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.

Unbetitelt, Gänse-Projekt + Noch unbetitelt , " Durch den Mund sehen " + Kartoffeln  - Carsten Holler

Making for Art - 100 Unsucceeded Presentation - 1995, 1996,  - Yutaka Sone

Tower Cranes, Paris  - Tadashi Kawamata

654 THINGS from The United States - Edward Ruscha

Billboard - Jimmie Durham

Monumento all'agricoltura 1969-70 - Alighiero Boetti

Time Magazine Cover - Robert Rauschenberg

Temple of the western buddha (1971 Kathmedu) - Herman de Vries

Aguapracasa - Gabriel Orozco

MAK - Wien  - Rosemarie Trockel

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
#
Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W3750
18.05.2011
Red stars, 2008 - Tanja Lazetic
WWW
Early in 2008 I was planning a coloring action. There is a historical monument in Ljubljana called The Trail of Remembrance and Comradeship; consisting of a walkway almost ringing Ljubljana; its signposts bear the emblem of the red star. Over time, the re ...
Early in 2008 I was planning a coloring action. There is a historical monument in Ljubljana called The Trail of Remembrance and Comradeship; consisting of a walkway almost ringing Ljubljana; its signposts bear the emblem of the red star. Over time, the re ...
W4715
26.05.2011
Annan Shehadi
WWW
This project is a way of mapping a home I have never been to from the outside. It is about the outside world not recognizing my identity as a Palestinian, or my people's right to their homeland. In that sense, it is unrealized. 31°53’20.24”N, 35° ...
This project is a way of mapping a home I have never been to from the outside. It is about the outside world not recognizing my identity as a Palestinian, or my people's right to their homeland. In that sense, it is unrealized. 31°53’20.24”N, 35° ...
W5469
21.10.2012
Mimicry - DAMIAN IORDANOV
WWW
Temporary Public Sculpture: Park Avenue Malls The Fund for Park Avenue and The City of New York’s Department of Parks and Recreation, Public Art Program The Park Avenue malls, on New York City’s upper eastside Mimicry unrealized project intend ...
Temporary Public Sculpture: Park Avenue Malls The Fund for Park Avenue and The City of New York’s Department of Parks and Recreation, Public Art Program The Park Avenue malls, on New York City’s upper eastside Mimicry unrealized project intend ...
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 ...
W4809
07.08.2012
Transitional Monument - David Mabb
WWW
Transitional Monument (2004). Digital montage. Dimensions variable. Transitional Monument was made as a proposal for a public artwork. The two images show photos of a now demolished sixties tower block, Linosa Close, Liverpool, with William Morris d ...
Transitional Monument (2004). Digital montage. Dimensions variable. Transitional Monument was made as a proposal for a public artwork. The two images show photos of a now demolished sixties tower block, Linosa Close, Liverpool, with William Morris d ...
W5048
03.09.2012
Unrealized Poster - Robert Linsley
WWW
Unrealized project for a poster, circa 2002. FORWARD UNDER THE BANNER OF THE EXECUTIVE DAEMON! ALL POWER TO THE OTHER DAEMONS! EAST VAN RULES! ...
Unrealized project for a poster, circa 2002. FORWARD UNDER THE BANNER OF THE EXECUTIVE DAEMON! ALL POWER TO THE OTHER DAEMONS! EAST VAN RULES! ...
W5461
21.10.2012
Living DNA - Nobuho Nagasawa
WWW
Project for UCLA Hospital, Los Angeles, California © Nobuho Nagasawa Concept: All living things contain DNA. The main role of DNA in the cell is the storage of information. It is often compared to a blueprint, since it contains the instructions ...
Project for UCLA Hospital, Los Angeles, California © Nobuho Nagasawa Concept: All living things contain DNA. The main role of DNA in the cell is the storage of information. It is often compared to a blueprint, since it contains the instructions ...
W3675
15.05.2011
OmniPhantasmic* - Neil Craver
WWW
OmniPhantasmic* *Omni-             1. A combining form denoting all, every, everywhere; as in omnipotent, all-powerful; omnipresent; omnivorous.  *Phantasmic-          1. Something apparently s ...
OmniPhantasmic* *Omni-             1. A combining form denoting all, every, everywhere; as in omnipotent, all-powerful; omnipresent; omnivorous.  *Phantasmic-          1. Something apparently s ...
W3842
19.05.2011
BLIND SPOT - KimSu Theiler
WWW
