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.

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

No title, as the project only reached proposal stage - Rikrit Tiravanija

Uncompleted 1966 - and on  - John Armleder

2 Architecture Towers - Robert Irwin

PROJEKT - Ulrich Rückreim

PROJECT FOR A COMMUNITY CENTER, AVENUE DES NARCISSES, CHENOVE - Vito Acconci

CIVITAS Stadtpostkarten - Lothar Baumgarten

Financial Times Millennium Bridge Competition - Richard Serra and Frank Gehry

Temple of the western buddha (1971 Kathmedu) - Herman de Vries

The lmprobable Flow - Larry Bell

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
#
Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W4371
25.05.2011
leak - Thessia Machado
WWW
leak A rumination on transmutation, language, the experience of time, death and the joys of apartment living. Installation with 12.5 gallons of water (equivalent to my weight), vinyl, sheetrock, camera, computer running max/msp/jitter, monitor and ...
leak A rumination on transmutation, language, the experience of time, death and the joys of apartment living. Installation with 12.5 gallons of water (equivalent to my weight), vinyl, sheetrock, camera, computer running max/msp/jitter, monitor and ...
W5450
20.10.2012
BUILDING DRAWING III: “NO-PLACE SPACE” - Ann Daly
WWW
Ann Daly adaly@aya.yale.edu BUILDING DRAWING III: “NO-PLACE SPACE” A house or room, housed elsewhere. A large room or rectangular structure set within another space, so that one can see the outside of it and move into its interior. A more ambit ...
Ann Daly adaly@aya.yale.edu BUILDING DRAWING III: “NO-PLACE SPACE” A house or room, housed elsewhere. A large room or rectangular structure set within another space, so that one can see the outside of it and move into its interior. A more ambit ...
W3842
19.05.2011
BLIND SPOT - KimSu Theiler
WWW
dimensions variable Can we turn the horror of being dematerialized whether in the eyes of a beloved or in a community into the super-hero power of invisibility and back again. 8 cameras in a circle point out over the room. 8 grid camera view re ...
dimensions variable Can we turn the horror of being dematerialized whether in the eyes of a beloved or in a community into the super-hero power of invisibility and back again. 8 cameras in a circle point out over the room. 8 grid camera view re ...
W4662
25.05.2011
The Wardenclyffe Gift  - Craig Leonard
WWW
The Wardenclyffe Gift Craig Leonard In November 2009, the bronze plaque donated by the Yugoslavian Government on July 10, 1976 for the commemoration of the Wardenclyffe communication tower, Nikola Tesla's last remaining laboratory building, was sto ...
The Wardenclyffe Gift Craig Leonard In November 2009, the bronze plaque donated by the Yugoslavian Government on July 10, 1976 for the commemoration of the Wardenclyffe communication tower, Nikola Tesla's last remaining laboratory building, was sto ...
W5461
21.10.2012
Living DNA - Nobuho Nagasawa
WWW
Project for UCLA Hospital, Los Angeles, California © Nobuho Nagasawa Concept: All living things contain DNA. The main role of DNA in the cell is the storage of information. It is often compared to a blueprint, since it contains the instructions ...
Project for UCLA Hospital, Los Angeles, California © Nobuho Nagasawa Concept: All living things contain DNA. The main role of DNA in the cell is the storage of information. It is often compared to a blueprint, since it contains the instructions ...
U9793
01.01.1997
Isometric Projection - Sol Lewitt
Unbuilt Roads
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 ...
W4393
25.05.2011
Ground Control - Sylvia Schwenk
WWW
SYLVIA SCHWENK PROJECT CONCEPT STATEMENT Ground Control is a work of participatory performance art that will be presented in two stages. The first stage will be a live performance that will take place at night-time by everyday-people-cum-performers ...
SYLVIA SCHWENK PROJECT CONCEPT STATEMENT Ground Control is a work of participatory performance art that will be presented in two stages. The first stage will be a live performance that will take place at night-time by everyday-people-cum-performers ...
W5320
18.10.2012
Strike Nº0 - Thiago Parizi
WWW
05.2010 The project entitled “Strike Nº0” is composed of a group of helium balloons attached to the handle of a shovel, floating it above the ground. Suspending it until the object is brought again to the floor given the slight leaking of the heli ...
05.2010 The project entitled “Strike Nº0” is composed of a group of helium balloons attached to the handle of a shovel, floating it above the ground. Suspending it until the object is brought again to the floor given the slight leaking of the heli ...
