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.

Chen H.V.O + G.T. - Bertrand Lavier

Monumento all'agricoltura 1969-70 - Alighiero Boetti

Festival du film de famille - Pierre Huyghe

Billboard - Jimmie Durham

Project 1 + Project 2 - Simryn Gill

"Free Space" - Michelangelo Pistoletto

Ruderaltisch, 1994/95 Kunst am Bau - Projekt - Lois Weinberger

City Hall Tower Night Ilumination - Krysztof Wodiczko

The lmprobable Flow - Larry Bell

Social Resource Project For the Munich Olympics - Stephen Willats

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W5308
17.10.2012
Wilhelm-and-Jakob-Grimm-Center in B - Karla Sachse
WWW
Dear organizers of the Agency of Unrealized Projects, although near your deadline for contributions I would like to send you the draft for a shining column which could have marked the new big library temple called Wilhelm-and-Jakob-Grimm-Center in B ...
Dear organizers of the Agency of Unrealized Projects, although near your deadline for contributions I would like to send you the draft for a shining column which could have marked the new big library temple called Wilhelm-and-Jakob-Grimm-Center in B ...
W4777
02.06.2011
No Success like Failure - Daniel Permanetter
WWW
NO SUCCESS LIKE FAILURE “She knows there's no success like failure And that failure's no success at all.” (Bob Dylan, “Love Minus Zero/ No Limit” 1965) The work consists of two parts. One is a scaffolding construction holding approximately ...
NO SUCCESS LIKE FAILURE “She knows there's no success like failure And that failure's no success at all.” (Bob Dylan, “Love Minus Zero/ No Limit” 1965) The work consists of two parts. One is a scaffolding construction holding approximately ...
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 ...
W5299
17.10.2012
Difficult Pony - Sue Palmer
WWW
Difficult Pony. In 2007, I began to make a project about horses and women, ponies and girls. I love what horses are - I've always been curious about this equine human relationship. So I started with the 1960s toy gymkhana I played with as a child, watchi ...
Difficult Pony. In 2007, I began to make a project about horses and women, ponies and girls. I love what horses are - I've always been curious about this equine human relationship. So I started with the 1960s toy gymkhana I played with as a child, watchi ...
W3743
18.05.2011
Rave Joy Mobile - Kai-Oi Jay Yung
WWW
A sound proofed enclosed box, mirrored on outside, pitch-black interior lit by 100 flashing neon LEDS, fitted with strawberry smoke nebuliser, fan and ventilation shaft to sit in the gallery. To be installed with state of the art sound system, digitally l ...
A sound proofed enclosed box, mirrored on outside, pitch-black interior lit by 100 flashing neon LEDS, fitted with strawberry smoke nebuliser, fan and ventilation shaft to sit in the gallery. To be installed with state of the art sound system, digitally l ...
W3882
19.05.2011
Wheatfields - Carlo Marcucci
WWW
Large imaginary sculptures made of pasta strands. These non-existent structures are based on the "Wheatfields" body of work. "Wheatfields" are existent wall-mounted sculptures made of spaghetti and various kinds on noodles applied to wood. "The Gate" ...
Large imaginary sculptures made of pasta strands. These non-existent structures are based on the "Wheatfields" body of work. "Wheatfields" are existent wall-mounted sculptures made of spaghetti and various kinds on noodles applied to wood. "The Gate" ...
W4174
24.05.2011
Arhat - Mitya Nesterov & Lera Nibiru
WWW
Arhat is a project consisting of photographs of mutants and other anatomic material installed in round spaceship-like viewports ...
Arhat is a project consisting of photographs of mutants and other anatomic material installed in round spaceship-like viewports ...
W4558
25.05.2011
rezaafsari
WWW
W5458
20.10.2012
Jeffrey Millsaps
WWW
My submission calls for a form of weir to be built at the Schuylkill River Environmental Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The structure, which is designed to aerate the water and allow for the deposit of silt, is built in the shape of skyscrapers... ...
My submission calls for a form of weir to be built at the Schuylkill River Environmental Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The structure, which is designed to aerate the water and allow for the deposit of silt, is built in the shape of skyscrapers... ...
W5080
06.09.2012
Urban Void 05  - Toornend & Post
WWW
Urban Void 05 (Villa), Am Grossen Wannsee, Berlin (D) 2006 (lambdaprint 1665×4190 pixels) Urban Voids offer spatial relief, unexpected views and twisted collective memories by the apparently simple act of removal; Urban Voids are architectures antipod ...
Urban Void 05 (Villa), Am Grossen Wannsee, Berlin (D) 2006 (lambdaprint 1665×4190 pixels) Urban Voids offer spatial relief, unexpected views and twisted collective memories by the apparently simple act of removal; Urban Voids are architectures antipod ...
W4909
14.08.2012
Bring Your Own Balloon Party Invitations - Anna Wolfe-Pauly
WWW
This is a set of invitations made for a Bring Your Own Balloon Party. The invitations have come to serve the grid rather than the balloon community. The premise of the unrealized party is that each person holding an invitation would escort a balloon into ...
This is a set of invitations made for a Bring Your Own Balloon Party. The invitations have come to serve the grid rather than the balloon community. The premise of the unrealized party is that each person holding an invitation would escort a balloon into ...
W3633
14.05.2011
Le déclin du jour - Berger&Berger
WWW
Marché Couvert, Metz, France

 2010 City of Metz, France

 Structural Engineer : Bollinger + Grohmann (France) 

The advent of artificial light, which grew strongly during XXst century,
has gradually freed the man from the natural rhyt ...
Marché Couvert, Metz, France

 2010 City of Metz, France

 Structural Engineer : Bollinger + Grohmann (France) 

