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.

Aguapracasa - Gabriel Orozco

Chen H.V.O + G.T. - Bertrand Lavier

Time Magazine Cover - Robert Rauschenberg

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

Why New Worlds Conceived by Artists Do Not Get Built - Peter Fend

Project pour le parc de sculpture de Vassiviére - Paul-Armand Gette

NON REALIZED PROJECTS - Christo and Jeanne-Claude

Engel-Detektor - Jakob Gautel & Jason Karaïndros

Tower Cranes, Paris  - Tadashi Kawamata

A House of Dust - Alison Knowles

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W3517
11.05.2011
Spartak Dulic
WWW
W3584
13.05.2011
Proposal to an open call for the 2011 Emdash Award - Boris Dornbusch
WWW
The following project was a proposal to an open call for the 2011 Emdash Award. However, it is an idea I have developed in response to any Art Fair: A smaller-scale replica of the Frieze's exhibition tent is pitched in the exhibition pavilion. ...
The following project was a proposal to an open call for the 2011 Emdash Award. However, it is an idea I have developed in response to any Art Fair: A smaller-scale replica of the Frieze's exhibition tent is pitched in the exhibition pavilion. ...
W5291
16.10.2012
Die asporas - Lior Wilentzik
WWW
Die asporas « Young Israeli artists in Berlin« group installations curator: Lior Wilentzik www.dieasporas.com contact:dieasporas@gmail.com 015126857385 Recent years have been marked with a rising trend of young Israeli artists immigrating to Berlin. Par ...
Die asporas « Young Israeli artists in Berlin« group installations curator: Lior Wilentzik www.dieasporas.com contact:dieasporas@gmail.com 015126857385 Recent years have been marked with a rising trend of young Israeli artists immigrating to Berlin. Par ...
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 ...
W5006
30.08.2012
Das soziale NetzKunstwerk - Karen Eliot
WWW
An internet forum/ social network for Open Source Art projects: Artists always have unrealized ideas - things that just slumber in sketchbooks forever. We want to create a website, where users can propose such projects and leave it open for others to adop ...
An internet forum/ social network for Open Source Art projects: Artists always have unrealized ideas - things that just slumber in sketchbooks forever. We want to create a website, where users can propose such projects and leave it open for others to adop ...
W4395
25.05.2011
63 Minutes  - Lawrence Daley
WWW
63 Minutes At precisely 01:00 on 31 October British Summer Time will, for 2010 at least, come to an end. As a result the sun will set at 16:37 and a full 63 minutes of daylight will have been lost. I want to remind the people of Brighton that come late ...
63 Minutes At precisely 01:00 on 31 October British Summer Time will, for 2010 at least, come to an end. As a result the sun will set at 16:37 and a full 63 minutes of daylight will have been lost. I want to remind the people of Brighton that come late ...
W3691
16.05.2011
Rolf Hinterecker
WWW
The train will be fixed in a steal frame construction Most of the complex construction is placed under the water surface. Counterbalances in the cube are needed for the balance. Several boom supports floating short above the ground will protect an overset ...
The train will be fixed in a steal frame construction Most of the complex construction is placed under the water surface. Counterbalances in the cube are needed for the balance. Several boom supports floating short above the ground will protect an overset ...
W4385
25.05.2011
un... - Bettina Bruder
WWW
un... by Bettina Bruder un... is an unrealized project from a series of experiments on the topic of ‘nothing’. un... got never realized until the call for submission of unrealized projects gave space to it. un... and ‘nothing’ are part of my u ...
un... by Bettina Bruder un... is an unrealized project from a series of experiments on the topic of ‘nothing’. un... got never realized until the call for submission of unrealized projects gave space to it. un... and ‘nothing’ are part of my u ...
W5121
18.09.2012
Mo White
WWW
In 2009 I made a film whose completion has been continually postponed. I made the film quickly with materials to hand, in Super 8 format. The making of the work was an immediate reaction and response to a small event. ‘In March 2009 I bought a lime ...
