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.

Eight Days a Week - Joe Scanlan

AUSSICHTSTURM, HOLZHAUS (WOHNHAUS), SCHWIMMBECKEN, FREIE FAHRT - Maria Eichhorn

Right-of-Privacy Release - Tony Oursler

Monument to Democracy - Kounellis

Billboard - Jimmie Durham

Untitled, modeled after the Leipzig Völkerschlachtdenkmal...  - Jenny Holzer

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

Social Resource Project For the Munich Olympics - Stephen Willats

Square Depression - Bruce Nauman

Engel-Detektor - Jakob Gautel & Jason Karaïndros

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W4534
25.05.2011
KOWTOW - ONE CHINA ONLY -- A LONELY EMPEROR - Vincent J.F. HUANG
WWW
KOWTOW ONE CHINA ONLY -- A LONELY EMPEROR VINCENT J.F. HUANG When China became the world’s second best economic entity, and when financial crisis strongly wounded every other nation’s economy, China’s emergence seemed to turn it into a global p ...
KOWTOW ONE CHINA ONLY -- A LONELY EMPEROR VINCENT J.F. HUANG When China became the world’s second best economic entity, and when financial crisis strongly wounded every other nation’s economy, China’s emergence seemed to turn it into a global p ...
U9726
01.01.1971
KEEPING IN TOUCH - Allan Kaprow
Unbuilt Roads
A global network of simultaneously transmitting and receiving " TV Arcades." Open to the public twenty-four hours a day, like any washerette. An arcade in every big city of the world. Each equipped with a hundred or more monitors of different sizes from a ...
A global network of simultaneously transmitting and receiving " TV Arcades." Open to the public twenty-four hours a day, like any washerette. An arcade in every big city of the world. Each equipped with a hundred or more monitors of different sizes from a ...
W5093
11.09.2012
H.U.R.I.M.P.R - Alina Tudor and Razvan Neagoe
WWW
H.U.R.I.M.P.R (part of MOnuMENTS project) MOnuMENTS project starts from the necessity of a reflexion on the deficitary relationship we have with history and recent memory, following a representative piece for the relationship between the political disc ...
H.U.R.I.M.P.R (part of MOnuMENTS project) MOnuMENTS project starts from the necessity of a reflexion on the deficitary relationship we have with history and recent memory, following a representative piece for the relationship between the political disc ...
W11076
07.04.2016
Temple of Modern Virtue - Vilja Achté
WWW
My work revolves around the relevance of the intentionally incomplete state as a method of production in art and design practice. The term itself is an adaptation of the Renaissance term ‘non-finito’, which quite literally means ‘not finished’, an ...
My work revolves around the relevance of the intentionally incomplete state as a method of production in art and design practice. The term itself is an adaptation of the Renaissance term ‘non-finito’, which quite literally means ‘not finished’, an ...
U9785
01.01.1994
Grand Concours International D'Architecture  - Mahe Gilles
Unbuilt Roads
Concours de plage ouvert surinvitation a des equipe D' Architectes de renomíe internationale. Objet = construire en untemps limiteé entre lamarée descendante + montante un batiment a l'aide des seuls materials trouvés sur la plage Nature Des ...
Concours de plage ouvert surinvitation a des equipe D' Architectes de renomíe internationale. Objet = construire en untemps limiteé entre lamarée descendante + montante un batiment a l'aide des seuls materials trouvés sur la plage Nature Des ...
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 ...
W3761
18.05.2011
Den Estetiske Dimensjon / The Aesthetic Dimension - Isabela Grosseova and Jesper Alvaer
WWW
The Aesthetic Dimension Public art proposal for the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation - Oslo ...
The Aesthetic Dimension Public art proposal for the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation - Oslo ...
W4179
24.05.2011
Queen Anne Island  - Kurt Kiefer
WWW
Queen Anne Island As the earth warms, the waters rise and our world becomes a very different place, we need to start making the changes to our cities, towns and neighborhoods that will allow us to move seamlessly into new realities. Locavorism will be ...
