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.

Theater der Leere - Werner Ruhnau and Yves Klein

Entwurf für einen erneuerten Malkasten 1992 - 1994 - Ulrike Holthöfer

Messages to the Public - Nancy Spero

The World Record - General Idea

Grand Concours International D'Architecture  - Mahe Gilles

Projekt für die Landschaft des Mont-de-Sene (Burgund) im Rahmen eines öffentlichen Auftrags des französischen Kultusministeriums - Markus Raetz

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

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

den anonymen Tod ausstellen - Gregor Schneider

Grand Concours International D'Architecture  - Sol Lewitt

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W4402
25.05.2011
"Things We Never Did" - Claus Prokop
WWW
"Things We Never Did" Aware of the fact that showing unrealized work is a step towards realization I am submitting two collections of material separated into software and hardware. Both of them are part of a bigger, absolutely unsystematic, collection ...
"Things We Never Did" Aware of the fact that showing unrealized work is a step towards realization I am submitting two collections of material separated into software and hardware. Both of them are part of a bigger, absolutely unsystematic, collection ...
W5031
31.08.2012
If Wishes Were... - Ian Amell
WWW
"If Wishes Were..." was my proposal for a Public Realm sculpture based on the readily understood (in North America) practice at Christmas and Easter of wishing on the neck bone of the turkey eaten at these family feasts. Venice has its “Bridge of Si ...
"If Wishes Were..." was my proposal for a Public Realm sculpture based on the readily understood (in North America) practice at Christmas and Easter of wishing on the neck bone of the turkey eaten at these family feasts. Venice has its “Bridge of Si ...
W4367
25.05.2011
Trace  - Thessia Machado
WWW
Trace An interactive installation that allows the viewers to be part of a collaboration with previous visitors and the architecture of the exhibition space. A continuous record of people’s motion through space that engenders dynamic drawings and sound ...
Trace An interactive installation that allows the viewers to be part of a collaboration with previous visitors and the architecture of the exhibition space. A continuous record of people’s motion through space that engenders dynamic drawings and sound ...
W4745
26.05.2011
Solar City Tower for Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics - Rafael Schmidt, RAFAA
WWW
International Architecture Competition for the Olympic Games 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. „The project under consideration should be located in the bay of the city of Rio de Janeiro on the Cotonduba Island, which is the obligatory approach for aircraft la ...
International Architecture Competition for the Olympic Games 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. „The project under consideration should be located in the bay of the city of Rio de Janeiro on the Cotonduba Island, which is the obligatory approach for aircraft la ...
W5068
05.09.2012
White Blood Cells - Bodino Philippe
WWW
multi-artistic performance uses several field such as live painting, video, dance, live music, improvisation. ...
multi-artistic performance uses several field such as live painting, video, dance, live music, improvisation. ...
W4738
26.05.2011
Boxing Meese - Nadja Verena Marcin
WWW
Boxing Meese _ Nadja Verena Marcin _ 2006 This poster with the written information, see below, was papered all over the Auguststrasse in Berlin-Mitte in 2006. Du bist angeklagt! Du hast Herrn Blum beleidigt! Herr Blum ist unschuldig!... Gesicht zeige ...
Boxing Meese _ Nadja Verena Marcin _ 2006 This poster with the written information, see below, was papered all over the Auguststrasse in Berlin-Mitte in 2006. Du bist angeklagt! Du hast Herrn Blum beleidigt! Herr Blum ist unschuldig!... Gesicht zeige ...
W4114
23.05.2011
“Mother Teresa” - Helidon Gjergji
WWW
TIRANA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT “Mother Teresa” The Tirana International Airport “Mother Teresa” was recently inaugurated, and is quite an impressive piece of contemporary architecture in which locals take great pride. At the same time, what is m ...
TIRANA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT “Mother Teresa” The Tirana International Airport “Mother Teresa” was recently inaugurated, and is quite an impressive piece of contemporary architecture in which locals take great pride. At the same time, what is m ...
W4770
29.05.2011
jean-paul moreira
WWW
For the location of a site specific vegetable garden installation, from the end of winter 2007 until fall, behind Blaak bus stop, near the WdKA in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, I imagined, designed and planned a 4x6x3metres glass house where climbing plants ...
