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.

Monumento all'agricoltura 1969-70 - Alighiero Boetti

Aus: Katalog 'Kunst bleibt Kunst' - Hans Peter Feldman

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

Double Exposure 1995-6  - Dan Graham

Nicht realisierte Projekte - Stefan Demary

Isometric Projection - Sol Lewitt

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

Social Resource Project For the Munich Olympics - Stephen Willats

The lmprobable Flow - Larry Bell

A FAIRLY TALL TOWER, 48,000 Miles High -  - Siah Armajani

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W4936
19.08.2012
Niddah: 14 days - Gabriella Boros
WWW
As I turned 50, my self-image as a female began to change with the changes in my body. As I was approaching menopause, it interested me to understand why there was such a negative approach to female purity in my religion. I began to explore the Judaic pra ...
As I turned 50, my self-image as a female began to change with the changes in my body. As I was approaching menopause, it interested me to understand why there was such a negative approach to female purity in my religion. I began to explore the Judaic pra ...
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 ...
W4631
25.05.2011
Free to Choose - Erik Wenzel
WWW
FOTA (Festival of the Arts) 2010 APPLICATION Title of Project: Free to Choose Name: Erik Wenzel
 Location: The Chicago Theological Seminary Duration: Installed for the length of FOTA, subject to CTS schedule STATEMENT I propose to make a ...
FOTA (Festival of the Arts) 2010 APPLICATION Title of Project: Free to Choose Name: Erik Wenzel
 Location: The Chicago Theological Seminary Duration: Installed for the length of FOTA, subject to CTS schedule STATEMENT I propose to make a ...
W5150
24.09.2012
a Tunnel - Nimrod Reuveni
WWW
A Tunnel - an unrealized project The project was designed for "Fresh Paint 3" art fair in Tel Aviv, 2009, as a special project of Nimrod Reuveni in collaboration with Dani Karavan. Explanation: Three-dimensional composition, consisting of ready m ...
A Tunnel - an unrealized project The project was designed for "Fresh Paint 3" art fair in Tel Aviv, 2009, as a special project of Nimrod Reuveni in collaboration with Dani Karavan. Explanation: Three-dimensional composition, consisting of ready m ...
W4820
07.08.2012
Pablo Jansana
WWW
People are normalized by depiction. It situates them in positions that, with the passing of time, become identities. Reality requires repetition in order for meaning to settle and artworks help to reinforce these positions. The supremacy of men over women ...
People are normalized by depiction. It situates them in positions that, with the passing of time, become identities. Reality requires repetition in order for meaning to settle and artworks help to reinforce these positions. The supremacy of men over women ...
W4266
24.05.2011
M86 - Samuel Levack and Jennifer Lewandowski
WWW
A Proposal – M86 As the end of the year is culled, we invite a fresh adventure. A journey, to the heart of the UK landscape. A journey, through the blood metaphor. We propose: a one-week road trip in which we will visit the site of all 86 of the se ...
A Proposal – M86 As the end of the year is culled, we invite a fresh adventure. A journey, to the heart of the UK landscape. A journey, through the blood metaphor. We propose: a one-week road trip in which we will visit the site of all 86 of the se ...
W3606
13.05.2011
Recent Work Not Done - Buzz Spector
WWW
Date: 13 May 2011 To: The Agency of Unrealized Projects From: Buzz Spector RE: Recent Work Not Done My unrealized project is an artists’ book compilation of every artmaking idea or curatorial proposition I have had since 1972, but which ...
Date: 13 May 2011 To: The Agency of Unrealized Projects From: Buzz Spector RE: Recent Work Not Done My unrealized project is an artists’ book compilation of every artmaking idea or curatorial proposition I have had since 1972, but which ...
W3703
17.05.2011
Izabela Ołdak
WWW
Artist Statement Artists don't make objects. Artists make mythologies. 
Anish Kapoor Art has the power to cause a revolution, to change minds. It is for me a communication aimed at the search for truth, in life and in reality. Art has an immense p ...
Artist Statement Artists don't make objects. Artists make mythologies. 
Anish Kapoor Art has the power to cause a revolution, to change minds. It is for me a communication aimed at the search for truth, in life and in reality. Art has an immense p ...
W3946
20.05.2011
Balancing Act - Tricia McLaughlin
WWW
