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.

Prima del 73 - Fabio Mauri

119. PROJET DE DESTRUCTION DU MUSEE 1970 - 1971 - Jef Geys

Just Before Dawn - David Lamelas

PROJEKT - Ulrich Rückreim

Tower Cranes, Paris  - Tadashi Kawamata

Passage - Richard Wentworth

Jake and Dinos Chapman's five proposals for an empty plinth situated on central londons trafalgar square - Jake and Dinos Chapman

Electronic Theater - Laurie Anderson

City Hall Tower Night Ilumination - Krysztof Wodiczko

The World Record - General Idea

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W3495
11.05.2011
Recipes for Disaster - Joy Garnett
WWW
Joy Garnett Recipes for Disaster Real recipes with humorous (dark), brief but informative essays. Cautionary tales, food chain fables. Dorothy Parker meets M.F.K. Fisher's How to Cook a Wolf in a Bruce Sterlingesque post-apocalyptic future. Heston B ...
Joy Garnett Recipes for Disaster Real recipes with humorous (dark), brief but informative essays. Cautionary tales, food chain fables. Dorothy Parker meets M.F.K. Fisher's How to Cook a Wolf in a Bruce Sterlingesque post-apocalyptic future. Heston B ...
W3620
14.05.2011
GORGES - JACQUELINE BELOTTI
WWW
“The lift is the most widely used means of transport in big cities. The metal box illuminated, panel with buttons and, in some cases, a mirror, gives the vertical displacement in a very simple way, and requires us to share our living space with stranger ...
“The lift is the most widely used means of transport in big cities. The metal box illuminated, panel with buttons and, in some cases, a mirror, gives the vertical displacement in a very simple way, and requires us to share our living space with stranger ...
W4455
25.05.2011
"GLOBAL SATELLITE PROJECT" - Joaquim Pereira Eires
WWW
"GLOBAL SATELLITE PROJECT" is een eigen concept waarin satellietbeelden, een snapshot van een bepaalde tijd en omgeving, "horizontaal" worden geïntegreerd in de publieke ruimte van meestal diezelfde omgeving. De digitale basis-satellietbeelden die hiervo ...
"GLOBAL SATELLITE PROJECT" is een eigen concept waarin satellietbeelden, een snapshot van een bepaalde tijd en omgeving, "horizontaal" worden geïntegreerd in de publieke ruimte van meestal diezelfde omgeving. De digitale basis-satellietbeelden die hiervo ...
W4474
25.05.2011
Ground Control - Diccon Spain
WWW
1 Introduction 1.1 Underpasses as attractive, minimalist and functional links in a holistic, uplifting, and sociable network. Polished near-white concrete walls with no art to disrupt the flow. On the ground scintillating white tarmac containing recycled ...
1 Introduction 1.1 Underpasses as attractive, minimalist and functional links in a holistic, uplifting, and sociable network. Polished near-white concrete walls with no art to disrupt the flow. On the ground scintillating white tarmac containing recycled ...
W5376
19.10.2012
FIRE! - Mary Behm-Steinberg
WWW
Statement for the bronze plaque (or documentation in the museum)*** Everywhere we look, the common person and the environment are under attack. Global warming; crop failures; poverty and starvation; the disappearance of the middle class and as America ...
Statement for the bronze plaque (or documentation in the museum)*** Everywhere we look, the common person and the environment are under attack. Global warming; crop failures; poverty and starvation; the disappearance of the middle class and as America ...
W4185
24.05.2011
The Circumference is Everywhere - Daniel R Small
WWW
The Circumference is Everywhere, 2011 100 miles Northeast of Los Angeles in the Mojave Desert lies a city abandoned in advance of itself, a ruin that is an aerial monument to misguided optimism that was conceived of by Nat Mendelsohn and intended to r ...
The Circumference is Everywhere, 2011 100 miles Northeast of Los Angeles in the Mojave Desert lies a city abandoned in advance of itself, a ruin that is an aerial monument to misguided optimism that was conceived of by Nat Mendelsohn and intended to r ...
W5443
20.10.2012
The beauty of Your Desintegrated Details - Marco Tavolaro
WWW
Project description in one sentence. “The beauty of Your Desintegrated Details” is a mapping projection based installation made with canvas, projectors and animation. WHAT - What is the Project about specifically? The project deals with perceptio ...
Project description in one sentence. “The beauty of Your Desintegrated Details” is a mapping projection based installation made with canvas, projectors and animation. WHAT - What is the Project about specifically? The project deals with perceptio ...
U9492
01.01.1996
"Ileana, I love you" - Maurizo Cattelan
Unbuilt Roads
1996 progetto "ilana, I love you" per la galleria Stefano Basilico di New York. Molte persone che conoscono Stefano Basilica per la sua galleria, conoscono anche che Stefano e' stato collaboratore per circa dieci anni alla galleria Sonnabend. Questo ...
