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.

Making for Art - 100 Unsucceeded Presentation - 1995, 1996,  - Yutaka Sone

Monument with Rust - Gustav Metzger

Engel-Detektor - Jakob Gautel & Jason Karaïndros

The Clock - Ayse Erkmen

The Rosetta Garden - Gary Simmons

Unrealized Turtles 1967 - Joseph Grigely

Eislandschaft - P. Fischli und D. Weiss

Dog Jaw Monument - A Futurist Tele-introject - Leon Golub

A House of Dust - Alison Knowles

den anonymen Tod ausstellen - Gregor Schneider

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
#
Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W4001
22.05.2011
Michael Crowe
WWW
A proposal for Tate Modern which is a bit too costly at the moment. ...
A proposal for Tate Modern which is a bit too costly at the moment. ...
W4657
25.05.2011
BLUE LASER LIGHT PIECE - Karen Gunderson
WWW
BLUE LASER LIGHT PIECE The location could be any small town or an area of a big town which has buildings that house many different religions. Sites: The highest point on each of the religious buildings. Materials: Blue laser light mechanisms, power ...
BLUE LASER LIGHT PIECE The location could be any small town or an area of a big town which has buildings that house many different religions. Sites: The highest point on each of the religious buildings. Materials: Blue laser light mechanisms, power ...
U9668
21.02.1997
Niemandsland - Hans Haacke
Unbuilt Roads
Eine Kreisfläche von ca. 30m Durchmesser ist auf dem offenen zum Ministerium für Bildung und Wiesenschaft und dem Ministerium für Justiz der Bundesrepublik Deutschland gehörenden ebenen Gelände in Bonn-BadGodesberg zu markieren, wenn möglich auf d ...
Eine Kreisfläche von ca. 30m Durchmesser ist auf dem offenen zum Ministerium für Bildung und Wiesenschaft und dem Ministerium für Justiz der Bundesrepublik Deutschland gehörenden ebenen Gelände in Bonn-BadGodesberg zu markieren, wenn möglich auf d ...
W5445
20.10.2012
I AM BEING SERIOUS, THIS IS SERIOUS. - Sarah Witt
WWW
Supplemental thoughts about this piece, and why it has remained an unrealized project A few months ago, I had a studio visit with a faculty member of the residency I was attending at the Banff Centre in Canada. He gave me some very poignant advice (I e ...
Supplemental thoughts about this piece, and why it has remained an unrealized project A few months ago, I had a studio visit with a faculty member of the residency I was attending at the Banff Centre in Canada. He gave me some very poignant advice (I e ...
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 ...
W5079
06.09.2012
Urban Void 04  - Toornend & Post
WWW
Urban Void 04 (Church), Breidscheidplatz, Berlin (D) 2006 (lambdaprint 2480×5100 pixels) Urban Voids offer spatial relief, unexpected views and twisted collective memories by the apparently simple act of removal; Urban Voids are architectures antipo ...
Urban Void 04 (Church), Breidscheidplatz, Berlin (D) 2006 (lambdaprint 2480×5100 pixels) Urban Voids offer spatial relief, unexpected views and twisted collective memories by the apparently simple act of removal; Urban Voids are architectures antipo ...
W4800
20.01.2012
Turf - IDADA Art Pavilion - Jeremy Tubbs
WWW
Turf - IDADA Art Pavilion Super Bowl weekend will coincide with the IDADA First Friday Art Tour on Friday February 3rd. The Indianapolis Downtown Artists and Dealers Association (IDADA) are hosting a unique, visual arts event and pavilion in downtown Ind ...
Turf - IDADA Art Pavilion Super Bowl weekend will coincide with the IDADA First Friday Art Tour on Friday February 3rd. The Indianapolis Downtown Artists and Dealers Association (IDADA) are hosting a unique, visual arts event and pavilion in downtown Ind ...
U9945
01.01.1994
MAK - Wien  - Rosemarie Trockel
Unbuilt Roads
Idee: linke Autospur de [unleserlich] durch dis [?]halle (Saal) verlege[?]. ...
Idee: linke Autospur de [unleserlich] durch dis [?]halle (Saal) verlege[?]. ...
U9478
01.01.1984
Projets non réalisés: - Daniel Buren
Unbuilt Roads
La liste non exhaustive qui suit correspond une á série de projets qui n'ont pas abouti. Ils sont de plusieurs types et les raisons de leur non aboutissement sont également différentes. Tout d'abord, tous sont liés des situations précises et dict ...
La liste non exhaustive qui suit correspond une á série de projets qui n'ont pas abouti. Ils sont de plusieurs types et les raisons de leur non aboutissement sont également différentes. Tout d'abord, tous sont liés des situations précises et dict ...