This living space design is for two people trying to balance their lives together. Every movement in this precarious space shifts that balance. Fortunately the furniture is all hinged. Even when the floor is falling out from under you, the basic amenities ...
This living space design is for two people trying to balance their lives together. Every movement in this precarious space shifts that balance. Fortunately the furniture is all hinged. Even when the floor is falling out from under you, the basic amenities ...
W4667
25.05.2011
"The Orchestra" - Alex Robbins
WWW
"The Orchestra" is an idea for an outdoor exhibition structure. Embodying the circular movement of the process of exhibition, "The Orchestra" describes a mentality that may only be overcome by its physical realization. Made from Rainbow Sandstone, a mater ...
"The Orchestra" is an idea for an outdoor exhibition structure. Embodying the circular movement of the process of exhibition, "The Orchestra" describes a mentality that may only be overcome by its physical realization. Made from Rainbow Sandstone, a mater ...
W5149
24.09.2012
Blue Republic - Blue Republic
WWW
Does our feeling at home in our world have to be based on the long index of scaffoldings, enhancements, prosthetic devices, concepts, theories, and beliefs? Is there a way out, or are we trapped forever by our limitations? The yet unrealized project of Bl ...
Does our feeling at home in our world have to be based on the long index of scaffoldings, enhancements, prosthetic devices, concepts, theories, and beliefs? Is there a way out, or are we trapped forever by our limitations? The yet unrealized project of Bl ...
W4520
25.05.2011
take charge of your life.  - Joan Vicent Marí Domenech
WWW
The unrealized project that I present is called: take charge of your life. These is what I was doing during my studies in fine arts Erasmus in Athens. Knowing myself. Began with a series of banners carried out haphazardly. The two images presen ...
The unrealized project that I present is called: take charge of your life. These is what I was doing during my studies in fine arts Erasmus in Athens. Knowing myself. Began with a series of banners carried out haphazardly. The two images presen ...
U9892
16.02.1997
Fax Transmission - Raymond Pettibone and Jason Rhoades
Unbuilt Roads
Fax to: HANS-ULRICH OBRIST From Jason Rhoades Greeting HAN-ULRICH Well the project sounded great but I didn't have any unfulfilled projects that I sad appropriate for the project, but just last sunday I was at the race track with raymon pettibone ...
Fax to: HANS-ULRICH OBRIST From Jason Rhoades Greeting HAN-ULRICH Well the project sounded great but I didn't have any unfulfilled projects that I sad appropriate for the project, but just last sunday I was at the race track with raymon pettibone ...
W4200
24.05.2011
Money what else - Angelo Ricciardi
WWW
My projects are often unrealized projects. Many and different the reasons. Practical difficulties, like the lack of money, the lack of a physical suitable space, of real opportunities, are certainly present and important, but, at the end, surmountable. Mo ...
My projects are often unrealized projects. Many and different the reasons. Practical difficulties, like the lack of money, the lack of a physical suitable space, of real opportunities, are certainly present and important, but, at the end, surmountable. Mo ...
W5066
04.09.2012
Icelandic Elements - Alexander Zaklynsky
WWW
Curatorial Statement : Icelandic Elements - 4 Directions in Icelandic Painting Iceland o!ers the Artist an environment of extreme elements. "ese Elements indelibly imprint their impression. "e four Artists in this Exhibition represent these undercurrents ...
Curatorial Statement : Icelandic Elements - 4 Directions in Icelandic Painting Iceland o!ers the Artist an environment of extreme elements. "ese Elements indelibly imprint their impression. "e four Artists in this Exhibition represent these undercurrents ...
W5466
21.10.2012
THE STREET IS ALSO A HOUSE ... - António Rosa da Silva
WWW
explores the urban environment interactions in a series of sets of furniture perfectly stereotyped in any existing interior space, public or private. The object is materialized in a plane to be held in red Valchromat (MDF), this plane is placed at a ve ...
explores the urban environment interactions in a series of sets of furniture perfectly stereotyped in any existing interior space, public or private. The object is materialized in a plane to be held in red Valchromat (MDF), this plane is placed at a ve ...
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 ...
W4340
24.05.2011
Violin making; the neck or ‘chiver’ of the saxophone made of porcelain; will ceramic sound different? - Cristina Cambiganu