1996 progetto "ilana, I love you" per la galleria Stefano Basilico di New York. Molte persone che conoscono Stefano Basilica per la sua galleria, conoscono anche che Stefano e' stato collaboratore per circa dieci anni alla galleria Sonnabend. Questo ...
W5371
19.10.2012
GPS- and audio-guided walking tour on the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah/Nevada, USA - Sonja Hinrichsen
WWW
Project Description: This environmental arts project engages communities to participate in a 2 ½ mile GPS- and audio-guided loop-walk on the Bonneville Salt Flats near Wendover, UT. The walking tour follows 20-25 large “interest markers” sprayed on ...
Project Description: This environmental arts project engages communities to participate in a 2 ½ mile GPS- and audio-guided loop-walk on the Bonneville Salt Flats near Wendover, UT. The walking tour follows 20-25 large “interest markers” sprayed on ...
W3873
19.05.2011
CHINATOWN RUN - Derek Michael Besant
WWW
Project: CHINATOWN RUN Client: City of Calgary Development Dept. / Canada Date: 2010 Retrofit of elements into existing Centre Street Chinatown District of Calgary Alberta Canada. The idea was to enhance the 3 blocks along Centre Street with t ...
Project: CHINATOWN RUN Client: City of Calgary Development Dept. / Canada Date: 2010 Retrofit of elements into existing Centre Street Chinatown District of Calgary Alberta Canada. The idea was to enhance the 3 blocks along Centre Street with t ...
W5218
07.10.2012
Batta Mon - OKAMOTO Mitsuhiro
WWW
In this case, I mean unaccomplished exhibition period as 'unrealized project'. After the show started, Louis Vuitton has asked KOBE FASHION MUSEUM to stop showing my artwork 'Batta Mon', to stop selling the show catalog and also to remove the show poster ...
In this case, I mean unaccomplished exhibition period as 'unrealized project'. After the show started, Louis Vuitton has asked KOBE FASHION MUSEUM to stop showing my artwork 'Batta Mon', to stop selling the show catalog and also to remove the show poster ...
W4911
14.08.2012
Curricula vitae - Joseph Redwood-Martinez
WWW
Curricula vitae Elective ethnic studies programs throughout the state of Arizona have been under intense scrutiny since 2010, when Governor Jan Brewer signed HB 2281 into law, forbidding public or charter schools from offering at any grade level course ...
Curricula vitae Elective ethnic studies programs throughout the state of Arizona have been under intense scrutiny since 2010, when Governor Jan Brewer signed HB 2281 into law, forbidding public or charter schools from offering at any grade level course ...
W3596
13.05.2011
Frame XII - carlo bassetti
WWW
Carlo Bassetti-Frame XII - Mixed media on canvass 1995 ...
Carlo Bassetti-Frame XII - Mixed media on canvass 1995 ...
U9263
01.01.1974
CIVITAS Stadtpostkarten - Lothar Baumgarten
Unbuilt Roads
Einige Überlegungen zur Emblematik von Ansichtskarten. Abgebildete Sehenswürdigkeiten gelangen auf Ansichtskarten durch die häufig gewählte Zentralperspektive in die Nähe ausgestellter Backwaren. Die siegelhaft stilisierte Heraldik, eines immer wiede ...
Einige Überlegungen zur Emblematik von Ansichtskarten. Abgebildete Sehenswürdigkeiten gelangen auf Ansichtskarten durch die häufig gewählte Zentralperspektive in die Nähe ausgestellter Backwaren. Die siegelhaft stilisierte Heraldik, eines immer wiede ...
W5468
21.10.2012
Sweet Auburn Multiscape - Alex Kerr
WWW
This contains a proposal for the Sweet Auburn Multiscape. It is a steel sculpture that mimics the skyline seen in the Sweet Auburn district in Atlanta over 40 years ago. The purpose of this piece is to reactivate the neglected neighborhood by calling atte ...
This contains a proposal for the Sweet Auburn Multiscape. It is a steel sculpture that mimics the skyline seen in the Sweet Auburn district in Atlanta over 40 years ago. The purpose of this piece is to reactivate the neglected neighborhood by calling atte ...
W4088
23.05.2011
ANOTHER ACCELERATOR
WWW
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) of the CERN is nowadays the bigger and sophisticated machine of the world. So then it would be seen as a very interesting scientific feature, and also as a marvellous thing, that probably will show us many of the most desir ...
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) of the CERN is nowadays the bigger and sophisticated machine of the world. So then it would be seen as a very interesting scientific feature, and also as a marvellous thing, that probably will show us many of the most desir ...
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 ...
W4575
25.05.2011
Unrealized Project #9: - Shiva Lynn Burgos and Javier Barrera (Ned and Shiva Productions)
WWW
Unrealized Project #9: “Illegal Crossings: An attempt to secretly enter the United States via the Mexico/Texas Border” January, 2008 -A performance documented with photography, film and soundscape Project Aims To make arrangements with Coy ...