For the location of a site specific vegetable garden installation, from the end of winter 2007 until fall, behind Blaak bus stop, near the WdKA in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, I imagined, designed and planned a 4x6x3metres glass house where climbing plants ...
W3577
13.05.2011
DIMENSIONS VARIABLE: a proposal 07.2010! - Raul J Mendez
WWW
CONTEXT My work reads as a reconciliation of opposites between the private and the public. In other words, it is a codified puzzle of images that continues to grow and develop, drawing from my personal experience as well as from the public domain. There ...
CONTEXT My work reads as a reconciliation of opposites between the private and the public. In other words, it is a codified puzzle of images that continues to grow and develop, drawing from my personal experience as well as from the public domain. There ...
W3974
21.05.2011
CLIFF PIPES PROPOSAL - Jason de Haan
WWW
A proposal for a set of organ pipes to be mounted on the face of an oceanic cliff. The pipes are to be mounted vertically on simple steel rods that are strategically placed along a section of cliff in order to translate strong vertical updrafts into indiv ...
A proposal for a set of organ pipes to be mounted on the face of an oceanic cliff. The pipes are to be mounted vertically on simple steel rods that are strategically placed along a section of cliff in order to translate strong vertical updrafts into indiv ...
U9303
01.06.1990
PROPOSAL FOR SEATTLE ARTS COMMISSION, IN PUBLIC - Chris Burden
Unbuilt Roads
I propose that a typical working fisherman's boat 30 to 50 feet in length be attached to the side of the new Seattle Art Museum building. The boat's bow would point skyward, it's keel resting along one side of the building . A cable from the roof to the b ...
I propose that a typical working fisherman's boat 30 to 50 feet in length be attached to the side of the new Seattle Art Museum building. The boat's bow would point skyward, it's keel resting along one side of the building . A cable from the roof to the b ...
W3698
16.05.2011
Future Studies - Javier Fresneda
WWW
About Future Studies is a process of iconographic and structural relationships across time and space. This series of images begins as an ironic adaptation of archaeological anastylosis concept; the technique of reconstruction of a monument i ...
About Future Studies is a process of iconographic and structural relationships across time and space. This series of images begins as an ironic adaptation of archaeological anastylosis concept; the technique of reconstruction of a monument i ...
W4919
16.08.2012
Random Conservatorio - Riccardo Benassi
WWW
Random Conservatorio An old public swimming pool, disused since many years, will re-open today. Instead of being refill with water, the pool is pack with small and colorful toy keyboards. Any splash is a tune, any children a musician. Random Conse ...
Random Conservatorio An old public swimming pool, disused since many years, will re-open today. Instead of being refill with water, the pool is pack with small and colorful toy keyboards. Any splash is a tune, any children a musician. Random Conse ...
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 ...
W3520
11.05.2011
Steingrimur Eyfjord
WWW
These ideas are from a project I am working on which has the working title “KELLINGIN“ and is a collection of ideas, text and images. ...
These ideas are from a project I am working on which has the working title “KELLINGIN“ and is a collection of ideas, text and images. ...
W5216
06.10.2012
Zeitseeing - Gisela Weimann
WWW
I am interested in the interplay between objects and sounds and movement in time and space. Word games and the change of classical musical formats with an ironic undertone are often part of my projects. ...
I am interested in the interplay between objects and sounds and movement in time and space. Word games and the change of classical musical formats with an ironic undertone are often part of my projects. ...
W4334
24.05.2011
METEORITE AL CONTRARIO (INVERTED METEORITE)  - Davide Bertocchi
WWW
METEORITE AL CONTRARIO (INVERTED METEORITE) - 2011 PROJECT. STONE, SPACE MISSION Courtesy the artist A medium size stone (more or less 50 cm x 50 cm x 50 cm) is sent into space. Like a meteorite but following an opposite trajectory, that is, inste ...
METEORITE AL CONTRARIO (INVERTED METEORITE) - 2011 PROJECT. STONE, SPACE MISSION Courtesy the artist A medium size stone (more or less 50 cm x 50 cm x 50 cm) is sent into space. Like a meteorite but following an opposite trajectory, that is, inste ...
W3895
20.05.2011
Editorial Sculpture: Divina Commedia  - Javier Toro Blum
WWW
The Divina Commedia triptych is a sculpture project, consisting in three ovoid metal cast pieces. Each piece has engraved in low relief (1.5mm) one part of the Dante Alighieri's Divina Commedia: Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso. With a 2.5mm typography ev ...
