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.

Der New-Babyloner - Constant

Billboard - Jimmie Durham

Cruzeiro Do Sul, (Southern Cross) (Crucero del Sur) 1969-70* - Cildo Meireles

Museum - Katharina Fritsch

Attitudine Diplomatica - Hermann Pitz

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

Project for the Initiative Mahnmal Homosexuellenverfolgung, Frankfurt  - Jeff Wall

Unrealized Turtles 1967 - Joseph Grigely

Passage - Richard Wentworth

MAK - Wien  - Rosemarie Trockel

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
#
Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W3634
14.05.2011
Centre Pompidou Mobile - Berger&Berger
WWW
Centre Pompidou Mobile

 Berger&Berger (Laurent P. Berger & Cyrille Berger) with T. Raynaud

 2009 Restricted competition

 1800 m²

Mobile art museum 

CNAC GEORGES-POMPIDOU, France

 Structural Engineer : Bollinger + Gro ...
Centre Pompidou Mobile

 Berger&Berger (Laurent P. Berger & Cyrille Berger) with T. Raynaud

 2009 Restricted competition

 1800 m²

Mobile art museum 

CNAC GEORGES-POMPIDOU, France

 Structural Engineer : Bollinger + Gro ...
W4312
24.05.2011
Msquare4 - Andre Kodde
WWW
A call for unrealized projects Msquare4 You walk on an apparently miles long quay and all of a sudden a museum building arises. This time on poles over the water, but Msquare4 can be placed in every desired environment. Msquare4’s floor-plan is a gr ...
A call for unrealized projects Msquare4 You walk on an apparently miles long quay and all of a sudden a museum building arises. This time on poles over the water, but Msquare4 can be placed in every desired environment. Msquare4’s floor-plan is a gr ...
W10455
24.04.2014
Three Little Words - Allison Malinsky
WWW
Three Little Words started my work with visual language. This series contains my colorful gouache drawings of engagement diamonds accompanied by three words in black cursive text. I painted the most symbolic engagement diamonds from Tiffany's and Cartie ...
Three Little Words started my work with visual language. This series contains my colorful gouache drawings of engagement diamonds accompanied by three words in black cursive text. I painted the most symbolic engagement diamonds from Tiffany's and Cartie ...
U9492
01.01.1996
"Ileana, I love you" - Maurizo Cattelan
Unbuilt Roads
1996 progetto "ilana, I love you" per la galleria Stefano Basilico di New York. Molte persone che conoscono Stefano Basilica per la sua galleria, conoscono anche che Stefano e' stato collaboratore per circa dieci anni alla galleria Sonnabend. Questo ...
1996 progetto "ilana, I love you" per la galleria Stefano Basilico di New York. Molte persone che conoscono Stefano Basilica per la sua galleria, conoscono anche che Stefano e' stato collaboratore per circa dieci anni alla galleria Sonnabend. Questo ...
W4161
23.05.2011
Failure - Pauline Hanson
WWW
http://www.severalpursuits.org/?pageid=72 http://www.severalpursuits.org/?pageid=78 ...
http://www.severalpursuits.org/?pageid=72 http://www.severalpursuits.org/?pageid=78 ...
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 ...
W5369
19.10.2012
University of Toledo
Centennial Mall Legacy - Stephen Canneto
WWW
Progney, Competition winning proposal the the University of Toledo, Ohio's public art program. Progeny is inspired by the University of Toledo’s Legacy program. The sculpture’s site engendered forms, materials, location and functions reflect the U ...
Progney, Competition winning proposal the the University of Toledo, Ohio's public art program. Progeny is inspired by the University of Toledo’s Legacy program. The sculpture’s site engendered forms, materials, location and functions reflect the U ...
W10982
24.12.2015
Notes Toward a Temple - The Legacy
WWW
This proposal seeks to confront problems in the disciplines of art and architecture in an ecological age. (1) Our infrastructure and aesthetic culture does not attune itself to the ever present crisis of nuclear waste, the bi-product of nuclear energy, wh ...
This proposal seeks to confront problems in the disciplines of art and architecture in an ecological age. (1) Our infrastructure and aesthetic culture does not attune itself to the ever present crisis of nuclear waste, the bi-product of nuclear energy, wh ...
W3619
14.05.2011
Golnar Adili
WWW
