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.

City Hall Tower Night Ilumination - Krysztof Wodiczko

Notebook Page: Home in the Form of a Banana with Garage,  - Claes Oldenburg

Eight Days a Week - Joe Scanlan

Brücke Wein-Kanal Arch. Hermann Czech, Wein - Franz West

Square Depression - Bruce Nauman

KEEPING IN TOUCH - Allan Kaprow

The Clock - Ayse Erkmen

Monument to Democracy - Kounellis

den anonymen Tod ausstellen - Gregor Schneider

Art and Ourselves: A Proposal for the city of Nordhorn - Allen Rupperssberg

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W4355
25.05.2011
Veil of Ignorance - James Bae
WWW
Veil of Ignorance The proposal is to hold a weekly discourse on the site of the now demolished Stadtschloß and Palast der Republik. The chosen site is heavily charged with history, having been the seat of the Brandenburg Electors, Prussian Kings, and ...
Veil of Ignorance The proposal is to hold a weekly discourse on the site of the now demolished Stadtschloß and Palast der Republik. The chosen site is heavily charged with history, having been the seat of the Brandenburg Electors, Prussian Kings, and ...
W3707
17.05.2011
Murat Germen
WWW
Photography is a powerful two dimensional representation tool to document three dimensional volumes like architecture. It is possible to manipulate photos with two dimensional tools like Photoshop in order to suggest new three dimensional re/formations an ...
Photography is a powerful two dimensional representation tool to document three dimensional volumes like architecture. It is possible to manipulate photos with two dimensional tools like Photoshop in order to suggest new three dimensional re/formations an ...
W5445
20.10.2012
I AM BEING SERIOUS, THIS IS SERIOUS. - Sarah Witt
WWW
Supplemental thoughts about this piece, and why it has remained an unrealized project A few months ago, I had a studio visit with a faculty member of the residency I was attending at the Banff Centre in Canada. He gave me some very poignant advice (I e ...
Supplemental thoughts about this piece, and why it has remained an unrealized project A few months ago, I had a studio visit with a faculty member of the residency I was attending at the Banff Centre in Canada. He gave me some very poignant advice (I e ...
W3819
19.05.2011
raphaele cohen-bacry
WWW
This is an example of the 50 dolls I made between 2007 and 2010. I used ‘’ugly’’, standardized dolls made in China and was interested in turning them into unique ‘’hand-made’’ dolls with a lot of personality and character. Each measures 4X ...
This is an example of the 50 dolls I made between 2007 and 2010. I used ‘’ugly’’, standardized dolls made in China and was interested in turning them into unique ‘’hand-made’’ dolls with a lot of personality and character. Each measures 4X ...
W4243
24.05.2011
Acts of appearance – ‘side cabinets at Holden Gallery’ - Ana Luisa Cruz
WWW
Acts of appearance – ‘side cabinets at Holden Gallery’ http://sidecabinetsatholdengallery.blogspot.com/ I have ‘virtually’ placed myself in an existing gallery for a couple of weeks, The Holden Gallery, Manchester, using a virtual positioni ...
Acts of appearance – ‘side cabinets at Holden Gallery’ http://sidecabinetsatholdengallery.blogspot.com/ I have ‘virtually’ placed myself in an existing gallery for a couple of weeks, The Holden Gallery, Manchester, using a virtual positioni ...
W5411
20.10.2012
Jessica Miller
WWW
I have created a proposal outlining a beautification project beginning in the city of Atlanta. Participants in the agenda sign up to receive locations of seed bomb caches. They can then distribute the seed bombs and log the locations of the bombing.... ...
I have created a proposal outlining a beautification project beginning in the city of Atlanta. Participants in the agenda sign up to receive locations of seed bomb caches. They can then distribute the seed bombs and log the locations of the bombing.... ...
W4006
22.05.2011
The Panajachel Biennial’s Story: A Community Still to Come - Panajachel Biennial (Guatemala): "Shared Sensorium: Assemblages of Love, Labor and Politics"
WWW
The Panajachel Biennial’s Story: A Community Still to Come The Panajachel Biennial was an initiative by a group of young independent curators (Karl Escher, Abbas Ibn Salah al Din, Guillermo Santamarina, Joao Castro da Silva y Takouhi Abesalom) who co ...
The Panajachel Biennial’s Story: A Community Still to Come The Panajachel Biennial was an initiative by a group of young independent curators (Karl Escher, Abbas Ibn Salah al Din, Guillermo Santamarina, Joao Castro da Silva y Takouhi Abesalom) who co ...
D10828
09.09.2012
Stage-Corridor +Secuestro Colectivo + Demolition with chronometred explosive-charges + Meeting Points  - DoloresZinny & Juan Maidagan
DAAD
Stage-Corridor,1992 Theater director Palma asked us to design the stage for a theater piece. In a crossed confluence to meet at the stage four glass corridors corresponding to the 4 actors of the piece to make visible the transformation actor/characte ...
