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.

PROJEKT - Ulrich Rückreim

Monument to Democracy - Kounellis

PROPOSAL FOR SEATTLE ARTS COMMISSION, IN PUBLIC - Chris Burden

The bridge according to Jeong-a's dream - Koo Jeong

The World Record - General Idea

Messages to the Public - Nancy Spero

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

Project tor the Veterans Administration Hospital--Bay Pines, Florida. - Robert Morris

Der New-Babyloner - Constant

Attitudine Diplomatica - Hermann Pitz

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W4155
23.05.2011
Got to the Studio - Oli Sorenson
WWW
The “Got to the Studio” series is a yet-to-be realised project, recording several failed attempts to make a masterpiece, or similar great work of art, either through lack of talent or simple laziness. ...
The “Got to the Studio” series is a yet-to-be realised project, recording several failed attempts to make a masterpiece, or similar great work of art, either through lack of talent or simple laziness. ...
W5307
17.10.2012
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 ...
W4176
24.05.2011
MEDIA TORTURE CHAMBER - Mitya Nesterov
WWW
MEDIA TORTURE CHAMBER is room one cannot leave without permission. Inside that room you have a baroque-styled bed one cannot sleep on because it is covered with sharp nails, four powerful speakers playing classical music all the time, and plasma TV-screen ...
MEDIA TORTURE CHAMBER is room one cannot leave without permission. Inside that room you have a baroque-styled bed one cannot sleep on because it is covered with sharp nails, four powerful speakers playing classical music all the time, and plasma TV-screen ...
W4648
25.05.2011
NATURE CAN ALL  - Urssa Severa
WWW
NATURE CAN ALL A Land art project by Urssa Severa A land art project that aims to interrogate Nature as a representative of God´s masterpiece about its own contradictions. Intervention #1 A symbolist or abstract approach will be proposed, where two phr ...
NATURE CAN ALL A Land art project by Urssa Severa A land art project that aims to interrogate Nature as a representative of God´s masterpiece about its own contradictions. Intervention #1 A symbolist or abstract approach will be proposed, where two phr ...
W3521
11.05.2011
Booming Bratislava - PJ Bruyniks
WWW
Booming Bratislava (= working title) or Make Hot Spots instead of Cold War A combination of an art project, road movie, art scouting, crash course and hype-setting. But also the start of a network of art sister cities (art town twinning). Th ...
Booming Bratislava (= working title) or Make Hot Spots instead of Cold War A combination of an art project, road movie, art scouting, crash course and hype-setting. But also the start of a network of art sister cities (art town twinning). Th ...
W4026
22.05.2011
Lucia Cullinane Garcia
WWW
Paintings made with mainly acrylics and mix media, such a 3d effects on them. Stunning to look at and very provocative. Public in general love them and they always attract loads of attention. Different, unique and original they have been descrived. Lu ...
Paintings made with mainly acrylics and mix media, such a 3d effects on them. Stunning to look at and very provocative. Public in general love them and they always attract loads of attention. Different, unique and original they have been descrived. Lu ...
W3645
15.05.2011
Provincetown, Cape Cod, MA USA. 2006 - Jay Critchley
WWW
Provincetown, Cape Cod, MA USA. 2006 Martucket Eyeland Resort & Theme Park Following on the heels of the controversial industrial wind farm proposed for Nantucket Sound, a dramatic “third eyeland” resort and theme park has been proposed for the ...
Provincetown, Cape Cod, MA USA. 2006 Martucket Eyeland Resort & Theme Park Following on the heels of the controversial industrial wind farm proposed for Nantucket Sound, a dramatic “third eyeland” resort and theme park has been proposed for the ...
U9963
01.01.1994
Ruderaltisch, 1994/95 Kunst am Bau - Projekt - Lois Weinberger
Unbuilt Roads
Die Arbeit besteht aus einem Betontisch im Freien / auf dem erdgefüllte / allgegenwärtige Behälter / wie entleerte Öldosen / leere Farbkübel / „unverwüstliche Plastiksäcke" stehen. Eine Bepflanzung wird nicht vorgenommen / da die im Freiland ...
Die Arbeit besteht aus einem Betontisch im Freien / auf dem erdgefüllte / allgegenwärtige Behälter / wie entleerte Öldosen / leere Farbkübel / „unverwüstliche Plastiksäcke" stehen. Eine Bepflanzung wird nicht vorgenommen / da die im Freiland ...
W3783
18.05.2011
Eileen Neff
WWW
This work was originally submitted to 1.5 Million, a 2009 re-enactment of the Lucy Lippard's 1970 exhibition of the same name, when artists were invited to present ideas for work that could, but didn't necessarily exist. The work is an index size, 4"x6", ...
