mixture of things, especially stews, t ...
W5175
26.09.2012
Action Office III - Geissler Sann
WWW
Action Office III The first cubicles were designed in 1967 by Robert Propst. The purpose was to give the workers more privacy, to isolate them from sights and noises of an open workspace. Probst consulted for his research mathematicians, behavioral psych ...
Action Office III The first cubicles were designed in 1967 by Robert Propst. The purpose was to give the workers more privacy, to isolate them from sights and noises of an open workspace. Probst consulted for his research mathematicians, behavioral psych ...
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 ...
W3926
20.05.2011
Denkzeichen Rosa Luxemburg - Oliver Ressler
WWW
My design for the competition “Denkzeichen Rosa Luxemburg” (Memory Marker Rosa Luxemburg; Berlin 2003) drew upon the Revolution Monument by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, which was commissioned in 1926 by the German Communist Party as the central memorial ...
My design for the competition “Denkzeichen Rosa Luxemburg” (Memory Marker Rosa Luxemburg; Berlin 2003) drew upon the Revolution Monument by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, which was commissioned in 1926 by the German Communist Party as the central memorial ...
W5052
03.09.2012
Hall of Residence for the UPV - Taller Basico de Arquitectura [TBA]
WWW
Hall of Residence for the UPV (2011) AIR STRATA This metal cloud made from three air strata rises on its own footprint. The interior is opened into two equal halves, generating a large interior street opened to the sky and to the ground plane, which ...
Hall of Residence for the UPV (2011) AIR STRATA This metal cloud made from three air strata rises on its own footprint. The interior is opened into two equal halves, generating a large interior street opened to the sky and to the ground plane, which ...
W4112
23.05.2011
“Waste Work" ("Oeuvre Déchet”)  - Alexandre Dang
WWW
“Waste Work" ("Oeuvre Déchet”) Introduction Alexandre Dang is an artist committed towards raising awareness on issues linked with sustainable development. The theme explored in the artwork titled "Waste Work" (and described hereafter) is "waste" ...
“Waste Work" ("Oeuvre Déchet”) Introduction Alexandre Dang is an artist committed towards raising awareness on issues linked with sustainable development. The theme explored in the artwork titled "Waste Work" (and described hereafter) is "waste" ...
W10357
18.04.2014
After The Flood - Ingrid Mayrhofer
WWW
This project marks the last exhibition of a selection of works on paper from my past 30 years in printmaking, photography and painting. During the July 2013 storm, my basement studio was flooded, and 60 pieces of my artwork were damaged. While the water d ...
This project marks the last exhibition of a selection of works on paper from my past 30 years in printmaking, photography and painting. During the July 2013 storm, my basement studio was flooded, and 60 pieces of my artwork were damaged. While the water d ...
W3573
12.05.2011
MOROSO Prize 2010 Proposal - Gabriele De Santis
WWW
Introduction Before this opportunity, I knew of Moroso, but I was not fortunate enough to fully engage with it in-depth. The first step was obviously to carefully explore the website. Through the images and literature offered I gained a better underst ...
Introduction Before this opportunity, I knew of Moroso, but I was not fortunate enough to fully engage with it in-depth. The first step was obviously to carefully explore the website. Through the images and literature offered I gained a better underst ...
W4161
23.05.2011
Failure - Pauline Hanson
WWW
http://www.severalpursuits.org/?pageid=72 http://www.severalpursuits.org/?pageid=78 ...
http://www.severalpursuits.org/?pageid=72 http://www.severalpursuits.org/?pageid=78 ...
W5207
04.10.2012
Image Intermission - Andreas M. Kaufmann
WWW
Dear all, here comes another submission for possible inclusion in AUP at the daadgalerie in Berlin: Project "Bilderpause" / "Image Intermission" 1996/2000 The Project and the photographs are attached to that form. Enjoy! Bilderpause Ein Pause ...
Dear all, here comes another submission for possible inclusion in AUP at the daadgalerie in Berlin: Project "Bilderpause" / "Image Intermission" 1996/2000 The Project and the photographs are attached to that form. Enjoy! Bilderpause Ein Pause ...
W3757
18.05.2011
hotel de la gloria - Ivo Bonacorsi
WWW
hotel de la gloria an hotel &resort for artists ...
hotel de la gloria an hotel &resort for artists ...
W4198
24.05.2011
"Erasing the borders" - Etta Säfve
WWW
Sketch for 8 mm film "Erasing the borders" man, smoke bombs, sea ...
