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.

Tulips for Amsterdam - Isa Genzken

Nicht realisierte Projekte - Stefan Demary

Post Photographic apparatus - Steven Pippin

KEEPING IN TOUCH - Allan Kaprow

Projets non réalisés: - Daniel Buren

"Ileana, I love you" - Maurizo Cattelan

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

La Guerra De Los Simbolos - Victor Grippo

Progetto per Gerry Schum - Guiseppe Penone

Visual Poem: Cap I Cua - Joan Brossa

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W4169
24.05.2011
Apocalypse Wave  - Mitya Nesterov & Lera Nibiru
WWW
Apocalypse Wave On 12 January 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck, Haiti and its capital, Port-au-Prince. The devastation was horrible, an estimated three million people were affected by the quake, the Haitian government reported that an estimated ...
Apocalypse Wave On 12 January 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck, Haiti and its capital, Port-au-Prince. The devastation was horrible, an estimated three million people were affected by the quake, the Haitian government reported that an estimated ...
W4627
25.05.2011
REMEMBERING HUMANITY - laura j padgett
WWW
REMEMBERING HUMANITY: Reflections on the Work of Bruno Taut This proposal is a visual / textual analysis of an attitude: An attitude of commitment to and belief in mankind, as a result of and despite political, social and economic conditions. BACKGROUND B ...
REMEMBERING HUMANITY: Reflections on the Work of Bruno Taut This proposal is a visual / textual analysis of an attitude: An attitude of commitment to and belief in mankind, as a result of and despite political, social and economic conditions. BACKGROUND B ...
W4430
25.05.2011
Fountains - Giuseppe Gabellone
WWW
Fountains Project for the wood of sculptures of Vassivière island, France February 2010 ...
Fountains Project for the wood of sculptures of Vassivière island, France February 2010 ...
W4439
25.05.2011
Maria Over Mount Athos - Maria Papadimitriou
WWW
By Jennifer Allen Maria Over Mount Athos A hot air balloon floats silently over Mount Athos... Not just any balloon but one carrying an image of Maria's face. Much to the surprise of the monks living on the peninsula, the face does not belong to th ...
By Jennifer Allen Maria Over Mount Athos A hot air balloon floats silently over Mount Athos... Not just any balloon but one carrying an image of Maria's face. Much to the surprise of the monks living on the peninsula, the face does not belong to th ...
U9497
07.04.1997
Jake and Dinos Chapman's five proposals for an empty plinth situated on central londons trafalgar square - Jake and Dinos Chapman
Unbuilt Roads
commissioned by liberal daily broadsheet newspaper ironically suggesting the most unsuitable artists possible to produce the most unsuitable public sculpture never to be realized: ha ha ha, very funny we suggest one of the following: project 'Hawki ...
commissioned by liberal daily broadsheet newspaper ironically suggesting the most unsuitable artists possible to produce the most unsuitable public sculpture never to be realized: ha ha ha, very funny we suggest one of the following: project 'Hawki ...
W3607
13.05.2011
If you meet Buddha on the path, kill him, 2004-2011 - Shannon Bellum
WWW
Technical aspects ​This is an installation made out of suspended fabric panels going from the floor, to 7 feet high at the entrance and finishing off at 9 feet high at the center of the maze. The panels are attached to plastic tubing that is suspe ...
Technical aspects ​This is an installation made out of suspended fabric panels going from the floor, to 7 feet high at the entrance and finishing off at 9 feet high at the center of the maze. The panels are attached to plastic tubing that is suspe ...
W4187
24.05.2011
FOUR-WHEEL DRIVE - Katherine Liberovskaya
WWW
FOUR-WHEEL DRIVE by Katherine Liberovskaya: video with Phill Niblock: sound collage 4 projection and quadrophonic sound installation (2006) Project description (short): "Four-Wheel Drive" is a sonic video installation piece consisting of 4 p ...
FOUR-WHEEL DRIVE by Katherine Liberovskaya: video with Phill Niblock: sound collage 4 projection and quadrophonic sound installation (2006) Project description (short): "Four-Wheel Drive" is a sonic video installation piece consisting of 4 p ...
U9290
01.01.1997
d'un projet dédié aux victimes de la Shoah. - Christian Boltanski
Unbuilt Roads
Il y a quelques années, j'ai éte invité à réfléchir à la réalisation d'un projet dédié aux victimes de la Shoah. Ce monument devait être installé en face du Reichstag à Berlin. J'avais répondu alors que je pensais que les monuments étaient ...
