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.

Tower Cranes, Paris  - Tadashi Kawamata

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

Engel-Detektor - Jakob Gautel & Jason Karaïndros

The insurer - Fabrice Hybert

Art and Ourselves: A Proposal for the city of Nordhorn - Allen Rupperssberg

Der New-Babyloner - Constant

NON REALIZED PROJECTS - Christo and Jeanne-Claude

Attitudine Diplomatica - Hermann Pitz

Milan House (AC/DC & Joy Division) - Liam Gillick

Unrealized project for Tate Gallery + ICA, 1969 - Gilbert and George

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
#
Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W5463
21.10.2012
The House I Grew Up In - Zena Zakanycz
WWW
Artist Statement: It is interesting to see what one value or thinks should be contained, stored and kept. This idea of something being secure and safely tucked away or collected is fundamental in my work. I think it is an essential quality of humans to ...
Artist Statement: It is interesting to see what one value or thinks should be contained, stored and kept. This idea of something being secure and safely tucked away or collected is fundamental in my work. I think it is an essential quality of humans to ...
W4766
29.05.2011
Joanna Grasso
WWW
Take all paintings out of octagonal red room in the Uffizi, Florence, Italy. Leave homo-erotic sculptures of men in battle, also keep large gold gilded frames. Replace canvases with flat screen video monitors that display footage recorded from Tuscan tree ...
Take all paintings out of octagonal red room in the Uffizi, Florence, Italy. Leave homo-erotic sculptures of men in battle, also keep large gold gilded frames. Replace canvases with flat screen video monitors that display footage recorded from Tuscan tree ...
W4080
23.05.2011
Photorécepteurs - Kasia Ozga
WWW
Description du Projet – Photorécepteurs Pour le projet participatif, Photorécepteurs, je souhaite travailler sur des images en grand format des yeux des habitants de la Ville de _________. Un photorécepteur peut désigner un neurone sensoriel sens ...
Description du Projet – Photorécepteurs Pour le projet participatif, Photorécepteurs, je souhaite travailler sur des images en grand format des yeux des habitants de la Ville de _________. Un photorécepteur peut désigner un neurone sensoriel sens ...
W4494
25.05.2011
'“Cork 2000: The Symbol of Never-ending Happiness”  - Andro Semeiko
WWW
'“Cork 2000: The Symbol of Never-ending Happiness” 'Cork 2000 was built and launched by Cape Space Centre (CSC) in response to a celebration of the year 2000. President of CSC, Dr B. Karney said in her interview: “Popping the cork is associated w ...
'“Cork 2000: The Symbol of Never-ending Happiness” 'Cork 2000 was built and launched by Cape Space Centre (CSC) in response to a celebration of the year 2000. President of CSC, Dr B. Karney said in her interview: “Popping the cork is associated w ...
W10612
03.07.2014
On cherche à la lumière ce que l'on a perdu dans le noir - Nadine Lère
WWW
Mon projet est de construire et d’installer un dispositif éclairant, une source de lumière propre à voir. Le dispositif, un espace pénétrable, prend la fonction de point d’attraction, comme un phare. Il se veut être un point de repère, de rasse ...
Mon projet est de construire et d’installer un dispositif éclairant, une source de lumière propre à voir. Le dispositif, un espace pénétrable, prend la fonction de point d’attraction, comme un phare. Il se veut être un point de repère, de rasse ...
W4156
23.05.2011
Craig Havens
WWW
From August 2009 to January 2010, I employed the spirit of Elvis Presely as the PR Director of a Limited Liability Company which I created to represent my groin to those people who were no longer welcome in my life. ...
From August 2009 to January 2010, I employed the spirit of Elvis Presely as the PR Director of a Limited Liability Company which I created to represent my groin to those people who were no longer welcome in my life. ...
W4687
26.05.2011
August Ventimiglia
WWW
An action to be executed in a large open area. "Common red building brick units stacked then tossed outward to form scatter -- stacked units at center -- scatter dissipates. Survey grid laid over scatter. Create drawings of scatter then collect bricks at ...