A conversation I had years ago with my late father’s friend about the overwhelming energy with which they fought the Shah of Iran has fuled my desire to do a project on my father's life. Elated by the memories, the friend said, "we felt like we were cha ...
A conversation I had years ago with my late father’s friend about the overwhelming energy with which they fought the Shah of Iran has fuled my desire to do a project on my father's life. Elated by the memories, the friend said, "we felt like we were cha ...
W4852
08.08.2012
Ada Muntean
WWW
These are 2 photos of 2 experimental works which consist in the process of the reconstruction of possible realities from former realities. Basicaly they are stripes (cut from photos and drawings) reordered and sticked in a different way from the initial.. ...
These are 2 photos of 2 experimental works which consist in the process of the reconstruction of possible realities from former realities. Basicaly they are stripes (cut from photos and drawings) reordered and sticked in a different way from the initial.. ...
W5159
24.09.2012
The DECISION is yours - Taša Turk
WWW
»The DECISION is yours« »The DECISION is yours« is an unrealized project. The idea was created in 2009 as a response to what was happening in society and on the planet. The main thought of the project was to remind the observer of how important a ...
»The DECISION is yours« »The DECISION is yours« is an unrealized project. The idea was created in 2009 as a response to what was happening in society and on the planet. The main thought of the project was to remind the observer of how important a ...
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. ...
W4502
25.05.2011
Olga Yvons
WWW
My Modern Life The multimedia project explores the real existences of young people in Latvia and their search for individuality. ...
My Modern Life The multimedia project explores the real existences of young people in Latvia and their search for individuality. ...
W4680
26.05.2011
Heads in Starlight - Kathryn Macdonald
WWW
Heads in Starlight, a closing event, for Feel Felt (see background on page 2) night performance for up to 100. We bring pre-cut unassembled tall paper-cone hats and on site we thread tall grass stalks and fine light-optic cables through the tips of the h ...
Heads in Starlight, a closing event, for Feel Felt (see background on page 2) night performance for up to 100. We bring pre-cut unassembled tall paper-cone hats and on site we thread tall grass stalks and fine light-optic cables through the tips of the h ...
W3489
11.05.2011
The Project for Collective Becoming: Philosophy of Platform - Marc Lafia
WWW
The Project for Collective Becoming Philosophy of Platform Marc Lafia What it is? We are creating a series of global gatherings to introduce and connect people through sociability, philosophic revelry, enjoyment, reflection and action. It involves b ...
The Project for Collective Becoming Philosophy of Platform Marc Lafia What it is? We are creating a series of global gatherings to introduce and connect people through sociability, philosophic revelry, enjoyment, reflection and action. It involves b ...
W4390
25.05.2011
Isabelle Desjeux
WWW
The project was to collect failed projects from scientists. It consisted of me interviewing scientists about anything that hadn't worked or couldn't get published, couldn't get used... I thought I would make a book from each of the scientists' story... ...
The project was to collect failed projects from scientists. It consisted of me interviewing scientists about anything that hadn't worked or couldn't get published, couldn't get used... I thought I would make a book from each of the scientists' story... ...
W4242
24.05.2011
HUMAN CONTACT EXERCISE #1 - Annabelle Craven-Jones
WWW
HUMAN CONTACT EXERCISE #1 Online digital text 2010 ongoing This project is an experiment exploring unknown limits. It exists as an online instruction in the minds of a potentially unlimited number of participants. Who they are and how they will ...
HUMAN CONTACT EXERCISE #1 Online digital text 2010 ongoing This project is an experiment exploring unknown limits. It exists as an online instruction in the minds of a potentially unlimited number of participants. Who they are and how they will ...
W3652
15.05.2011
Dederon – The Fabric of the East - Daniel Blochwitz
WWW