Il y a quelques années, j'ai éte invité à réfléchir à la réalisation d'un projet dédié aux victimes de la Shoah. Ce monument devait être installé en face du Reichstag à Berlin. J'avais répondu alors que je pensais que les monuments étaient ...
W5353
19.10.2012
THE STORY OF THE WRONG PRAYER BOOK - Vera Gutkina
WWW
THE STORY OF THE WRONG PRAYER BOOK (frescoes at the Chirch of Holy Mary) Some twenty km north of Jerusalem a picturesque Arab town nestles in between the green Judea hills. It is called Abu Gosh after its founders the Abugosh family. They were Muslim. ...
THE STORY OF THE WRONG PRAYER BOOK (frescoes at the Chirch of Holy Mary) Some twenty km north of Jerusalem a picturesque Arab town nestles in between the green Judea hills. It is called Abu Gosh after its founders the Abugosh family. They were Muslim. ...
W5412
20.10.2012
THE ISLAND PROJECT - Pietro Mele
WWW
PIETRO MELE The Island Project Multimedia project I am going to start a campaign of fund raising so as to purchase the private Island of Budelli* for giving it to the Sardinian Government. Despite the island is part of the highly protected La Madda ...
PIETRO MELE The Island Project Multimedia project I am going to start a campaign of fund raising so as to purchase the private Island of Budelli* for giving it to the Sardinian Government. Despite the island is part of the highly protected La Madda ...
W3647
15.05.2011
World Atlas - ANNA LASCARI
WWW
“World Atlas” is a visual depiction of worldwide hunger. It is a monument to all the people whose lives are in stake due to hunger, whether it is a child that dies every five seconds from hunger related causes, or those in the West who search dumpster ...
“World Atlas” is a visual depiction of worldwide hunger. It is a monument to all the people whose lives are in stake due to hunger, whether it is a child that dies every five seconds from hunger related causes, or those in the West who search dumpster ...
W3531
11.05.2011
Jeanette Doyle
WWW
This piece is part of an ongoing research project into psychosis. I have always been fascinated by tentative presentations of reality where various representations both re-enforce and refute each other. From my research on psychosis I've discovered that t ...
This piece is part of an ongoing research project into psychosis. I have always been fascinated by tentative presentations of reality where various representations both re-enforce and refute each other. From my research on psychosis I've discovered that t ...
W3724
17.05.2011
Sgt. Martin Tours  - Jose Luis Rojas
WWW
Sgt. Martin Tours was a sculptural project which never reached completion mainly due to lack of interest on a theme I had been working on for at least five years. Even though, the work remains "postponed" at its best, and I do regret not finishing it.. ...
Sgt. Martin Tours was a sculptural project which never reached completion mainly due to lack of interest on a theme I had been working on for at least five years. Even though, the work remains "postponed" at its best, and I do regret not finishing it.. ...
W3589
13.05.2011
Failed Music Store - Luke Munn
WWW
Work Description: In this proposed project for Watermans, 1000 bargain bin CDs are purchased and made available to visitors to browse, playback and take-away if they wish. Rather than a constantly updated library of the latest hits, these albums are the ...
Work Description: In this proposed project for Watermans, 1000 bargain bin CDs are purchased and made available to visitors to browse, playback and take-away if they wish. Rather than a constantly updated library of the latest hits, these albums are the ...
W3638
14.05.2011
lynn hershman Leeson
WWW
This piece reveals the biological system/internal workings of ballet dancers, particularly pregnant ones, who dance to the rhythm and sounds of their own blood stream and heartbeat. ...
This piece reveals the biological system/internal workings of ballet dancers, particularly pregnant ones, who dance to the rhythm and sounds of their own blood stream and heartbeat. ...
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 ...
W3990
21.05.2011
Project for MAXXI Contemporary Art Museum in Roma (arh. Saha Hadid) - sculptor PhD Aili Vahtrapuu, arh. Katrin Koov, disainer Janika Vaesberg
WWW
Project for MAXXI Contemporary Art Museum in Roma (arh. Saha Hadid) Interactive sound and light installation ...
Project for MAXXI Contemporary Art Museum in Roma (arh. Saha Hadid) Interactive sound and light installation ...
W3665
15.05.2011
DENKMAL FUR FREIHEIT UND EINHEIT BERLIN  - Irene Judong
WWW
Die Idee: Die Idee ist ein Park, der für die Bevölkerung zugänglich ist und insbesondere auch für kleine Kinder und Rollstuhlfahrer geeignet ist. Im Zentrum des Parks befinden sich ein Teich und eine Skulptur (vgl. Abbildungen). Das Konzept: “E ...