In 2009 I made a film whose completion has been continually postponed. I made the film quickly with materials to hand, in Super 8 format. The making of the work was an immediate reaction and response to a small event. ‘In March 2009 I bought a lime ...
W3722
17.05.2011
Fotografische Sammlung, Museum Folkwang - ANJA ROSS
WWW
Fotografische Sammlung, Museum Folkwang, Goethestraße 41, D-45128 Essen Stipendium der Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach-Stiftung für Zeitgenössische Fotografie 2008 Antragstellerin: ANJA ROSS Schon lange arbeite ich mit der Fotografie intu ...
Fotografische Sammlung, Museum Folkwang, Goethestraße 41, D-45128 Essen Stipendium der Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach-Stiftung für Zeitgenössische Fotografie 2008 Antragstellerin: ANJA ROSS Schon lange arbeite ich mit der Fotografie intu ...
W5186
30.09.2012
Untitled (‘Memory: Un/Successful, In/Complete’)  - Betty Nigianni
WWW
Untitled (‘Memory: Un/Successful, In/Complete’) - - Oil and acrylic paints, inkjet prints, tissue paper, and straw on canvas, 80X120 cm approx. (2010-11) Initiated during a course at the Slade School of Fine Art, this experimental painting develo ...
Untitled (‘Memory: Un/Successful, In/Complete’) - - Oil and acrylic paints, inkjet prints, tissue paper, and straw on canvas, 80X120 cm approx. (2010-11) Initiated during a course at the Slade School of Fine Art, this experimental painting develo ...
W4427
25.05.2011
THE AUDIENCE IS DEAD  - fabienne audeoud
WWW
THE AUDIENCE IS DEAD Fabienne Audéoud In 2000, I was living in London when my partner went mad. I fully realized it the night he obsessively asked me if I understood that millions of people were dying in Africa. I had replied that I couldn’t, I jus ...
THE AUDIENCE IS DEAD Fabienne Audéoud In 2000, I was living in London when my partner went mad. I fully realized it the night he obsessively asked me if I understood that millions of people were dying in Africa. I had replied that I couldn’t, I jus ...
W4820
07.08.2012
Pablo Jansana
WWW
People are normalized by depiction. It situates them in positions that, with the passing of time, become identities. Reality requires repetition in order for meaning to settle and artworks help to reinforce these positions. The supremacy of men over women ...
People are normalized by depiction. It situates them in positions that, with the passing of time, become identities. Reality requires repetition in order for meaning to settle and artworks help to reinforce these positions. The supremacy of men over women ...
W4468
25.05.2011
Bürger Schöpfung Ewigkeit  - Gabriele Juvan
WWW
Bürger Schöpfung Ewigkeit (i.e. Citizen Creation Eternity) is a site specific, temporary project conceived for ,Luisenburg‘ rock labyrinth (Felsenlabyrinth) next to the city of Wunsiedel on the German/Czech border: *Six eye-catching rocks on a loop tr ...
Bürger Schöpfung Ewigkeit (i.e. Citizen Creation Eternity) is a site specific, temporary project conceived for ,Luisenburg‘ rock labyrinth (Felsenlabyrinth) next to the city of Wunsiedel on the German/Czech border: *Six eye-catching rocks on a loop tr ...
U9293
01.01.1978
The World is a Theater and we each have a role - Louise Bourgeois
Unbuilt Roads
A circular construction in wood, painted sky blue and white. In 3 dimensions. An upside down dome. A small figure stands in the center. (eventually reasons why the work has not be realized) Complicated and too expensive but never discarded. ...
A circular construction in wood, painted sky blue and white. In 3 dimensions. An upside down dome. A small figure stands in the center. (eventually reasons why the work has not be realized) Complicated and too expensive but never discarded. ...
W4539
25.05.2011
pour le C.C.C. - G.R. and M.F. for Le C.C.C.
WWW
G.R. et M.F pour le C.C.C. nous abordons ces côtes optiques par cette lettre intraduisible pour essayer de décrocher un peu d'argent, ou du moins poursuivre notre existence momentanée par votre lecture profane. Ayant montré un intérêt pour les ...
G.R. et M.F pour le C.C.C. nous abordons ces côtes optiques par cette lettre intraduisible pour essayer de décrocher un peu d'argent, ou du moins poursuivre notre existence momentanée par votre lecture profane. Ayant montré un intérêt pour les ...
W3694
16.05.2011
Doppler Symphony - leo fitzmaurice
WWW
Proposal The proposal is to overlay two Doppler Effect * phenomena (change in pitch and volume) onto a piece of music. Process Start with a multi-track recording of a piece of music (one track per instrument) Split each track of the recording ...