Queen Anne Island As the earth warms, the waters rise and our world becomes a very different place, we need to start making the changes to our cities, towns and neighborhoods that will allow us to move seamlessly into new realities. Locavorism will be ...
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 ...
W4372
25.05.2011
Ren Jie
WWW
In Chinese tradition,touch the land with feet is very important to one's health and life. If you are far away from the natural land,the soil,the water,the grass,you will become uncomfortable and sick. But today,urbanization make more and more peopl ...
In Chinese tradition,touch the land with feet is very important to one's health and life. If you are far away from the natural land,the soil,the water,the grass,you will become uncomfortable and sick. But today,urbanization make more and more peopl ...
U9793
01.01.1997
Isometric Projection - Sol Lewitt
Unbuilt Roads
W3841
19.05.2011
God's ear wax - Janice Perry
WWW
"God's ear wax." Large sculpture for public space. Multiple media. Conceived 2004/2011. Janice Perry. B. 1950. USA. The sculpture is comprised of an extremely large ball of wax (with a very high melting point), 100-500 feet in diameter, dark golden br ...
"God's ear wax." Large sculpture for public space. Multiple media. Conceived 2004/2011. Janice Perry. B. 1950. USA. The sculpture is comprised of an extremely large ball of wax (with a very high melting point), 100-500 feet in diameter, dark golden br ...
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 ...
W4693
26.05.2011
a flower every day - Nina Meledandri
WWW
a flower every day was a multi-media response to Marina Abramovic’s Museum of Modern Art retrospective and performance piece: The Artist Is Present (March 14-May 31 2010). It remains an unfinished project i often respond to the work of others, not ...
a flower every day was a multi-media response to Marina Abramovic’s Museum of Modern Art retrospective and performance piece: The Artist Is Present (March 14-May 31 2010). It remains an unfinished project i often respond to the work of others, not ...
W3669
15.05.2011
Music For Distances - Carla Cisno
WWW
Proposal for Historisches Museum Baden (Switzerland) within DAS OHR DER ZEIT- Projektwettbewerb-Klangintervention im Historisches Museum Baden. Specifically designed for the spaces of Landvogteischloss, Music For Distances is a particular chordal-ram ...
Proposal for Historisches Museum Baden (Switzerland) within DAS OHR DER ZEIT- Projektwettbewerb-Klangintervention im Historisches Museum Baden. Specifically designed for the spaces of Landvogteischloss, Music For Distances is a particular chordal-ram ...
W3543
12.05.2011
L'art mis à nu par ses artistes, même... Rifiuto della Creazione / Everything has been done, so why do „everything” ? - Gregor Rozanski
WWW
working title and object(s) as complex game of meanings. this is a meeting of ideas of two rebels form different backgrounds - artist Marcel Duchamp and theoretican and activist Antonio Negri. Negri and Duchamp have one the same opinion that is be ...
working title and object(s) as complex game of meanings. this is a meeting of ideas of two rebels form different backgrounds - artist Marcel Duchamp and theoretican and activist Antonio Negri. Negri and Duchamp have one the same opinion that is be ...
W3871
19.05.2011
Shimon Attie
WWW
I propose to create a site-specific Installation, to be sited in Oslo, Norway, and presented during the annual Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony. The Artwork will be a large scale Installation that gives ethereal and arresting visual form to the story and tale o ...
I propose to create a site-specific Installation, to be sited in Oslo, Norway, and presented during the annual Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony. The Artwork will be a large scale Installation that gives ethereal and arresting visual form to the story and tale o ...
W5377
19.10.2012
Maya Zack
WWW
Brief description – the act of drawing as/and the act of eating Hunger is an unrealized video work that conceptually is base on the theme of the hunger for realization and materialization. It has been developing (and still is) over the past few y ...
