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 SEATTLE ARTS COMMISSION, IN PUBLIC - Chris Burden

Projets non réalisés: - Daniel Buren

Isometric Projection - Sol Lewitt

WATERWORKS - Mona Hatoum

Just Before Dawn - David Lamelas

Cruzeiro Do Sul, (Southern Cross) (Crucero del Sur) 1969-70* - Cildo Meireles

The lmprobable Flow - Larry Bell

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

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

Ruderaltisch, 1994/95 Kunst am Bau - Projekt - Lois Weinberger

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W10495
01.05.2014
Remembering Imagination - Esther Shalev-Gerz
WWW
Gävle, Sweden, 2003 In 2002 Esther Shalev-Gerz was invited to realize a project in Gävle, Sweden. “What is the portrait of a city? Is it the city today or is it both what it is today and what it could have been? When I first visited Gavle I w ...
Gävle, Sweden, 2003 In 2002 Esther Shalev-Gerz was invited to realize a project in Gävle, Sweden. “What is the portrait of a city? Is it the city today or is it both what it is today and what it could have been? When I first visited Gavle I w ...
W4958
20.08.2012
Fish Food Living - Eugene Soler
WWW
Fish Food Living By Eugene Soler AUP Submission Three-quarters of the world’s ocean is over fished and with food prices soaring and energy resource depleting, we are constantly living in a society where our food resource is unsustainable, unaffor ...
Fish Food Living By Eugene Soler AUP Submission Three-quarters of the world’s ocean is over fished and with food prices soaring and energy resource depleting, we are constantly living in a society where our food resource is unsustainable, unaffor ...
W5117
17.09.2012
Cliff Dwelling - Adam Kuby
WWW
Proposal for a sculpture that provides nesting habitat for peregrine falcons in a skyscraper. Adam Kuby, Artis t adam@adamkuby.com www.adamkuby.com 7019 SE Morrison St. Portland, OR 97215 (503) 752-5241 Call for Unrealized Projects Submission Cliff ...
Proposal for a sculpture that provides nesting habitat for peregrine falcons in a skyscraper. Adam Kuby, Artis t adam@adamkuby.com www.adamkuby.com 7019 SE Morrison St. Portland, OR 97215 (503) 752-5241 Call for Unrealized Projects Submission Cliff ...
W4746
26.05.2011
Freiheits- und Einheitsdenkmal - Rafael Schmidt, RAFAA
WWW
Freiheits- und Einheitsdenkmal Berlin Competition In the autumn of 1989, a growing number of courageous citizens in many cities of the GDR conquered their fear and rose against the totalitarian regime of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). ...
Freiheits- und Einheitsdenkmal Berlin Competition In the autumn of 1989, a growing number of courageous citizens in many cities of the GDR conquered their fear and rose against the totalitarian regime of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). ...
W5245
10.10.2012
No.2 - Jim Bay
WWW
No.2 Come on Jim, make it happen. Do it. Focus. You can do it. I know that what you do isn't easy, but you chose this path Jim and have been treading it a good many years now. This fear, is amateurish. Come on Jim, you have lived, loved and lost. You h ...
No.2 Come on Jim, make it happen. Do it. Focus. You can do it. I know that what you do isn't easy, but you chose this path Jim and have been treading it a good many years now. This fear, is amateurish. Come on Jim, you have lived, loved and lost. You h ...
W3812
18.05.2011
SOL: project for a single channel HD video installation, stereo sound. 2010 - Diego Zuelli
WWW
A video installation for a private gallery. A single video projection on the far side of a long room. A prepared wall, with black paint around a white circle, where the "image" will be projected. The sense of sight is the mean we use the most to know ...
A video installation for a private gallery. A single video projection on the far side of a long room. A prepared wall, with black paint around a white circle, where the "image" will be projected. The sense of sight is the mean we use the most to know ...
W4291
24.05.2011
Madeleine Edberg
WWW
I have realized various installations on different current themes. The consequences of the accidents in nuclear centers from the years -50 to the present day, in Canada, France, United Kingdom, Russia, the USA, Japan... make you think: are they not pla ...
I have realized various installations on different current themes. The consequences of the accidents in nuclear centers from the years -50 to the present day, in Canada, France, United Kingdom, Russia, the USA, Japan... make you think: are they not pla ...
W5905
18.10.2013
Temp - Matthijs Muller
WWW