This work was originally submitted to 1.5 Million, a 2009 re-enactment of the Lucy Lippard's 1970 exhibition of the same name, when artists were invited to present ideas for work that could, but didn't necessarily exist. The work is an index size, 4"x6", ...
W4849
08.08.2012
Excavation  - Mario Asef
WWW
Mario Asef EXCAVATION Unrealized project for the exhibition “Architecture” in Küntlerhaus Bregenz – Austria / 2008 //////////////////////////////////////// ...
Mario Asef EXCAVATION Unrealized project for the exhibition “Architecture” in Küntlerhaus Bregenz – Austria / 2008 //////////////////////////////////////// ...
D10803
09.09.2012
Untitled  - Theo Eshetu
DAAD
W10273
10.04.2014
Monument to the Iraq War Dead - Scott Sorli
WWW
Conservative estimates are that over one hundred thousand men, women, and children died in the Iraq War. Weapons of mass destruction that were used as justification for this illegal war were launched by the Americans and the British forces themselves. The ...
Conservative estimates are that over one hundred thousand men, women, and children died in the Iraq War. Weapons of mass destruction that were used as justification for this illegal war were launched by the Americans and the British forces themselves. The ...
W4540
25.05.2011
FATHOM - Kristin Jones / Andrew Ginzel
WWW
FATHOM A PROPOSAL FOR UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES BUILDING (BMSB) Gainesville, Florida October 2008 We intend to create a work, Fathom, that is integrated within both the context and architecture of the University of Florida’s new Bi ...
FATHOM A PROPOSAL FOR UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES BUILDING (BMSB) Gainesville, Florida October 2008 We intend to create a work, Fathom, that is integrated within both the context and architecture of the University of Florida’s new Bi ...
W4215
24.05.2011
Book-less library – The Transfiguration - Will Foster
WWW
Book-less library – The Transfiguration Locate a public library. Enquire into the amount of books the library holds and how many books can be loaned at one time per person. Calculate how many people would be needed to empty the library. ...
Book-less library – The Transfiguration Locate a public library. Enquire into the amount of books the library holds and how many books can be loaned at one time per person. Calculate how many people would be needed to empty the library. ...
W4727
26.05.2011
Household aluminium foil sculptures - Michel NORTH
WWW
Household aluminium foil sculptures – development of a “fa presto” technique in sculpture Those are two examples of statues (image 1: 1978; image 2: 1985), unrealised in that sense that the technique used and developed by me about 50 years ago ...
Household aluminium foil sculptures – development of a “fa presto” technique in sculpture Those are two examples of statues (image 1: 1978; image 2: 1985), unrealised in that sense that the technique used and developed by me about 50 years ago ...
W4088
23.05.2011
ANOTHER ACCELERATOR
WWW
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) of the CERN is nowadays the bigger and sophisticated machine of the world. So then it would be seen as a very interesting scientific feature, and also as a marvellous thing, that probably will show us many of the most desir ...
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) of the CERN is nowadays the bigger and sophisticated machine of the world. So then it would be seen as a very interesting scientific feature, and also as a marvellous thing, that probably will show us many of the most desir ...
W5432
20.10.2012
Sheli Lehadpasa (Mine for printing) - Tamar Lederberg
WWW
Sheli Lehadpasa (Mine for printing) Art constitutes a tool for contending with difficult psychological situations. A situation of loss and pain generates creative forces. An illness triggered fervent creativity in my mother. The trauma following her il ...
Sheli Lehadpasa (Mine for printing) Art constitutes a tool for contending with difficult psychological situations. A situation of loss and pain generates creative forces. An illness triggered fervent creativity in my mother. The trauma following her il ...
W3812
18.05.2011
SOL: project for a single channel HD video installation, stereo sound. 2010 - Diego Zuelli
WWW
A video installation for a private gallery. A single video projection on the far side of a long room. A prepared wall, with black paint around a white circle, where the "image" will be projected. The sense of sight is the mean we use the most to know ...