One of the most complex and yet unrealized projects of mine is “Dederon – The Fabric of the East” (2003-present), which literally uses the (polyester) thread named after the DDR (engl.: G.D.R.) to trace the initially noble and ambitious project of e ...
One of the most complex and yet unrealized projects of mine is “Dederon – The Fabric of the East” (2003-present), which literally uses the (polyester) thread named after the DDR (engl.: G.D.R.) to trace the initially noble and ambitious project of e ...
W3631
14.05.2011
Joseph Wheelwright
WWW
When New Hampshire's "Old Man in the Mountain" collapsed in 2003, I carved this stone model for a new old man from an entire mountain. Unfortunately funding has not yet materialized. ...
When New Hampshire's "Old Man in the Mountain" collapsed in 2003, I carved this stone model for a new old man from an entire mountain. Unfortunately funding has not yet materialized. ...
W4749
27.05.2011
Residual Geometries or the fable of the passenger, the cattle and, and the resource consumed. - Julain Santana
WWW
Public Space Intervention (The synopsis is in Spanish for now, but the English translation will be ready the next week) I have no budget or a potential sponsor for this artistic intervention. In essence this is a look into a public space in which rais ...
Public Space Intervention (The synopsis is in Spanish for now, but the English translation will be ready the next week) I have no budget or a potential sponsor for this artistic intervention. In essence this is a look into a public space in which rais ...
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 ...
W5341
18.10.2012
Peter Harris
WWW
2 A4 pencil drawings from the series 'Art Dads' for an unrealisable film. ART DADS My unrealisable idea would be to go back in time and be the son of different ‘art dads’. This would consist of me being filmed doing various father and son acti ...
2 A4 pencil drawings from the series 'Art Dads' for an unrealisable film. ART DADS My unrealisable idea would be to go back in time and be the son of different ‘art dads’. This would consist of me being filmed doing various father and son acti ...
W4529
25.05.2011
Jaime Szczepanski
WWW
In 2006, I initiated a serial photographic project of static, frontal shots of closed storefronts in Paris, along with videos of storekeepers closing their shops. The material was to be amassed and combined in a stroboscopic video montage, tentatively tit ...
In 2006, I initiated a serial photographic project of static, frontal shots of closed storefronts in Paris, along with videos of storekeepers closing their shops. The material was to be amassed and combined in a stroboscopic video montage, tentatively tit ...
W4190
24.05.2011
ZhangLu
WWW
The political speech in China, most of speaker are speaked with unacceptable slow tunes. And clapping of the time may longer than a sentence. This project is consists of tow parts, a book and an online game. The book is about how to made the handclap in d ...
The political speech in China, most of speaker are speaked with unacceptable slow tunes. And clapping of the time may longer than a sentence. This project is consists of tow parts, a book and an online game. The book is about how to made the handclap in d ...
W4238
24.05.2011
'HANOI DUCKS' - Dao Anh Khanh & Tamas Jovanovics
WWW
Dao Anh Khanh & Tamas Jovanovics 'HANOI DUCKS' (work title) PUBLIC ART PROJECT - in order to seek general awareness for ecological topics in Hanoi/Vietnam Project status: seeking for fundings Background of the project: After a long period of po ...
Dao Anh Khanh & Tamas Jovanovics 'HANOI DUCKS' (work title) PUBLIC ART PROJECT - in order to seek general awareness for ecological topics in Hanoi/Vietnam Project status: seeking for fundings Background of the project: After a long period of po ...
W4483
25.05.2011
Transformation #2 - Samuel Levack and Jennifer Lewandowski
WWW
Transformation #2 2003 Mixed media installation Dimension variable A sculptural installation created as a partial remake of the film 'The Big Blue' (1988). Made up of an assemblage of collected, found and fabricated objects, including hundreds of sh ...
Transformation #2 2003 Mixed media installation Dimension variable A sculptural installation created as a partial remake of the film 'The Big Blue' (1988). Made up of an assemblage of collected, found and fabricated objects, including hundreds of sh ...