Stage-Corridor,1992 Theater director Palma asked us to design the stage for a theater piece. In a crossed confluence to meet at the stage four glass corridors corresponding to the 4 actors of the piece to make visible the transformation actor/characte ...
W5142
21.09.2012
The White Box - Vdrey feat Schultz
WWW
PRESENTATION This performance created in 2010 by musician and performer VDREY and SCHULTZ was presented in 2010 and 2011 in various countries such as France, Austria, Germany, Switzerland or Poland. In order to made a new alternative to their perfo ...
PRESENTATION This performance created in 2010 by musician and performer VDREY and SCHULTZ was presented in 2010 and 2011 in various countries such as France, Austria, Germany, Switzerland or Poland. In order to made a new alternative to their perfo ...
W4392
25.05.2011
Dig a hole through the middle of the Earth.  - Gernot Wieland
WWW
Dig a hole through the middle of the Earth. When one jumps into this hole, he or she flies, for example, from Berlin to China. Naturally, with gravity, the speed of travel be- comes enormous. However, as one flies past the centre of the Earth the s ...
Dig a hole through the middle of the Earth. When one jumps into this hole, he or she flies, for example, from Berlin to China. Naturally, with gravity, the speed of travel be- comes enormous. However, as one flies past the centre of the Earth the s ...
W3664
15.05.2011
Universal Boogie Woogie - Irene Judong
WWW
Universal Boogie Woogie ‘Art All-Around’ visualization, Portland, USA 2008 This is the working title of the design for the ‘Art All-Around’ visualization. The basic concept for this design relies on a system of contradictive thinking. S ...
Universal Boogie Woogie ‘Art All-Around’ visualization, Portland, USA 2008 This is the working title of the design for the ‘Art All-Around’ visualization. The basic concept for this design relies on a system of contradictive thinking. S ...
W4666
25.05.2011
Carlos Lérias
WWW
The fragments presented here by the Migratory Museum, are the parts of a live cast mask of my face. Moved on in one hand by the incessant obsession with disappearance, invisibility, forgetfulness and nomadism, and on the other hand by the museum’s troub ...
The fragments presented here by the Migratory Museum, are the parts of a live cast mask of my face. Moved on in one hand by the incessant obsession with disappearance, invisibility, forgetfulness and nomadism, and on the other hand by the museum’s troub ...
W10612
03.07.2014
On cherche à la lumière ce que l'on a perdu dans le noir - Nadine Lère
WWW
Mon projet est de construire et d’installer un dispositif éclairant, une source de lumière propre à voir. Le dispositif, un espace pénétrable, prend la fonction de point d’attraction, comme un phare. Il se veut être un point de repère, de rasse ...
Mon projet est de construire et d’installer un dispositif éclairant, une source de lumière propre à voir. Le dispositif, un espace pénétrable, prend la fonction de point d’attraction, comme un phare. Il se veut être un point de repère, de rasse ...
W4816
07.08.2012
Photographs of Common Objects - Bradley Olson
WWW
For the series of black and white still life’s, Photographs of Common Objects, I used a 4” x 5” view camera to capture in fine detail, the form and surface of relics from daily life. Among them - adding machines, ceramic, glass, and plastic cups, ki ...
For the series of black and white still life’s, Photographs of Common Objects, I used a 4” x 5” view camera to capture in fine detail, the form and surface of relics from daily life. Among them - adding machines, ceramic, glass, and plastic cups, ki ...
W3733
18.05.2011
“Veil” - Felippe Moraes
WWW
“Veil” The intervention, in the simulations proposed for “Teatro Colón” in Peru and “Paço das Artes” in São Paulo - Brazil, works by placing 3 fog machines in the top of the specific building. These machines produce smoke that are than c ...
“Veil” The intervention, in the simulations proposed for “Teatro Colón” in Peru and “Paço das Artes” in São Paulo - Brazil, works by placing 3 fog machines in the top of the specific building. These machines produce smoke that are than c ...
U9248
14.02.1997
Electronic Theater - Laurie Anderson
Unbuilt Roads
Dear Hans-Ulrich Obrist, I'm sending some images to you on disk. There are four stills of a theater set. (et 1 and et 2 on the first disk and et 3 and et5 on the second disk.) These are printable using Photoshop 3.0. Here is the text you asked for ...
Dear Hans-Ulrich Obrist, I'm sending some images to you on disk. There are four stills of a theater set. (et 1 and et 2 on the first disk and et 3 and et5 on the second disk.) These are printable using Photoshop 3.0. Here is the text you asked for ...
W4694
26.05.2011
Giancarlo Massaro
WWW
This investigation began with the study of how the power of darkness creates an illusion of endless space. The photographic study's create moments of compression with intent to push the inhabitant towards a fabricated horizon line. ...