Sketch for 8 mm film "Erasing the borders" man, smoke bombs, sea ...
W4371
25.05.2011
leak - Thessia Machado
WWW
leak A rumination on transmutation, language, the experience of time, death and the joys of apartment living. Installation with 12.5 gallons of water (equivalent to my weight), vinyl, sheetrock, camera, computer running max/msp/jitter, monitor and ...
leak A rumination on transmutation, language, the experience of time, death and the joys of apartment living. Installation with 12.5 gallons of water (equivalent to my weight), vinyl, sheetrock, camera, computer running max/msp/jitter, monitor and ...
W4221
24.05.2011
alhena
WWW
W4880
09.08.2012
Thistlegarden Project - Rob Voerman
WWW
Thistlegarden-project My plan is to create a garden consisting of only of wild thistles. Sown, but mainly re-planted from the wild in early spring, they will be placed in lines and patterns. The overall form will be a grafic representation of an explosi ...
Thistlegarden-project My plan is to create a garden consisting of only of wild thistles. Sown, but mainly re-planted from the wild in early spring, they will be placed in lines and patterns. The overall form will be a grafic representation of an explosi ...
W3963
21.05.2011
LONG DISTANCE RELATIONSHIP - Agnes Bolt
WWW
Long Distance Relationship For the exhibition, I am proposing to run a series of 100ft long connected extension cords powered from my studio (the creative place of production) to the exhibition space 2.2 miles away. The energy it takes to sustain so ...
Long Distance Relationship For the exhibition, I am proposing to run a series of 100ft long connected extension cords powered from my studio (the creative place of production) to the exhibition space 2.2 miles away. The energy it takes to sustain so ...
W4923
18.08.2012
Hadas Tapouchi
WWW
TadasTapouchiArtist_Statement. The main reason for myself to apply to this open call is to work in a new environment and to find (new) artistic ways of expression, and off course to Stimulate art on live, Create a beneficial environment for the deve ...
TadasTapouchiArtist_Statement. The main reason for myself to apply to this open call is to work in a new environment and to find (new) artistic ways of expression, and off course to Stimulate art on live, Create a beneficial environment for the deve ...
U9572
01.01.1992
Engel-Detektor - Jakob Gautel & Jason Karaïndros
Unbuilt Roads
"Looking into the heart of light, the silence . . . " - T. S. Eliot «Un agne passe» - „Ein Engel schwebt durch den Raum" - ein Moment due Ruhe, der selten geworden ist in unserer Gesellschaft, die vom visuellen und sonoren horror vacui verflogt wir ...
"Looking into the heart of light, the silence . . . " - T. S. Eliot «Un agne passe» - „Ein Engel schwebt durch den Raum" - ein Moment due Ruhe, der selten geworden ist in unserer Gesellschaft, die vom visuellen und sonoren horror vacui verflogt wir ...
W3764
18.05.2011
The Children of the Divine Understanding of All (1914-?): Documentation of a Forgotten Religion - Kevin Swenson
WWW
NEW COMERS Welcome, and do not be nervous, for you will soon broaden your understandings on every aspect of this life you have been given. Children of All do things very differently. We do not focus or dwell upon the wrong things we have done; instead, w ...
NEW COMERS Welcome, and do not be nervous, for you will soon broaden your understandings on every aspect of this life you have been given. Children of All do things very differently. We do not focus or dwell upon the wrong things we have done; instead, w ...
W4206
24.05.2011
AU Suivant - Piki en Liesbet Verschueren
WWW
Liesbet & Piki would like to propose some video installations which were never shown and/or not shown in a way they were intented to, namely in context of architectural spaces. Piki & Liesbets’ video projects start from the playful observation of lif ...
Liesbet & Piki would like to propose some video installations which were never shown and/or not shown in a way they were intented to, namely in context of architectural spaces. Piki & Liesbets’ video projects start from the playful observation of lif ...
W5164
25.09.2012
E-Motion Pictures - Ron Weijers
WWW
The ‘E-Motion Pictures’ project by the Dutch multi-disciplinary artist Ron Weijers, one could review as a series of mixed media video works that are only present in a specific set space and time – as opposed to his regular mixed-media paintings whic ...
The ‘E-Motion Pictures’ project by the Dutch multi-disciplinary artist Ron Weijers, one could review as a series of mixed media video works that are only present in a specific set space and time – as opposed to his regular mixed-media paintings whic ...