An action to be executed in a large open area. "Common red building brick units stacked then tossed outward to form scatter -- stacked units at center -- scatter dissipates. Survey grid laid over scatter. Create drawings of scatter then collect bricks at ...
W5000
30.08.2012
Kosuth Instruction Piece - Conny Blom
WWW
Conny Blom Kosuth Instruction Piece Text on A4. The Tributes is a growing series of loving, but somewhat humorous remakes of classic works of art by artists like John Baldessari, Bas Jan Ader, Douglas Gordon and more. Conny Blom remakes pieces that hav ...
Conny Blom Kosuth Instruction Piece Text on A4. The Tributes is a growing series of loving, but somewhat humorous remakes of classic works of art by artists like John Baldessari, Bas Jan Ader, Douglas Gordon and more. Conny Blom remakes pieces that hav ...
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 ...
W3925
20.05.2011
Proposal for Witches Memorial in Salem MA - Ed Levine
WWW
Proposal for Witches Memorial in Salem MA Giving voice to Witches Each of the 17 sculptural element is a musical instrument. Compressed air is cycled randomly through the internal pipe in each element. Consequently the sound will project around the si ...
Proposal for Witches Memorial in Salem MA Giving voice to Witches Each of the 17 sculptural element is a musical instrument. Compressed air is cycled randomly through the internal pipe in each element. Consequently the sound will project around the si ...
W10475
27.04.2014
Archive of Forgotten Ideas - Cecilia Guida and 42 contributors
WWW
Sometimes we have ideas that we like but for rational, emotional or practical reasons we think they won’t work out or we aren’t able to develop them at that moment. Consequently we keep them apart, “hide” them somewhere in a peripheral and little ...
Sometimes we have ideas that we like but for rational, emotional or practical reasons we think they won’t work out or we aren’t able to develop them at that moment. Consequently we keep them apart, “hide” them somewhere in a peripheral and little ...
W5130
19.09.2012
IDENSITAT Documentation Project - Leo Morrissey
WWW
IDENSITAT Documentation Project WRITTEN DOC. Project to take place in Kyoto Japan. Place postcards throughout the city, the postcards will be pre stamped, the viewer (finder) will be welcome to take a card and send it to someone... ...
IDENSITAT Documentation Project WRITTEN DOC. Project to take place in Kyoto Japan. Place postcards throughout the city, the postcards will be pre stamped, the viewer (finder) will be welcome to take a card and send it to someone... ...
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 ...
W5173
26.09.2012
Jugoslav Mitevski
WWW
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 ...
W5306
17.10.2012
cat.rais - Jake Morton
WWW
AUP : Agency for un-realised projects : submission : 1.0 The A.U.P. - Agency for un-realised projects - open call invitation states: 1.1 “Though the state of being unrealized implies the potential for realization, not all projects are intended to ...
AUP : Agency for un-realised projects : submission : 1.0 The A.U.P. - Agency for un-realised projects - open call invitation states: 1.1 “Though the state of being unrealized implies the potential for realization, not all projects are intended to ...
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. ...
W10717
11.09.2014
Parallelle Projekte in der Stadt Münster, 1997 - Nicolaisen Terje
WWW
At my final year in the Academy I went to Münster to show my projects with Yellow Light. Should I wait till I am 60 to be invited or just go to the party uninvited? Kasper König made it clear to me in his office at Landesmuseum that this was a private p ...
At my final year in the Academy I went to Münster to show my projects with Yellow Light. Should I wait till I am 60 to be invited or just go to the party uninvited? Kasper König made it clear to me in his office at Landesmuseum that this was a private p ...
W5023
31.08.2012
Rooted - John Gayer
WWW
ROOTED This unrealised project primarily exists in the imagination. It involves an extended performance that demands stasis and proposes an evolutionary shift. This shift could take centuries to happen. The idea, in part, derives from a time when I produ ...