A video installation for a private gallery. A single video projection on the far side of a long room. A prepared wall, with black paint around a white circle, where the "image" will be projected. The sense of sight is the mean we use the most to know ...
W10185
04.04.2014
Robot Building Museum Shop from MCA to DIA - Maymay Jumsai
WWW
My proposal is to make a museum shop for the Robot Building my father designed. I’m asian, I have a strong family value. The Robot Building was part of the project ‘City on the Move’, that went to Venice Biennale in 1996. We had to pay for the ship ...
My proposal is to make a museum shop for the Robot Building my father designed. I’m asian, I have a strong family value. The Robot Building was part of the project ‘City on the Move’, that went to Venice Biennale in 1996. We had to pay for the ship ...
U9263
01.01.1974
CIVITAS Stadtpostkarten - Lothar Baumgarten
Unbuilt Roads
Einige Überlegungen zur Emblematik von Ansichtskarten. Abgebildete Sehenswürdigkeiten gelangen auf Ansichtskarten durch die häufig gewählte Zentralperspektive in die Nähe ausgestellter Backwaren. Die siegelhaft stilisierte Heraldik, eines immer wiede ...
Einige Überlegungen zur Emblematik von Ansichtskarten. Abgebildete Sehenswürdigkeiten gelangen auf Ansichtskarten durch die häufig gewählte Zentralperspektive in die Nähe ausgestellter Backwaren. Die siegelhaft stilisierte Heraldik, eines immer wiede ...
W3684
16.05.2011
Terje Nicolaisen
WWW
Sketches has indeed been looked upon as valuable, through various historians and art lovers. Even the meta-character of the proposals has been valued, but not to fulfilment. Leonardo da Vinci's draw- ings for a helicopter in the renaissance was seen at th ...
Sketches has indeed been looked upon as valuable, through various historians and art lovers. Even the meta-character of the proposals has been valued, but not to fulfilment. Leonardo da Vinci's draw- ings for a helicopter in the renaissance was seen at th ...
W3690
16.05.2011
It’s Not You, Me, or the Dog - Cecile B. Evans
WWW
Summary of Intent I plan to produce a series of video works that use trained animals, instead of humans, to “act out” or represent various emotional states and scenarios. Continuing my previous investigations of the production and construction of i ...
Summary of Intent I plan to produce a series of video works that use trained animals, instead of humans, to “act out” or represent various emotional states and scenarios. Continuing my previous investigations of the production and construction of i ...
W4886
10.08.2012
Laissez-Passer - Ilana Salama Ortar
WWW
Laissez-Passer Introduction I was born in Alexandria. In the early 1950s my family was forced to leave Egypt with a one-way pass (laissez-passer). On the way to Israel we passed through Marseilles. Due to the circumstances, since post-war Marseilles ...
Laissez-Passer Introduction I was born in Alexandria. In the early 1950s my family was forced to leave Egypt with a one-way pass (laissez-passer). On the way to Israel we passed through Marseilles. Due to the circumstances, since post-war Marseilles ...
W5312
17.10.2012
Empire - Elena Dubrova
WWW
We would like to introduce to Your attention our short non embodied project. The project itself can be incarnate but his idea is reverse. We named it ‘Empire’. Project consist series of photo ( 5 pieces) and 1 gif. image. It consists awareness, ...
We would like to introduce to Your attention our short non embodied project. The project itself can be incarnate but his idea is reverse. We named it ‘Empire’. Project consist series of photo ( 5 pieces) and 1 gif. image. It consists awareness, ...
W4572
25.05.2011
My Sunshine - Nikola Uzunovski
WWW
My Sunshine is a utopian project, suspended between art and science, visionary ideas and social issues, poetry and hyper - technology. Its aim is to produce a flying object that reflects sunlight to a specific area of Earth and appear as the Sun itself. ...
My Sunshine is a utopian project, suspended between art and science, visionary ideas and social issues, poetry and hyper - technology. Its aim is to produce a flying object that reflects sunlight to a specific area of Earth and appear as the Sun itself. ...
W4840
08.08.2012
Tableau Vivant and the subversive Feminine - andreas guibert
WWW
Academy of Fine Arts Vienna PhD in Practice (Doctor of Philosophy in Practice) Personal number: 0003 Andres Guibert Abstract The proposed project analyses how individual gay identities contest cultural policies in repressive regimes reformulating ...
Academy of Fine Arts Vienna PhD in Practice (Doctor of Philosophy in Practice) Personal number: 0003 Andres Guibert Abstract The proposed project analyses how individual gay identities contest cultural policies in repressive regimes reformulating ...