dimensions variable Can we turn the horror of being dematerialized whether in the eyes of a beloved or in a community into the super-hero power of invisibility and back again. 8 cameras in a circle point out over the room. 8 grid camera view re ...
dimensions variable Can we turn the horror of being dematerialized whether in the eyes of a beloved or in a community into the super-hero power of invisibility and back again. 8 cameras in a circle point out over the room. 8 grid camera view re ...
W5345
18.10.2012
Lisa Bateman
WWW
An installation of public smell (ocean, brine, tar, old fish) -housed inside an abandoned parking shack at the site of the old Fulton Fish Market, NYC. Smell is emitted from a DMX HVAC scent through the fence and into public space. ...
An installation of public smell (ocean, brine, tar, old fish) -housed inside an abandoned parking shack at the site of the old Fulton Fish Market, NYC. Smell is emitted from a DMX HVAC scent through the fence and into public space. ...
W4267
24.05.2011
“Truth Highway” - Jiivanii RedMarks
WWW
“Truth Highway” The Abstract Artist: Jiivanii RedMarks © 2007 Location: Jamaica “Truth Highway” is an Outdoor Sculpture represented by a transparent glass stairway, standing at about twenty-five meters off the ground or infinity. This escalato ...
“Truth Highway” The Abstract Artist: Jiivanii RedMarks © 2007 Location: Jamaica “Truth Highway” is an Outdoor Sculpture represented by a transparent glass stairway, standing at about twenty-five meters off the ground or infinity. This escalato ...
W3513
11.05.2011
“Bus Stop” by Mira Hnatyshyn - Mira Hnatyshyn
WWW
“Bus Stop” is a moveable painting based on an image of local commuters waiting for their bus ride. “Bus Stop” explores the cultural significance that public transportation plays in society. As a physical object, t ...
“Bus Stop” is a moveable painting based on an image of local commuters waiting for their bus ride. “Bus Stop” explores the cultural significance that public transportation plays in society. As a physical object, t ...
W5903
18.10.2013
Scouts - Matthijs Muller
WWW
Instead of nature represented by some poor trees put in a "pot" between towering office-buildings these trees (in concrete "pots", with dustbins but without benches) scout new territory for future city expansion, just outside but still within sight of the ...
Instead of nature represented by some poor trees put in a "pot" between towering office-buildings these trees (in concrete "pots", with dustbins but without benches) scout new territory for future city expansion, just outside but still within sight of the ...
W3986
21.05.2011
EMOTIONAL SPACE - sculptor PhD, Aili Vahtrapuu, disainer Janika Vesberg
WWW
Project for Venice XII International Architectural Biennale : People meet in Architecture. An interactive installation to analyse and combine the aural and the visual STATEMENT : PEOPLE MEET IN ARCHITECTURE Venice XII International Architectural ...
Project for Venice XII International Architectural Biennale : People meet in Architecture. An interactive installation to analyse and combine the aural and the visual STATEMENT : PEOPLE MEET IN ARCHITECTURE Venice XII International Architectural ...
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 ...
W3604
13.05.2011
Nereida Garcia Ferraz
WWW
After the ruins of sities devastated by natural disasters and war, I began working in my studio with materials, cardboard, wood, light, and discarted objects, making structures that bring to mind, buildings and ancient cities, wells and theaters, stairs ...
After the ruins of sities devastated by natural disasters and war, I began working in my studio with materials, cardboard, wood, light, and discarted objects, making structures that bring to mind, buildings and ancient cities, wells and theaters, stairs ...
W5059
03.09.2012
Unrealized Perfumes - Chaveli Sifre
WWW
Unrealized PerFumes: The following images depict a perfume bottle and its accompanying poem from a series of unrealized PerFumes—part of an ongoing collection of impossible aromas that engage in a cautious interplay between concepts of desire and ritua ...
Unrealized PerFumes: The following images depict a perfume bottle and its accompanying poem from a series of unrealized PerFumes—part of an ongoing collection of impossible aromas that engage in a cautious interplay between concepts of desire and ritua ...
W3704
17.05.2011
Making Aliyah - Nathaniel Katz and Valentina Curandi
WWW