Temp (pronounced: Temp-io) is a pavilion that offers protection against sun and rain. The only way to reach the pavilion is by crossing a circle of sand and inevitably leave your traces in the sand. Visitors are invited to erase their traces by rotatin ...
Temp (pronounced: Temp-io) is a pavilion that offers protection against sun and rain. The only way to reach the pavilion is by crossing a circle of sand and inevitably leave your traces in the sand. Visitors are invited to erase their traces by rotatin ...
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 ...
W4720
26.05.2011
Matthew-Robin Nye
WWW
1 – Islington Mill, Manchester. Submitted April 11 2011. Declined May 12 2011 To the Residency Awards Committee at the Islington Mill, Manchester: Thank you for taking the time to review my application for a 4-6 week Artist Residency at the Islingto ...
1 – Islington Mill, Manchester. Submitted April 11 2011. Declined May 12 2011 To the Residency Awards Committee at the Islington Mill, Manchester: Thank you for taking the time to review my application for a 4-6 week Artist Residency at the Islingto ...
U9811
01.01.1960
Monument with Rust - Gustav Metzger
Unbuilt Roads
three projects about which I have been thinking for some time. The first construction is to be about 18 feet high with a base about 24 ft. by 18 ft. The principle of this technique was suggested by Mr. E. LI. Evans, who worked in the corrosion of meta ...
three projects about which I have been thinking for some time. The first construction is to be about 18 feet high with a base about 24 ft. by 18 ft. The principle of this technique was suggested by Mr. E. LI. Evans, who worked in the corrosion of meta ...
W3666
15.05.2011
Sand Fall - Eldon Garnet
WWW
This Holocaust Memorial is comprised of two major elements: an above grade, open pavilion; a below grade, Sand Fall. Although not immediately apparent, the disjunctive, stainless steel pavilion is constructed of components of the Star of David. The ...
This Holocaust Memorial is comprised of two major elements: an above grade, open pavilion; a below grade, Sand Fall. Although not immediately apparent, the disjunctive, stainless steel pavilion is constructed of components of the Star of David. The ...
W4360
25.05.2011
Acousmatic Mapping of the Neo-Metropolis  - Nicholas M. Dreyer
WWW
Acousmatic Mapping of the Neo-Metropolis Shanghai Metro Residency Nicholas Maximilian Dreyer As long as I have been alive, I have used forms of public transportation – public buses in the small town I come from, and metro systems in any larger cit ...
Acousmatic Mapping of the Neo-Metropolis Shanghai Metro Residency Nicholas Maximilian Dreyer As long as I have been alive, I have used forms of public transportation – public buses in the small town I come from, and metro systems in any larger cit ...
W4496
25.05.2011
john.gayer@hotmail.com
WWW
IRRECIPROCAL This intervention involves attending some regular meeting such as a popular university course. As people settle into the routineness of lecture schedule they often find a favorite chair or area in which to sit. Many people make friends an ...
IRRECIPROCAL This intervention involves attending some regular meeting such as a popular university course. As people settle into the routineness of lecture schedule they often find a favorite chair or area in which to sit. Many people make friends an ...
W5131
19.09.2012
Gods Acre - Leo Morrissey
WWW
Project: gods acre Each day I walk to work I walk through God’s Acre, a Moravian cemetery. The section of the cemetery I walk through is where the women and men are buried. An important part of the Moravian burial practice is that individuals ar ...
Project: gods acre Each day I walk to work I walk through God’s Acre, a Moravian cemetery. The section of the cemetery I walk through is where the women and men are buried. An important part of the Moravian burial practice is that individuals ar ...
W5302
17.10.2012
battlefield #56 / sugar - Jerome Leuba
WWW
battlefield #56 / sugar Project description. During the week of Belluard Festival of Fribourg 2010, I proposed to remove and take out the product "sugar" from the sale of the most stores in Fribourg Switzeralnd (Coop, Migros, Denner, grocery stores, ...
battlefield #56 / sugar Project description. During the week of Belluard Festival of Fribourg 2010, I proposed to remove and take out the product "sugar" from the sale of the most stores in Fribourg Switzeralnd (Coop, Migros, Denner, grocery stores, ...
W5774
03.07.2013
TWEETSCULPTURE: “WE TWEET SCULPTURES” - Tweetsculpture
WWW
https://twitter.com/tweetsculpture In 1969, Douglas Huebler wrote “The world is full of objects, more or less interesting, I do not wish to add any more.” Since early january 2012 five writers / artists (between the ages of 24 and 60) create s ...