W4470
25.05.2011
` NO LONGER EMPTY’S ABOUT FACE - Itziar Barrio
WWW
NO LONGER EMPTY’S ABOUT FACE FOR THE NEW MUSEUM’S FESTIVAL OF IDEAS FOR A NEW CITY MAY – JUNE, 2011 INTRODUCTION PROJECT DESCRIPTION ARTIST’S CONCEPT BACKGROUND & METHODOLOGY SCHEDULE BUDGET ABOUT FESTIVAL OF IDEAS INTRODUCTION For The 201 ...
NO LONGER EMPTY’S ABOUT FACE FOR THE NEW MUSEUM’S FESTIVAL OF IDEAS FOR A NEW CITY MAY – JUNE, 2011 INTRODUCTION PROJECT DESCRIPTION ARTIST’S CONCEPT BACKGROUND & METHODOLOGY SCHEDULE BUDGET ABOUT FESTIVAL OF IDEAS INTRODUCTION For The 201 ...
W4874
09.08.2012
Kseniya
WWW
W5434
20.10.2012
Hole - Aya Imamura
WWW
About "Hole" This work is made by stop motion animation. A monitor installed into the small hole. From the hole, you may peek people eating and cooking. It is ordinaries of life for us. This work idea is based on "mement mori" This Latin phrase means, "R ...
About "Hole" This work is made by stop motion animation. A monitor installed into the small hole. From the hole, you may peek people eating and cooking. It is ordinaries of life for us. This work idea is based on "mement mori" This Latin phrase means, "R ...
W4003
22.05.2011
Subject to Terms of Use - Caspar Lam
WWW
Thought experiment visualization: the view through a pair of Search Engine Spectacles Artist: Caspar Lam (casparlam@aya.yale.edu) Title: Subject to Terms of Use Description: Thought experiment visualization: the view through a pair of Search Engine ...
Thought experiment visualization: the view through a pair of Search Engine Spectacles Artist: Caspar Lam (casparlam@aya.yale.edu) Title: Subject to Terms of Use Description: Thought experiment visualization: the view through a pair of Search Engine ...
W3752
18.05.2011
Proposal for an Art-Science cooperation for solar lighting a Lebanese village - roula sorour
WWW
My project was a proposal to light up a village in Lebanon using solar power in cooperation with a local University. My proposal was hurried and could have been written better. I never did receive a reply to my proposal. From: Roula Sorour <r@roula ...
My project was a proposal to light up a village in Lebanon using solar power in cooperation with a local University. My proposal was hurried and could have been written better. I never did receive a reply to my proposal. From: Roula Sorour <r@roula ...
W5123
18.09.2012
Transit/Stasis - Danielle Giudici Wallis
WWW
A proposal for the entrance of the San Francisco Public Library based on the Principle of Least Effort (George Kingsley Zipf, 1949) Transit/Stasis As I emerged from the BART station, I was taken with the sight of a commuter who opted to walk up the ...
A proposal for the entrance of the San Francisco Public Library based on the Principle of Least Effort (George Kingsley Zipf, 1949) Transit/Stasis As I emerged from the BART station, I was taken with the sight of a commuter who opted to walk up the ...
U9641
01.01.1995
Project 1 + Project 2 - Simryn Gill
Unbuilt Roads
Project 1 Title: untitled. Seeding the Indian Ocean (between Europe and S. E. Asia) with text-coconuts. Year: 1995 Description: Coconut palms (Cocos nucifera) inhabit the entire tropical belt. They were the only palms common to both the Old and t ...
Project 1 Title: untitled. Seeding the Indian Ocean (between Europe and S. E. Asia) with text-coconuts. Year: 1995 Description: Coconut palms (Cocos nucifera) inhabit the entire tropical belt. They were the only palms common to both the Old and t ...
W4684
26.05.2011
forever pets  - Gregory Alan Thornbury
WWW
forever pets The other day I found myself delighted with how well behaved my friends dog was. Their dog, Molly, was not up on the couch sniffing my crotch or licking me in the face, but laid neatly curled asleep beside the hearth. After an hour of uni ...
forever pets The other day I found myself delighted with how well behaved my friends dog was. Their dog, Molly, was not up on the couch sniffing my crotch or licking me in the face, but laid neatly curled asleep beside the hearth. After an hour of uni ...
W4022
22.05.2011
Holly Crawford
WWW
Performance/Installation, proposed 1997, identity and feminism using popular cultural image of Minnie and Mickey Mouse. Cancelled last minute due to funds). Minnie Mouse and Why is she depressed? Proposal for performance/installation Disney ...
Performance/Installation, proposed 1997, identity and feminism using popular cultural image of Minnie and Mickey Mouse. Cancelled last minute due to funds). Minnie Mouse and Why is she depressed? Proposal for performance/installation Disney ...