Proposal The proposal is to overlay two Doppler Effect * phenomena (change in pitch and volume) onto a piece of music. Process Start with a multi-track recording of a piece of music (one track per instrument) Split each track of the recording ...
W4998
30.08.2012
Lesley Scott Reid
WWW
a project to create images - icons - that represent choices open to a person not get HIV. Each image was to be inserted in one arm bandit machine and be photographed - each line of 4 images coming up being a winner. This work is in archive - if it i ...
a project to create images - icons - that represent choices open to a person not get HIV. Each image was to be inserted in one arm bandit machine and be photographed - each line of 4 images coming up being a winner. This work is in archive - if it i ...
W3504
11.05.2011
Global Culture - ALBERTO LICANDRO
WWW
Image 1: 1000mt highrise tower on 1 column with 52 steel cables around its supporting structure visible from street level to 500mt up, where the first of its 68 floors for restaurant space (20 floors), office space (30 floors) and living space (18 floors) ...
Image 1: 1000mt highrise tower on 1 column with 52 steel cables around its supporting structure visible from street level to 500mt up, where the first of its 68 floors for restaurant space (20 floors), office space (30 floors) and living space (18 floors) ...
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 ...
W5413
20.10.2012
Inês Buruguete
WWW
3 diaries 9x14 cm (3.5 x 5.5 inches) This project consists in 3 self reflexive diaries about the Sisyphus Myth. The drawings collection aims to explore the internal process of the self in his cyclically task. A call for unrealized projects Inês B ...
3 diaries 9x14 cm (3.5 x 5.5 inches) This project consists in 3 self reflexive diaries about the Sisyphus Myth. The drawings collection aims to explore the internal process of the self in his cyclically task. A call for unrealized projects Inês B ...
W3752
18.05.2011
Proposal for an Art-Science cooperation for solar lighting a Lebanese village - roula sorour
WWW
My project was a proposal to light up a village in Lebanon using solar power in cooperation with a local University. My proposal was hurried and could have been written better. I never did receive a reply to my proposal. From: Roula Sorour <r@roula ...
My project was a proposal to light up a village in Lebanon using solar power in cooperation with a local University. My proposal was hurried and could have been written better. I never did receive a reply to my proposal. From: Roula Sorour <r@roula ...
W5053
03.09.2012
Parish in Buztintxuri  - Taller Basico de Arquitectura [TBA]
WWW
Parish in Buztintxuri (2011) The building is principally developed on the ground floor. Functional issues make necessary to emerge a second level in the central area. This space contains technical spaces. The building is functionally differentiated ...
Parish in Buztintxuri (2011) The building is principally developed on the ground floor. Functional issues make necessary to emerge a second level in the central area. This space contains technical spaces. The building is functionally differentiated ...
W5899
18.10.2013
Bagatelle - Matthijs Muller
WWW
A competition to design a landmark at the motorway exit nearby a nature reserve made me design Bagatelle. The park nearby has a strange history. First, in the early 1960's the polder was used to dump polluted mud from the port of Rotterdam. Then for over ...
A competition to design a landmark at the motorway exit nearby a nature reserve made me design Bagatelle. The park nearby has a strange history. First, in the early 1960's the polder was used to dump polluted mud from the port of Rotterdam. Then for over ...
W5067
05.09.2012
Color Pencil Tree - Dave Rittinger
WWW
Artist and designer Dave Rittinger has developed a proposal for a public art installation entitled 'Color Pencil Tree'. The arboreal sculpture morphs tree branches with the body of the colored drawing tools. The concept is dictated by the usage of exist ...
Artist and designer Dave Rittinger has developed a proposal for a public art installation entitled 'Color Pencil Tree'. The arboreal sculpture morphs tree branches with the body of the colored drawing tools. The concept is dictated by the usage of exist ...
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 ...