https://twitter.com/tweetsculpture In 1969, Douglas Huebler wrote “The world is full of objects, more or less interesting, I do not wish to add any more.” Since early january 2012 five writers / artists (between the ages of 24 and 60) create s ...
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 ...
W4913
14.08.2012
Spacial Installation - Sara Palomeque
WWW
SPATIAL INSTALLATION: Wall made out of strings. Measures: 3m high x 4m breed The wall will be built based on a structure (wood or any other stable material) with two equal sides, supporting two transport bands with motor, which are holding the ropes and r ...
SPATIAL INSTALLATION: Wall made out of strings. Measures: 3m high x 4m breed The wall will be built based on a structure (wood or any other stable material) with two equal sides, supporting two transport bands with motor, which are holding the ropes and r ...
W5386
20.10.2012
Vickie Jo Franks
WWW
My plan was to make the front yard a moss garden beneath large oak trees here and create moss sculptures including a nativity scene with little moss trees and small animals.I used recycable materials as the armatures.... ...
My plan was to make the front yard a moss garden beneath large oak trees here and create moss sculptures including a nativity scene with little moss trees and small animals.I used recycable materials as the armatures.... ...
D10796
09.09.2012
"Clouds" of mist/steam - Abraham Cruzvillegas
DAAD
The idea is to hang a sprinkling system from the already existing structure on the facade of Kule building. The goal is to make intermittently "Clouds" of mist/steam. ...
The idea is to hang a sprinkling system from the already existing structure on the facade of Kule building. The goal is to make intermittently "Clouds" of mist/steam. ...
W3838
19.05.2011
Nicole Mortiboys
WWW
The images submitted to AUP are pages taken from a book on how to draw cartoons. (The title of the book has been forgotten). The book was found at Central Library, whilst studying on the MA fine Art course at, Birmingham City University, Margaret S ...
The images submitted to AUP are pages taken from a book on how to draw cartoons. (The title of the book has been forgotten). The book was found at Central Library, whilst studying on the MA fine Art course at, Birmingham City University, Margaret S ...
U9742
26.03.1997
Theater der Leere - Werner Ruhnau and Yves Klein
Unbuilt Roads
Sehr geehrte Frau Sabolewski, auf Veranlassung von Herrn Obrist übersende ich Ihnen anbei die Kataloge " Yves Klein/Werner Ruhnau" und "Baukunst" . Dort finden Sie Zeichnungen, Modellfotos etc. , die Sie gern verwenden können. Das "Feuer-Wasser-Lu ...
Sehr geehrte Frau Sabolewski, auf Veranlassung von Herrn Obrist übersende ich Ihnen anbei die Kataloge " Yves Klein/Werner Ruhnau" und "Baukunst" . Dort finden Sie Zeichnungen, Modellfotos etc. , die Sie gern verwenden können. Das "Feuer-Wasser-Lu ...
W4292
24.05.2011
Cross Pollination  - Anitra Hamilton
WWW
Anitra Hamilton 109 Niagara St. Box 21 Toronto, Ontario, M5V.1C3 Canada E anitra.hamilton@sympatico.ca P 416.504.5020 land P 647.408.4990 mobile Unrealized Project: Cross Pollination The project Cross Pollination consists of mounting Audio Par ...
Anitra Hamilton 109 Niagara St. Box 21 Toronto, Ontario, M5V.1C3 Canada E anitra.hamilton@sympatico.ca P 416.504.5020 land P 647.408.4990 mobile Unrealized Project: Cross Pollination The project Cross Pollination consists of mounting Audio Par ...
W10172
18.06.2014
Chicago Torture Justice Memorials' Project - Anja Christine Ross
WWW
The title of "Chicago Torture Justice Memorials' Project" is concerned with my suggestion building up a kind of wall with holes. In these holes you might add photographs of this prison-archives. In my mind I found another idea that this wall has a signatu ...
The title of "Chicago Torture Justice Memorials' Project" is concerned with my suggestion building up a kind of wall with holes. In these holes you might add photographs of this prison-archives. In my mind I found another idea that this wall has a signatu ...
W4775
31.05.2011
El fracaso de Xochiquetzal - ana gallardo
WWW
El fracaso de Xochiquetzal Ensayo reflexionar sobre la vejez y su condición ante la cercanía de la muerte en el mundo contemporáneo. En nuestra cultura hay una imagen desfavorable del envejecimiento, esta etapa despierta sentimientos encontrados, ...
El fracaso de Xochiquetzal Ensayo reflexionar sobre la vejez y su condición ante la cercanía de la muerte en el mundo contemporáneo. En nuestra cultura hay una imagen desfavorable del envejecimiento, esta etapa despierta sentimientos encontrados, ...