This investigation began with the study of how the power of darkness creates an illusion of endless space. The photographic study's create moments of compression with intent to push the inhabitant towards a fabricated horizon line. ...
W3491
11.05.2011
Urban Game: “Dharma the Digital Dog” - Andreas Maria Jacobs
WWW
Urban Game: “Dharma the Digital Dog” by Andreas Maria Jacobs Live video-projection game for e-mail, building & audience Jump, Move, Raise, Dog, Hoola Hoop, Girl E-Mail:puppet@burgerwaanzin.nl, Web: http://burgerwaanzin.nl/puppet The game p ...
Urban Game: “Dharma the Digital Dog” by Andreas Maria Jacobs Live video-projection game for e-mail, building & audience Jump, Move, Raise, Dog, Hoola Hoop, Girl E-Mail:puppet@burgerwaanzin.nl, Web: http://burgerwaanzin.nl/puppet The game p ...
W5350
18.10.2012
Mariano Del Rosario
WWW
An art installation with mirrored tunnels connecting three derelict industrial buildings as transitory laboratory space for art experimentation. A permit to contain, wrap, and occupy three toxic and derelict industrial buildings in Brooklyn, New York, ...
An art installation with mirrored tunnels connecting three derelict industrial buildings as transitory laboratory space for art experimentation. A permit to contain, wrap, and occupy three toxic and derelict industrial buildings in Brooklyn, New York, ...
W5399
20.10.2012
Matters of Appearance
WWW
About us: We are Matters Of Appearance, an artist group (USA/Germany). We work with language, text and performance. www.mattersofappearance.com This project (unrealized): We found this graffiti on a barn wall somewhere: "Selbst schuld" (It's ...
About us: We are Matters Of Appearance, an artist group (USA/Germany). We work with language, text and performance. www.mattersofappearance.com This project (unrealized): We found this graffiti on a barn wall somewhere: "Selbst schuld" (It's ...
W3964
21.05.2011
THE LIBRARY - Liliana Gelman
WWW
The library is a project about books and readers. It consist of two parts, one is the photographic register of books rescued from the street, the beach, or even from the garbage, over my years of immigrant in Israel. los libros de la biblioteca no tie ...
The library is a project about books and readers. It consist of two parts, one is the photographic register of books rescued from the street, the beach, or even from the garbage, over my years of immigrant in Israel. los libros de la biblioteca no tie ...
U9673
01.05.1981
WATERWORKS - Mona Hatoum
Unbuilt Roads
Extracts from an unpublished interview with Michael Archer for Phaidon press: ...Around the same period I made a proposal for the New Contemporaries exhibition which was going to be held at the ICA. In those days the toilets were on either side of the ...
Extracts from an unpublished interview with Michael Archer for Phaidon press: ...Around the same period I made a proposal for the New Contemporaries exhibition which was going to be held at the ICA. In those days the toilets were on either side of the ...
W5123
18.09.2012
Transit/Stasis - Danielle Giudici Wallis
WWW
A proposal for the entrance of the San Francisco Public Library based on the Principle of Least Effort (George Kingsley Zipf, 1949) Transit/Stasis As I emerged from the BART station, I was taken with the sight of a commuter who opted to walk up the ...
A proposal for the entrance of the San Francisco Public Library based on the Principle of Least Effort (George Kingsley Zipf, 1949) Transit/Stasis As I emerged from the BART station, I was taken with the sight of a commuter who opted to walk up the ...
W5260
12.10.2012
snowball - Cristina d'eça Leal
WWW
Synopsis When a snowball slides down a hill, it gathers more snow, becoming bigger and bigger until it can, ultimately, start an avalanche. This analogy is used to explain the success of a certain action. In order to achieve the best result it is fundam ...
Synopsis When a snowball slides down a hill, it gathers more snow, becoming bigger and bigger until it can, ultimately, start an avalanche. This analogy is used to explain the success of a certain action. In order to achieve the best result it is fundam ...
W4638
25.05.2011
SITUTOPIK - DEHOVE Claire
WWW
SITUTOPIK L’école-cité de l’imaginaire et de la citoyenneté. Projet du 1 % ARTISTIQUE DU COLLEGE EUGENE VIGNE A BEAUCAIRE Claire Dehove avec Loraine Djidi ...
SITUTOPIK L’école-cité de l’imaginaire et de la citoyenneté. Projet du 1 % ARTISTIQUE DU COLLEGE EUGENE VIGNE A BEAUCAIRE Claire Dehove avec Loraine Djidi ...
W5067
05.09.2012
Color Pencil Tree - Dave Rittinger
WWW
Artist and designer Dave Rittinger has developed a proposal for a public art installation entitled 'Color Pencil Tree'. The arboreal sculpture morphs tree branches with the body of the colored drawing tools. The concept is dictated by the usage of exist ...
Artist and designer Dave Rittinger has developed a proposal for a public art installation entitled 'Color Pencil Tree'. The arboreal sculpture morphs tree branches with the body of the colored drawing tools. The concept is dictated by the usage of exist ...