We are proposing to immigrate to the Jewish Autonomous Oblast in Russia. The concept of this proposal derives from the implied duty of Jews in diaspora to immigrate, make “Aliyah” to the State of Israel. (Literally “Aliyah” means ascension. To mak ...
We are proposing to immigrate to the Jewish Autonomous Oblast in Russia. The concept of this proposal derives from the implied duty of Jews in diaspora to immigrate, make “Aliyah” to the State of Israel. (Literally “Aliyah” means ascension. To mak ...
W4524
25.05.2011
Star Museum in Sharjah - Star Museum in Sharjah by A12
WWW
Star Museum in Sharjah by A12 Our proposal for Sharjah Art Foundation Production Programme was to build a temporary pavilion to host the first stage of the Star Museum, a travelling museum dedicated to the stars. The stars in this museum are not inten ...
Star Museum in Sharjah by A12 Our proposal for Sharjah Art Foundation Production Programme was to build a temporary pavilion to host the first stage of the Star Museum, a travelling museum dedicated to the stars. The stars in this museum are not inten ...
W3537
11.05.2011
‘Against the fall’ - Sarah Luedemann
WWW
Project outline (Version Ia): ‘Against the fall’ consists of a fully functioning white parachute and about 300 (or more) A4 rejection letters from art students and artists worldwide, which are printed onto the parachute. The parachute as such is ...
Project outline (Version Ia): ‘Against the fall’ consists of a fully functioning white parachute and about 300 (or more) A4 rejection letters from art students and artists worldwide, which are printed onto the parachute. The parachute as such is ...
W4122
23.05.2011
The Butterfly Tree - Chris Lipomi
WWW
There is a project which I have been thinking about and working on for quite some time now. Basically it is a living kinetic sculpture of a full sized tree (15/20 ft. tall), with living green tropical butterflies as the leaves. The tree itself, function ...
There is a project which I have been thinking about and working on for quite some time now. Basically it is a living kinetic sculpture of a full sized tree (15/20 ft. tall), with living green tropical butterflies as the leaves. The tree itself, function ...
W4811
07.08.2012
Detachment - Amira Parree
WWW
Hand made latex dress sewed by hand for 100 hours within 10 days, partly burnd. The dress is one piece of 6 yards long material, 2 dresses in one piece. One side is empty and the other side is worn by me. Detachment, the title expresses my willingne ...
Hand made latex dress sewed by hand for 100 hours within 10 days, partly burnd. The dress is one piece of 6 yards long material, 2 dresses in one piece. One side is empty and the other side is worn by me. Detachment, the title expresses my willingne ...
W11011
04.04.2016
Writings Jobs - Fani Zguro
WWW
“Writings Jobs” is a project that has started in 2001, by developing texts in high dimensions in public spaces (are different productions from 2001 to 2002, but the most special one l made was at historical advertising Armani close to Via del Orso in ...
“Writings Jobs” is a project that has started in 2001, by developing texts in high dimensions in public spaces (are different productions from 2001 to 2002, but the most special one l made was at historical advertising Armani close to Via del Orso in ...
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 ...
W3886
19.05.2011
Flags - Luciana Maiorana
WWW
In “Flags,” I would use color and geometry to deconstruct and then reassemble, in multiple permutations, the world’s national flags. I would employ multiple media (paper, fabric, encaustic, photography, video, . . . ) to emphasize the “variety” ...
In “Flags,” I would use color and geometry to deconstruct and then reassemble, in multiple permutations, the world’s national flags. I would employ multiple media (paper, fabric, encaustic, photography, video, . . . ) to emphasize the “variety” ...
W4621
25.05.2011
Projekt Atlantik - Maria Dundakova
WWW
Projekt Atlantik- Song, Ebbe und Flut Rhytmen Klangrealisation und Wirkung Vorbereitung: Dokumentare Atlantikwellenklang Materialausarbeitung Während 30 Tagen am Morgen vor Sonnenaufgang habe ich Ebbe und Flut Wellengeräusche an der Brasilianischen Küs ...
Projekt Atlantik- Song, Ebbe und Flut Rhytmen Klangrealisation und Wirkung Vorbereitung: Dokumentare Atlantikwellenklang Materialausarbeitung Während 30 Tagen am Morgen vor Sonnenaufgang habe ich Ebbe und Flut Wellengeräusche an der Brasilianischen Küs ...