Die Idee: Die Idee ist ein Park, der für die Bevölkerung zugänglich ist und insbesondere auch für kleine Kinder und Rollstuhlfahrer geeignet ist. Im Zentrum des Parks befinden sich ein Teich und eine Skulptur (vgl. Abbildungen). Das Konzept: “E ...
W4792
13.06.2011
No Flag Long Enough - Santiago Pinyol
WWW
NO FLAG LONG ENOUGH Flags are not meant to touch the floor, everybody knows that. Flags are meant to be weaved, to be watched, to preside. The intervention proposed to bring the flags down from their vertical order into the horizontal one, connecti ...
NO FLAG LONG ENOUGH Flags are not meant to touch the floor, everybody knows that. Flags are meant to be weaved, to be watched, to preside. The intervention proposed to bring the flags down from their vertical order into the horizontal one, connecti ...
W3595
13.05.2011
A Year of Tomorrows - Heman Chong
WWW
A Year of Tomorrows is a large scale public art work that will occur in New York over the time span of a year. 365 science fiction films will be selected and screened over 365 days over 365 locations in the city. In a nutshell, the project is formulated a ...
A Year of Tomorrows is a large scale public art work that will occur in New York over the time span of a year. 365 science fiction films will be selected and screened over 365 days over 365 locations in the city. In a nutshell, the project is formulated a ...
W5216
06.10.2012
Zeitseeing - Gisela Weimann
WWW
I am interested in the interplay between objects and sounds and movement in time and space. Word games and the change of classical musical formats with an ironic undertone are often part of my projects. ...
I am interested in the interplay between objects and sounds and movement in time and space. Word games and the change of classical musical formats with an ironic undertone are often part of my projects. ...
U9548
01.01.1997
Why New Worlds Conceived by Artists Do Not Get Built - Peter Fend
Unbuilt Roads
Art, being a permutation or adaptation of that which is known, bodies forth the new. It bodies forth, at the least, mutations. These mutations, curiously, coincide with other fields of innovation, such as science and technology. And the mutations, t ...
Art, being a permutation or adaptation of that which is known, bodies forth the new. It bodies forth, at the least, mutations. These mutations, curiously, coincide with other fields of innovation, such as science and technology. And the mutations, t ...
W4479
25.05.2011
Hösl&Mihaljevic
WWW
Project: To print a whole issue of a newspaper, for example Sueddeutsche Zeitung, twice: First time only the pictures. Second time only the words. ...
Project: To print a whole issue of a newspaper, for example Sueddeutsche Zeitung, twice: First time only the pictures. Second time only the words. ...
W3616
13.05.2011
Fountion of Steam - Scott Hillman
WWW
This was a project i designed for a sculpture park, as a water element of such.. The owner didn't want a water feature and rejected it. As such it was never implimented though i made an estimate for around 2000.00 to build. The idea of it quite simply ...
This was a project i designed for a sculpture park, as a water element of such.. The owner didn't want a water feature and rejected it. As such it was never implimented though i made an estimate for around 2000.00 to build. The idea of it quite simply ...
W4006
22.05.2011
The Panajachel Biennial’s Story: A Community Still to Come - Panajachel Biennial (Guatemala): "Shared Sensorium: Assemblages of Love, Labor and Politics"
WWW
The Panajachel Biennial’s Story: A Community Still to Come The Panajachel Biennial was an initiative by a group of young independent curators (Karl Escher, Abbas Ibn Salah al Din, Guillermo Santamarina, Joao Castro da Silva y Takouhi Abesalom) who co ...
The Panajachel Biennial’s Story: A Community Still to Come The Panajachel Biennial was an initiative by a group of young independent curators (Karl Escher, Abbas Ibn Salah al Din, Guillermo Santamarina, Joao Castro da Silva y Takouhi Abesalom) who co ...
W4223
24.05.2011
Ice Shells - Alex Hamilton
WWW
Ice Shells Casts made from Light racing boats (Shells), and boats made from ice cast. Using the facilities and personnel of the University College of London Boat Racing Club. The moulds will be Rtv silicon rubber. The shells, including oars and some w ...
Ice Shells Casts made from Light racing boats (Shells), and boats made from ice cast. Using the facilities and personnel of the University College of London Boat Racing Club. The moulds will be Rtv silicon rubber. The shells, including oars and some w ...