W3982
21.05.2011
Kay Malek
WWW
This is a singular state of a project that will never be finished. ...
This is a singular state of a project that will never be finished. ...
W4952
20.08.2012
made in america asembled in mexico - Paul Valadez
WWW
We will carry pieces of artwork created in Texas into Mexico where we will then hand assemble the work at a yet to be determined rented space. The artwork being brought into Mexico consists of 500 works on wood, metal, paper and other found objects. Th ...
We will carry pieces of artwork created in Texas into Mexico where we will then hand assemble the work at a yet to be determined rented space. The artwork being brought into Mexico consists of 500 works on wood, metal, paper and other found objects. Th ...
W4127
23.05.2011
Proposed Future - Ann Marie Webb
WWW
Architecture is the most visible sign of a society's faith and trust in the future. The ability to move forward and construct a future is greatly effected by how our views are framed. This work explores the built landscape and its affects ...
Architecture is the most visible sign of a society's faith and trust in the future. The ability to move forward and construct a future is greatly effected by how our views are framed. This work explores the built landscape and its affects ...
W3848
19.05.2011
Time and Presence - Kathryn Simon
WWW
Time and Presence imagines different ways of experiencing time and space (presence) through the agency of conceptual and earth art framed by philosophical writing from Barthes and Derrida. There are 9 galleries many installed with interactive features ...
Time and Presence imagines different ways of experiencing time and space (presence) through the agency of conceptual and earth art framed by philosophical writing from Barthes and Derrida. There are 9 galleries many installed with interactive features ...
W5063
04.09.2012
TheStore - Tine Wilde
WWW
TheStore: The Construct of a Life Package. Proposal for Arhus Kunstbygning 2011. The exhibition space is piled with boxes, containing (fragments of) works of art, gathered around a wooden framework. The visitor is invited to fill up the framework with ...
TheStore: The Construct of a Life Package. Proposal for Arhus Kunstbygning 2011. The exhibition space is piled with boxes, containing (fragments of) works of art, gathered around a wooden framework. The visitor is invited to fill up the framework with ...
W5076
05.09.2012
Sometimes I'm wrong - Teodoro Lupo
WWW
I was a male adolescent with a psychotherapist as a father. That lead to some conflicts. One of my favourite arguments that I can remember was: if you help a wicked person achieve a qualitative leap, does he become more or less bad? Which is the ladder yo ...
I was a male adolescent with a psychotherapist as a father. That lead to some conflicts. One of my favourite arguments that I can remember was: if you help a wicked person achieve a qualitative leap, does he become more or less bad? Which is the ladder yo ...
W4514
25.05.2011
Margarethe Müller
WWW
This is a project for a school. The idea was to give a small village on their own to the students, situated beside the small village named Charmey in the mountains of french Switzerland. The elementary students have their classrooms inside the plateau, th ...
This is a project for a school. The idea was to give a small village on their own to the students, situated beside the small village named Charmey in the mountains of french Switzerland. The elementary students have their classrooms inside the plateau, th ...
W5092
11.09.2012
seductive against the grain - Harald Schole
WWW
¿Station at odds? Research and proposals for the South-Axis, Amsterdam The development of the great public transit stations of the present century can be compared to development processes of large urban complexes. The station area of the future will i ...
¿Station at odds? Research and proposals for the South-Axis, Amsterdam The development of the great public transit stations of the present century can be compared to development processes of large urban complexes. The station area of the future will i ...
U9997
16.01.1997
Nicht realisierte Projekte - Stefan Demary
Unbuilt Roads
Lieber Hans - Ulrich! Nochmals Danke für die nette Einlandung. In dem Buch, Meine normale Arbeitsweine mit meine künstlerischen Ideen for laufend auf listen zu schreiben. Diese werden zum Teil Jahre später erst realisiert, allendings zählt als jah ...