The Divina Commedia triptych is a sculpture project, consisting in three ovoid metal cast pieces. Each piece has engraved in low relief (1.5mm) one part of the Dante Alighieri's Divina Commedia: Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso. With a 2.5mm typography ev ...
W3821
19.05.2011
Thanatopolis / Solace grove - Rebecca Keller
WWW
This was a proposal for a project called "Thanatopolis" --asking for outdoor works that explored the rituals of interment and memorialization. (This proposal was for an outdoor art environment that was also a place of memory) Imagine walking though ...
This was a proposal for a project called "Thanatopolis" --asking for outdoor works that explored the rituals of interment and memorialization. (This proposal was for an outdoor art environment that was also a place of memory) Imagine walking though ...
W4697
26.05.2011
The Bastard Academy - Jon Rubin
WWW
The Bastard Academy public project for Stanford University and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (unrealized) A think tank about a think tank. The Bastard Academy is a site and situation for research about Stanford University's right-wing think ...
The Bastard Academy public project for Stanford University and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (unrealized) A think tank about a think tank. The Bastard Academy is a site and situation for research about Stanford University's right-wing think ...
W4772
29.05.2011
Unrealized Artist Identity - Katharina Galla
WWW
Unrealized Artist Identity This project is a life. Embodied by a person, who is frequently reckoned to be an artists. "So, you are an artist…", they say. Sometimes, I embrace my unrealized identity. It feels like a factoid, not a li ...
Unrealized Artist Identity This project is a life. Embodied by a person, who is frequently reckoned to be an artists. "So, you are an artist…", they say. Sometimes, I embrace my unrealized identity. It feels like a factoid, not a li ...
W3913
20.05.2011
Project Title: 10 Museums of Mental Objects (MoMOs) - Judy Freya Sibayan
WWW
I am proposing a performance to establish 10 Museums of Mental Objects. Founded in 2002 by Judy Freya Sibayan and Matt Price, MoMO is a “performance art museum for life.” At present, Price and Sibayan are the curators of and are the Museum of Mental O ...
I am proposing a performance to establish 10 Museums of Mental Objects. Founded in 2002 by Judy Freya Sibayan and Matt Price, MoMO is a “performance art museum for life.” At present, Price and Sibayan are the curators of and are the Museum of Mental O ...
W4056
23.05.2011
pencil drawings on paper by Jack Kirby and Thom of Finland - Paul Beuchat
WWW
Exhibition of pencil drawings on paper by Jack Kirby and Thom of Finland focusing on images that are similar in form, material and subject matter - muscular men in uniform - to expose the drawn line as a perfect mirror of the maker, independently of form ...
Exhibition of pencil drawings on paper by Jack Kirby and Thom of Finland focusing on images that are similar in form, material and subject matter - muscular men in uniform - to expose the drawn line as a perfect mirror of the maker, independently of form ...
W5384
20.10.2012
The EXTRA MUROS project - Amina Menia
WWW
The EXTRA MUROS project (2005 – ongoing) This project is an ongoing series of urban installations in the city of Algiers where I revisit legendary places, landmark venues, urban gaps. My interventions crystallize in a space not in an artwork. The ...
The EXTRA MUROS project (2005 – ongoing) This project is an ongoing series of urban installations in the city of Algiers where I revisit legendary places, landmark venues, urban gaps. My interventions crystallize in a space not in an artwork. The ...
W4977
24.08.2012
More Light - Ana Torfs
WWW
Ana Torfs, MORE LIGHT (2007) Animated light sculpture in white neon letters. The two words, at 35 meters above street level, measure 18 m (L) x 2 m (H). Four visual artists had been invited to propose a work for the new campus of the Sint-Lukas U ...
Ana Torfs, MORE LIGHT (2007) Animated light sculpture in white neon letters. The two words, at 35 meters above street level, measure 18 m (L) x 2 m (H). Four visual artists had been invited to propose a work for the new campus of the Sint-Lukas U ...
W4212
24.05.2011
Louvre - Gábor Ösz
WWW
Introduction A few years ago, when I first visited the Louvre, I was surprised to see that the signposts giving directions for the painting La Gioconda already started at the gates. As I was to learn later, there exists a form of cultural pilgrimage t ...
Introduction A few years ago, when I first visited the Louvre, I was surprised to see that the signposts giving directions for the painting La Gioconda already started at the gates. As I was to learn later, there exists a form of cultural pilgrimage t ...