W4574
25.05.2011
Flatten The Mountain Projects - Flatten The Mountain Projects
WWW
A: I liked the film idea initially. B: I'm glad you think the same. We can't sound desperate - I'm going to bed. A: Instead of a Birthday it should be a wedding where we marry together Loverage and Twice Born B: People watching us make work puts me a ...
A: I liked the film idea initially. B: I'm glad you think the same. We can't sound desperate - I'm going to bed. A: Instead of a Birthday it should be a wedding where we marry together Loverage and Twice Born B: People watching us make work puts me a ...
W5058
03.09.2012
Tabakalera - Taller Basico de Arquitectura [TBA]
WWW
Tabakalera (2008) LE VOYAGE DANS LA LUNE The trip Us astronomers, motivated by our curiosity and thirst of knowledge, we have design a capsule – the golden room- that will enable us to discover other realities. The great event takes place, finally, a ...
Tabakalera (2008) LE VOYAGE DANS LA LUNE The trip Us astronomers, motivated by our curiosity and thirst of knowledge, we have design a capsule – the golden room- that will enable us to discover other realities. The great event takes place, finally, a ...
W4746
26.05.2011
Freiheits- und Einheitsdenkmal - Rafael Schmidt, RAFAA
WWW
Freiheits- und Einheitsdenkmal Berlin Competition In the autumn of 1989, a growing number of courageous citizens in many cities of the GDR conquered their fear and rose against the totalitarian regime of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). ...
Freiheits- und Einheitsdenkmal Berlin Competition In the autumn of 1989, a growing number of courageous citizens in many cities of the GDR conquered their fear and rose against the totalitarian regime of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). ...
W3553
12.05.2011
Maskbook - MAP Office [Gutierrez + Portefaix]
WWW
"Conceived as a sardonic take on the popular social networking website Facebook, www.makbook.net, intends to provide avatars in virtual worlds such as Second Life with a network of their virtual identities. The logic of Maskbook is derived from the seemin ...
"Conceived as a sardonic take on the popular social networking website Facebook, www.makbook.net, intends to provide avatars in virtual worlds such as Second Life with a network of their virtual identities. The logic of Maskbook is derived from the seemin ...
W5298
17.10.2012
EFI SAVVIDES
WWW
Nature is always quick to assume the position of history when history, like an impotent and weary creature, gradually loosens its hold on things, receding deeper and deeper into the negative space of oblivion, during its irreversible descent coming apart ...
Nature is always quick to assume the position of history when history, like an impotent and weary creature, gradually loosens its hold on things, receding deeper and deeper into the negative space of oblivion, during its irreversible descent coming apart ...
W3528
11.05.2011
MARS / SPIRIT 2009/12 - KLAUS HU
WWW
KLAUS HU Studio Wildenbruch 77 12045 Berlin / Germany tel (49).30.68081524 em: klaushu[at]yahoo.de KLAUS HU IS REPRESENTED BY VG BILD-KUNST. TRILOGY MARS DESERT BEACH 2006/12 MARS DESERT BEACH 2006/10 http://klaushu.blogspot.com/ MAR ...
KLAUS HU Studio Wildenbruch 77 12045 Berlin / Germany tel (49).30.68081524 em: klaushu[at]yahoo.de KLAUS HU IS REPRESENTED BY VG BILD-KUNST. TRILOGY MARS DESERT BEACH 2006/12 MARS DESERT BEACH 2006/10 http://klaushu.blogspot.com/ MAR ...
W4037
22.05.2011
Lynn Carlson
WWW
An Installation, on site, composed of baskets and crates on waist high tables offering musical instruments while supermarket music wafts through the space. An art project is full of possibilities. For the artist, it may mean expanding on a theme. F ...
An Installation, on site, composed of baskets and crates on waist high tables offering musical instruments while supermarket music wafts through the space. An art project is full of possibilities. For the artist, it may mean expanding on a theme. F ...
W5219
07.10.2012
Homebodies - Annabelle von Girsewald
WWW
1 Homebodies originates from the American word homebody meaning a person who prefers pleasures and activities that center around the home; stay-at-home. (1) The homebody resides inside the American suburban home and in particular in the basement. This sub ...
1 Homebodies originates from the American word homebody meaning a person who prefers pleasures and activities that center around the home; stay-at-home. (1) The homebody resides inside the American suburban home and in particular in the basement. This sub ...