Lieber Hans - Ulrich! Nochmals Danke für die nette Einlandung. In dem Buch, Meine normale Arbeitsweine mit meine künstlerischen Ideen for laufend auf listen zu schreiben. Diese werden zum Teil Jahre später erst realisiert, allendings zählt als jah ...
W4015
22.05.2011
Helle Rask Crawford
WWW
Bronze Sculpture 80cm x 60cm x 70cm plus a base 100cm heigh. “Tormented” is a comment on the ongoing use of torture and violence, the innate aggresiveness in man. Also a tribute to the women and their children, who are often left with nothing in t ...
Bronze Sculpture 80cm x 60cm x 70cm plus a base 100cm heigh. “Tormented” is a comment on the ongoing use of torture and violence, the innate aggresiveness in man. Also a tribute to the women and their children, who are often left with nothing in t ...
W3885
19.05.2011
THE 
CHILHOOD
 OF
 AN 
ENCOUNTER
 - Martin Llavaneras
WWW
At a dinner I met R.M, aged 56 millionaire. We had a conversation. The same night, we entertained the idea of making a project together: ¨...what would happen if you were hanging from a cliff by a rope, and the rope is cut ?... ...
At a dinner I met R.M, aged 56 millionaire. We had a conversation. The same night, we entertained the idea of making a project together: ¨...what would happen if you were hanging from a cliff by a rope, and the rope is cut ?... ...
U9948
30.01.1997
My House - Uri Tzaig
Unbuilt Roads
Like initiation, one has to build his own house, as shown to him in his own dreams. Useing the colors he likes, the shapes he fells, the distances his own body needs, giving names to things, functions, in his language. This house, that was built in my min ...
Like initiation, one has to build his own house, as shown to him in his own dreams. Useing the colors he likes, the shapes he fells, the distances his own body needs, giving names to things, functions, in his language. This house, that was built in my min ...
W4893
10.08.2012
Ben Sloat
WWW
A chrome machine with cut out letters is in constant production of the word "sorry." Made of smoke, the word lingers for a moment, then quickly dissipates. ...
A chrome machine with cut out letters is in constant production of the word "sorry." Made of smoke, the word lingers for a moment, then quickly dissipates. ...
W3801
18.05.2011
Wish Fountain  - T. Mikey
WWW
Website: tmikey.com/wish Wish Fountain is over 512 square feet of Glowing, Flowing Water Cascading down the sides of an 18 Foot High Transparent Pyramid. Wish Fountain is over 512 square feet of Glowing, Flowing Water Cascading down the sides of ...
Website: tmikey.com/wish Wish Fountain is over 512 square feet of Glowing, Flowing Water Cascading down the sides of an 18 Foot High Transparent Pyramid. Wish Fountain is over 512 square feet of Glowing, Flowing Water Cascading down the sides of ...
W5115
17.09.2012
Eine Ontologie des Paradies - Juan Fernando
WWW
Eine Ontologie des Paradies: die Kunst als Illusion. "Was verstehe ich unter Natur? Unter Natur verstehe ich, das erste innere Prinzip, des Seins eines Dinges. (...) Das ist was wirklich existiert". -„Kritik der reinen Vernunft“. Immanuel Kant ...
Eine Ontologie des Paradies: die Kunst als Illusion. "Was verstehe ich unter Natur? Unter Natur verstehe ich, das erste innere Prinzip, des Seins eines Dinges. (...) Das ist was wirklich existiert". -„Kritik der reinen Vernunft“. Immanuel Kant ...
W4107
23.05.2011
Warning (Potters Bar) - Victoria Halford and Steve Beard
WWW
An unrealisable proposal for a public sculpture Intention Warning ( Potters Bar) is a proposal to reconstruct an emblematic moment from a train derailment which occurred in England in 2002. The life-size sculpture would consist of a wrecked train carr ...
An unrealisable proposal for a public sculpture Intention Warning ( Potters Bar) is a proposal to reconstruct an emblematic moment from a train derailment which occurred in England in 2002. The life-size sculpture would consist of a wrecked train carr ...
W5247
10.10.2012
Iain McPherson
WWW
Project: Create art work for a series of bus shelters (P-Stops) in Perm, Russia. Work must be strong enough to compete with graffiti. One panel (not shown) was accepted for the project. The last email I had said that this had been delayed to due fin ...
Project: Create art work for a series of bus shelters (P-Stops) in Perm, Russia. Work must be strong enough to compete with graffiti. One panel (not shown) was accepted for the project. The last email I had said that this had been delayed to due fin ...