WWW
Violin making; the neck or ‘chiver’ of the saxophone made of porcelain; will ceramic sound different? The idea, which has been in my drawer of dreams for over 10 years, intend to insert a graft on the saxophone. Precisely, the project intended to r ...
Violin making; the neck or ‘chiver’ of the saxophone made of porcelain; will ceramic sound different? The idea, which has been in my drawer of dreams for over 10 years, intend to insert a graft on the saxophone. Precisely, the project intended to r ...
W4067
23.05.2011
Graffiti Saving - János Sugár
WWW
Writing texts on the wall has a tremendous tradition in the folklore of big cities. It is one of the simplest ways to express freedom; the creators communicate with every citizen of the city in principle. They turn an intrinsically illegible town legible. ...
Writing texts on the wall has a tremendous tradition in the folklore of big cities. It is one of the simplest ways to express freedom; the creators communicate with every citizen of the city in principle. They turn an intrinsically illegible town legible. ...
W5230
08.10.2012
When Attitude becomes Action - Jenny Dunseath
WWW
J. Dunseath 2012 When Attitude becomes Action: unrealised project proposal Referencing a series of articles where Flash Art Internationalinvites writers and curators to discuss landmark exhibitions from the past, I propose to amend historical exhibitions ...
J. Dunseath 2012 When Attitude becomes Action: unrealised project proposal Referencing a series of articles where Flash Art Internationalinvites writers and curators to discuss landmark exhibitions from the past, I propose to amend historical exhibitions ...
W5206
03.10.2012
12 x 12 - Georgia Kotretsos
WWW
Originally submitted to the 12 x 12 Project Space at the MCA in Chicago in 2003/04. The submitted images are showing the model book made for the demonstrative needs of the project. The size of the model book is H 6 x W 4,5 x 1, 5 cm and it pops-up /unfol ...
Originally submitted to the 12 x 12 Project Space at the MCA in Chicago in 2003/04. The submitted images are showing the model book made for the demonstrative needs of the project. The size of the model book is H 6 x W 4,5 x 1, 5 cm and it pops-up /unfol ...
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.... ...
W4670
26.05.2011
Translating Missed Time  - April Lamm and Franz Stauffenberg
WWW
Translating Missed Time In Rococo England, 1751, the British usurped its citizens of 11 days. That is, September 3 became September 14th with the wave of a parliamentary wand. Riots ensued, placards were held high in the streets proclaiming “Give u ...
Translating Missed Time In Rococo England, 1751, the British usurped its citizens of 11 days. That is, September 3 became September 14th with the wave of a parliamentary wand. Riots ensued, placards were held high in the streets proclaiming “Give u ...
W5107
14.09.2012
Eli Skipp
WWW
This project requires an indoor climbing wall of significant width and height (minimum 40' x 65'). A route setter will be hired to climb and lay out climbing holds and place climbing tape to mark the route (color is up to the setter, but yellow is prefer ...
This project requires an indoor climbing wall of significant width and height (minimum 40' x 65'). A route setter will be hired to climb and lay out climbing holds and place climbing tape to mark the route (color is up to the setter, but yellow is prefer ...
W4044
22.05.2011
Annie Wu & Ziga Testen
WWW
The project we have in mind begins with a little anecdote. Upon a chance meeting with Australian geometric abstraction painter John Nixon (1949) in the Netherlands, a thorough conversation revolving around a discontinued line of an Ikea table was brought ...
The project we have in mind begins with a little anecdote. Upon a chance meeting with Australian geometric abstraction painter John Nixon (1949) in the Netherlands, a thorough conversation revolving around a discontinued line of an Ikea table was brought ...
W3594
13.05.2011
Marmangios in the city - Ana Fernández (Miranda Texidor)
WWW
I am interested in the poetic research, finding and wonderment of other worlds. I find the keeping and tending of imaginary spaces fascinating. These spaces are playful moments of time or matter, which exist mainly in children’s play as marvelous secret ...
I am interested in the poetic research, finding and wonderment of other worlds. I find the keeping and tending of imaginary spaces fascinating. These spaces are playful moments of time or matter, which exist mainly in children’s play as marvelous secret ...