Brief description – the act of drawing as/and the act of eating Hunger is an unrealized video work that conceptually is base on the theme of the hunger for realization and materialization. It has been developing (and still is) over the past few y ...
W3879
19.05.2011
SPLASH - Derek Michael Besant
WWW
Seating in the Epcore Centre for Performing Arts turns into an oil spill Client: Epcore Centre for Performing Arts / Calgary Alberta Canada Date: 1990 Central hall of new Epcore Centre designed as public seating area at base of Splash. Sculptur ...
Seating in the Epcore Centre for Performing Arts turns into an oil spill Client: Epcore Centre for Performing Arts / Calgary Alberta Canada Date: 1990 Central hall of new Epcore Centre designed as public seating area at base of Splash. Sculptur ...
W4095
23.05.2011
UNREALIZEABLE PROJECT A000013 - Stefano W. Pasquini
WWW
UNREALIZEABLE PROJECT A000013. As the political times have changed after 911, even my Unrealizeable Projects reflected this change. This one plays with the difficulties foreigners face when trying to move to the United States nowadays. ...
UNREALIZEABLE PROJECT A000013. As the political times have changed after 911, even my Unrealizeable Projects reflected this change. This one plays with the difficulties foreigners face when trying to move to the United States nowadays. ...
W4882
10.08.2012
Sight Unseen - Marcy B. Freedman
WWW
SIGHT UNSEEN A proposal by Marcy B. Freedman “Message to curators: Whatever you’re doing right now, do something else next.” Roberta Smith (New York Times, February 14, 2010) THE CONCEPT: SIGHT UNSEEN is intended to challenge traditional n ...
SIGHT UNSEEN A proposal by Marcy B. Freedman “Message to curators: Whatever you’re doing right now, do something else next.” Roberta Smith (New York Times, February 14, 2010) THE CONCEPT: SIGHT UNSEEN is intended to challenge traditional n ...
W3992
21.05.2011
Ranjit Sidhu
WWW
In a fierce contest in 1961, I was commissioned to create drawings based on “Devotion to Duty”, “Dignity of Labour” and, “Work is Worship” – the themes floated by 505 Command Workshop, Ministry of Defense, Govt. of India for eight large wall ...
In a fierce contest in 1961, I was commissioned to create drawings based on “Devotion to Duty”, “Dignity of Labour” and, “Work is Worship” – the themes floated by 505 Command Workshop, Ministry of Defense, Govt. of India for eight large wall ...
W4522
25.05.2011
Under Construction/Building a Website  - Berkay Tuncay
WWW
Under Construction/Building a Website                                                   2011/ Installation&Website    “Under Construction/Building a Website” is based on the “under ...
Under Construction/Building a Website                                                   2011/ Installation&Website    “Under Construction/Building a Website” is based on the “under ...
W4435
25.05.2011
"Jello Cube," or "Eat Your Way In": - "Jello Cube," or "Eat Your Way In"
WWW
"Jello Cube," or "Eat Your Way In": A solid block of strawberry Jello will be installed on location at Actual Size Los Angeles. This sculpture/ installation will measure 1,690 cubic feet and will occupy the 2,250 cubic foot gallery with a 1 foot periph ...
"Jello Cube," or "Eat Your Way In": A solid block of strawberry Jello will be installed on location at Actual Size Los Angeles. This sculpture/ installation will measure 1,690 cubic feet and will occupy the 2,250 cubic foot gallery with a 1 foot periph ...
W3602
13.05.2011
Dreamland: A great Freudian Theme Park - Zoe Beloff
WWW
This as yet unrealized project aims rebuild Coney Island’s famous Dreamland amusement park that burned down in 1911, as a true Freudian theme park. ...
This as yet unrealized project aims rebuild Coney Island’s famous Dreamland amusement park that burned down in 1911, as a true Freudian theme park. ...
W3625
14.05.2011
Radical Artist Workshop (RAW) - Radical Artist Workshop
WWW
Conceived in 2007, Radical Artist Workshop (RAW) is a blog of proposed projects and fictitious/real testimonials that question notions of radicality in contemporary art. ...
Conceived in 2007, Radical Artist Workshop (RAW) is a blog of proposed projects and fictitious/real testimonials that question notions of radicality in contemporary art. ...