The advent of artificial light, which grew strongly during XXst century,
has gradually freed the man from the natural rhyt ...
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 ...
W4823
07.08.2012
Outstretched Arms - Todd Williamson
WWW
"Outstretched Arms" is a project that was originally conceived in 2009 for a university show. It features a 4ft diameter hanging painting that slowly rotates with the air currents. It also features a 10 minute commissioned work of music that supports ...
"Outstretched Arms" is a project that was originally conceived in 2009 for a university show. It features a 4ft diameter hanging painting that slowly rotates with the air currents. It also features a 10 minute commissioned work of music that supports ...
W3820
19.05.2011
ArtPOTLATCH - Exhibition as Test Lab/ Art as Gift - Rebecca Keller
WWW
POTLATCH A potlatch is a tradition carried on by many NW coast Indian tribes. The chief would celebrate a significant event (birth, marriage) by hosting a Potlatch. A huge feast would be provided, and gifts such as blankets, etc. would be given to the ...
POTLATCH A potlatch is a tradition carried on by many NW coast Indian tribes. The chief would celebrate a significant event (birth, marriage) by hosting a Potlatch. A huge feast would be provided, and gifts such as blankets, etc. would be given to the ...
W5162
25.09.2012
Heather Lewis
WWW
An installation that mimics the rising and setting of the sun, condensed to perhaps 5 minutes – a lamp moving in a 30 ft arc (15 ft radius). It shows the effects of variable light and therefore shadows, on various objects and situations. ...
An installation that mimics the rising and setting of the sun, condensed to perhaps 5 minutes – a lamp moving in a 30 ft arc (15 ft radius). It shows the effects of variable light and therefore shadows, on various objects and situations. ...
W10245
09.04.2014
Observatory for the Study of Metropolitan Man - Bastiaan Arler
WWW
The project consists of a temporary structure made of easily available scaffolding that can be installed in any city square. It is open to the public and thus allows people to observe and to be observed in two distinct moments. The project has never been ...
The project consists of a temporary structure made of easily available scaffolding that can be installed in any city square. It is open to the public and thus allows people to observe and to be observed in two distinct moments. The project has never been ...
W10194
07.04.2014
Making A Point - Joel Leibowitz
WWW
Location : fenced Inner perimeter Jaqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir Central Park New York City ; 110 watt mil spec lasers, 400 mirror placements around perimeter of reservoir, center of reservoir 20 beams, array trays 76 degree angle of beams, hgt. ...
Location : fenced Inner perimeter Jaqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir Central Park New York City ; 110 watt mil spec lasers, 400 mirror placements around perimeter of reservoir, center of reservoir 20 beams, array trays 76 degree angle of beams, hgt. ...
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 ...
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 ...
W4804
07.08.2012
1st Draft - Yoshiko Shimada
WWW
"1st Draft", 3"59, Video. Perceptions of thought prompted through language may also be translated to language molding our perceptions of time. The concept of time through language interested me because people always speak of “living in the present” ...
"1st Draft", 3"59, Video. Perceptions of thought prompted through language may also be translated to language molding our perceptions of time. The concept of time through language interested me because people always speak of “living in the present” ...
W3908
20.05.2011
Cloisters  - Simon Le Ruez
WWW
Cloisters' was an unrealised artwork submitted in relation to the Transformations project at the Lowry centre in Manchester. My proposal is to create a site-specific installation within the promenade gallery. Drawing on the walkway aspect of the space, ...
Cloisters' was an unrealised artwork submitted in relation to the Transformations project at the Lowry centre in Manchester. My proposal is to create a site-specific installation within the promenade gallery. Drawing on the walkway aspect of the space, ...
W3693
16.05.2011
Liza Eurich
WWW
STATEMENT Liza Eurich / 2011.05.16 My current studio practice in engaged in a critical inquiry that considers how failure might be defined in a capacity that extends beyond its utilization as a category of judgment. Rather, failure functions alternati ...
STATEMENT Liza Eurich / 2011.05.16 My current studio practice in engaged in a critical inquiry that considers how failure might be defined in a capacity that extends beyond its utilization as a category of judgment. Rather, failure functions alternati ...
W3917
20.05.2011
Europe Park / sculpture and landscape - THEODOULOS Gregoriou
WWW
The proposal was prepared for the international sculpture and landscaping competition for the Europe Park, which the Municipality of Nicosia (Cyprus) held in 2006 for the design of a grove on a central road in Nicosia. The motive was the accession of Cypr ...
The proposal was prepared for the international sculpture and landscaping competition for the Europe Park, which the Municipality of Nicosia (Cyprus) held in 2006 for the design of a grove on a central road in Nicosia. The motive was the accession of Cypr ...
W5319
18.10.2012
Islay Tower - Isaac Sullivan
WWW
Islay Tower is a would-be real estate development and online visual calendar: a tower of air, in the Inner Hebrides, that will be gradually made visible by images. My attempt to initiate this project in June 2012 failed due to transportation problems I en ...
Islay Tower is a would-be real estate development and online visual calendar: a tower of air, in the Inner Hebrides, that will be gradually made visible by images. My attempt to initiate this project in June 2012 failed due to transportation problems I en ...
W4332
24.05.2011
The Golden Pavilion - Xawery Wolski
WWW
The Golden Pavilion. 1993 What is essentially remote is the unapproachable. In fact, the main quality of an image used for worship is its inapproachability. By its very nature, it is always remote, as close as it may be. One can approach its material rea ...
The Golden Pavilion. 1993 What is essentially remote is the unapproachable. In fact, the main quality of an image used for worship is its inapproachability. By its very nature, it is always remote, as close as it may be. One can approach its material rea ...