Unrealized Project #9: “Illegal Crossings: An attempt to secretly enter the United States via the Mexico/Texas Border” January, 2008 -A performance documented with photography, film and soundscape Project Aims To make arrangements with Coy ...
W5210
05.10.2012
The Ringer (What Every Tower Needs) - Zoe Mackler
WWW
Project Proposal In Brief -­ The Ringer (What Every Tower Needs) This work address the complex feelings of displacement and disconnect experienced by the Glasgow School of Art and the surrounding community during campus redevelopment. Honoring the ideals ...
Project Proposal In Brief -­ The Ringer (What Every Tower Needs) This work address the complex feelings of displacement and disconnect experienced by the Glasgow School of Art and the surrounding community during campus redevelopment. Honoring the ideals ...
W4312
24.05.2011
Msquare4 - Andre Kodde
WWW
A call for unrealized projects Msquare4 You walk on an apparently miles long quay and all of a sudden a museum building arises. This time on poles over the water, but Msquare4 can be placed in every desired environment. Msquare4’s floor-plan is a gr ...
A call for unrealized projects Msquare4 You walk on an apparently miles long quay and all of a sudden a museum building arises. This time on poles over the water, but Msquare4 can be placed in every desired environment. Msquare4’s floor-plan is a gr ...
W3800
18.05.2011
Sinead McDonald
WWW
Part of a series of experimental explorations on the impact of medium and process on the reading of the photographic image, exploring the use of alternative print processes in altering viewers' responses. In using the historical processes of the cyanotyp ...
Part of a series of experimental explorations on the impact of medium and process on the reading of the photographic image, exploring the use of alternative print processes in altering viewers' responses. In using the historical processes of the cyanotyp ...
W4712
26.05.2011
LISTE ROUGE [MEMORIAL FOR THE DISAPPEARED]  - spmb [Eduardo Aquino & Karen Shanski]
WWW
LISTE ROUGE [MEMORIAL FOR THE DISAPPEARED] is a proposal by spmb for the City of Geneva’s 2011 Neons Competition. Starting from the observation that the Geneva Ecological Region has lost seven flower species to urban development in the past decades, we ...
LISTE ROUGE [MEMORIAL FOR THE DISAPPEARED] is a proposal by spmb for the City of Geneva’s 2011 Neons Competition. Starting from the observation that the Geneva Ecological Region has lost seven flower species to urban development in the past decades, we ...
W5133
19.09.2012
Lost Heritage in Dark Museum  - Yochai Avrahami
WWW
Lost Heritage in Dark Museum - Yochai Avrahami The project suggests installation of few displays, that uses "left overs" of various practices of museology. these practices where inspired by research, observing, interviews and other methods in museums an ...
Lost Heritage in Dark Museum - Yochai Avrahami The project suggests installation of few displays, that uses "left overs" of various practices of museology. these practices where inspired by research, observing, interviews and other methods in museums an ...
W3544
12.05.2011
CITY IS DEAD / BACK TO INDOOR - CITY IS DEAD / BACK TO INDOOR
WWW
CITY IS DEAD / BACK TO INDOOR Art of recent decades experienced deeply the idea of „Escape from institutions to the streets”. It gave the birth to countless artistic projects in public spaces, interventions and site-specific installations. B ...
CITY IS DEAD / BACK TO INDOOR Art of recent decades experienced deeply the idea of „Escape from institutions to the streets”. It gave the birth to countless artistic projects in public spaces, interventions and site-specific installations. B ...
W4226
24.05.2011
Round CD or DVD Fountain - Alex Hamilton
WWW
Round CD or DVD Fountain I’ve noticed some financial institutions in Germany (Stuttgart is one) have a large (1 to 1 & half meter) granite sphere revolving in a perfectly fitting “cup” lubricated by a bed of water, outside near the front entrance. ...
Round CD or DVD Fountain I’ve noticed some financial institutions in Germany (Stuttgart is one) have a large (1 to 1 & half meter) granite sphere revolving in a perfectly fitting “cup” lubricated by a bed of water, outside near the front entrance. ...
W4777
02.06.2011
No Success like Failure - Daniel Permanetter
WWW
NO SUCCESS LIKE FAILURE “She knows there's no success like failure And that failure's no success at all.” (Bob Dylan, “Love Minus Zero/ No Limit” 1965) The work consists of two parts. One is a scaffolding construction holding approximately ...
NO SUCCESS LIKE FAILURE “She knows there's no success like failure And that failure's no success at all.” (Bob Dylan, “Love Minus Zero/ No Limit” 1965) The work consists of two parts. One is a scaffolding construction holding approximately ...