ROOTED This unrealised project primarily exists in the imagination. It involves an extended performance that demands stasis and proposes an evolutionary shift. This shift could take centuries to happen. The idea, in part, derives from a time when I produ ...
W10838
13.12.2014
Exterminators - Fani Zguro
WWW
“Mister Dosti” is a project that originates from the literature. In 2010, the Mr. Dosti was finished, and published only in a few copies, as a volume with Albanian stories. The text itself features various types of writings such as: poetry, notes, pro ...
“Mister Dosti” is a project that originates from the literature. In 2010, the Mr. Dosti was finished, and published only in a few copies, as a volume with Albanian stories. The text itself features various types of writings such as: poetry, notes, pro ...
W5459
20.10.2012
Temporary Projection Installations for the Survivors of Atrocities. - Gavin Halm
WWW
Summary: Listings of the names of survivors (and their extended families through the present) are projected upon the walls and surrounding grounds of sites where atrocities have taken, or are currently taking, place. The thousands of names could be projec ...
Summary: Listings of the names of survivors (and their extended families through the present) are projected upon the walls and surrounding grounds of sites where atrocities have taken, or are currently taking, place. The thousands of names could be projec ...
W3585
13.05.2011
‘The Irlam House Bequest’ - David Jacques
WWW
Irlam House is a sixteen story tower block in Bootle, Merseyside. Sometime in the late 1980’s the resident Caretaker came into possession of a substantial collection of drawings. The drawings came to our attention when he recently brought one study to t ...
Irlam House is a sixteen story tower block in Bootle, Merseyside. Sometime in the late 1980’s the resident Caretaker came into possession of a substantial collection of drawings. The drawings came to our attention when he recently brought one study to t ...
U9838
01.01.1985
Notebook Page: Home in the Form of a Banana with Garage,  - Claes Oldenburg
Unbuilt Roads
Pencil and watercolor on paper, 5 3/4 x 4 in. (14.6 x 10.2 cm) ...
Pencil and watercolor on paper, 5 3/4 x 4 in. (14.6 x 10.2 cm) ...
U9578
01.01.1997
Financial Times Millennium Bridge Competition - Richard Serra and Frank Gehry
Unbuilt Roads
Design Intent: The main purpose of a footbridge across the Thames should be more than to transport people most efficiently from point A to point B. We propose, instead, a bridge where sociality becomes the dominant practical purpose, a structure which ...
Design Intent: The main purpose of a footbridge across the Thames should be more than to transport people most efficiently from point A to point B. We propose, instead, a bridge where sociality becomes the dominant practical purpose, a structure which ...
W3676
15.05.2011
THE DIARY OF SAMUEL PEPYS, ESQ., F.R.S. FROM 1659 TO 1669 WITH MEMOIR - Press this (The Rsnn Show)
WWW
PREFACE TO THE PRESENT EDITION. The Celebrated work here presented to the public under peculiar advantages may require a few introductory remarks. By the publication, during the last half century, of autobiographies, Diaries, and Records of Personal ...
PREFACE TO THE PRESENT EDITION. The Celebrated work here presented to the public under peculiar advantages may require a few introductory remarks. By the publication, during the last half century, of autobiographies, Diaries, and Records of Personal ...
W3773
18.05.2011
MEMORY OF AN UTOPIA Graphic Novel of the Popular Government in Chile, 1970-1973 - Luis Guerra
WWW
Introduction During 2003 and 2004, I was working at the The National Commission on Political Imprisonment and Torture Report, the Valech Commission, a Governmental institution created by former President Ricardo Lagos. My work at the Commission consist ...
Introduction During 2003 and 2004, I was working at the The National Commission on Political Imprisonment and Torture Report, the Valech Commission, a Governmental institution created by former President Ricardo Lagos. My work at the Commission consist ...