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.

Visual Poem: Cap I Cua - Joan Brossa

Square Depression - Bruce Nauman

Der New-Babyloner - Constant

The World is a Theater and we each have a role - Louise Bourgeois

Billboard - Jimmie Durham

Monument with Rust - Gustav Metzger

Engel-Detektor - Jakob Gautel & Jason Karaïndros

The Rosetta Garden - Gary Simmons

Just Before Dawn - David Lamelas

City Hall Tower Night Ilumination - Krysztof Wodiczko

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W5096
12.09.2012
Kelly Malec-Kosak
WWW
W4555
25.05.2011
UNTITED (WOVEN PORTICO) - Nicolas Feldmeyer
WWW
UNTITED (WOVEN PORTICO) Project for a site-specific installation, UCL Wilkins Building, London White fabric sheets, interwoven with the existing columns, give the portico of UCL’s Wilkins Building a temporary new monumentality. The space contained w ...
UNTITED (WOVEN PORTICO) Project for a site-specific installation, UCL Wilkins Building, London White fabric sheets, interwoven with the existing columns, give the portico of UCL’s Wilkins Building a temporary new monumentality. The space contained w ...
W4543
25.05.2011
TO/HERE. moving an insignificant signal. - Paula Massarutti
WWW
TO/HERE. moving an insignificant signal. [mass performance + object exhibition + production registers]. Suplicantes [Supplicants] – historical and symbolic context [Las Precolombinas] Pre- Columbian images known as the suplicantes, [see image 1] ...
TO/HERE. moving an insignificant signal. [mass performance + object exhibition + production registers]. Suplicantes [Supplicants] – historical and symbolic context [Las Precolombinas] Pre- Columbian images known as the suplicantes, [see image 1] ...
W4401
25.05.2011
Proposal for Museo de Arte, Sacramento, Mexico. - Ursula Nistrup
WWW
Proposal for Museo de Arte, Sacramento, Mexico. The project I would like to propose is informed by the unique conditions you have created for the Museum as an abstract entity. It is inspired by ’The Idea of the North’ by the pianist and composer Gl ...
Proposal for Museo de Arte, Sacramento, Mexico. The project I would like to propose is informed by the unique conditions you have created for the Museum as an abstract entity. It is inspired by ’The Idea of the North’ by the pianist and composer Gl ...
W10519
05.05.2014
State of Martial Law - Maximillian George
WWW
Since 9/11, we've been living under a kind of worldwide martial law. Liberties that we take for granted are being brought into question. By shutting off arbitrary streets in Stockholm, I intend to limit people in a small but alarming ways, as a reminde ...
Since 9/11, we've been living under a kind of worldwide martial law. Liberties that we take for granted are being brought into question. By shutting off arbitrary streets in Stockholm, I intend to limit people in a small but alarming ways, as a reminde ...
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. ...
W3859
19.05.2011
Waiting room: A History of Doing Nothing and a Long Tale of Useful Action - Guillermo E. Rodriguez Rivera
WWW
G A L E R I A M A N G O S T A 23 June – 31 July 2011 402 Muñoz Rivera Ave FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Galeria Mangosta is pleased to present Waiting room: a history of doing nothing and a long tale of useful action. Looking at the pivotal role of ...
G A L E R I A M A N G O S T A 23 June – 31 July 2011 402 Muñoz Rivera Ave FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Galeria Mangosta is pleased to present Waiting room: a history of doing nothing and a long tale of useful action. Looking at the pivotal role of ...
W3532
11.05.2011
The Sounds of the Sun Pavilion - Michael Jantzen
WWW
​The Sounds of the Sun Pavilion is a conceptual proposal for a large structure made of many small, pre-fabricated, square, curved, steel tube components. These components are joined together to form thirteen large interwoven curved elements. One side o ...
​The Sounds of the Sun Pavilion is a conceptual proposal for a large structure made of many small, pre-fabricated, square, curved, steel tube components. These components are joined together to form thirteen large interwoven curved elements. One side o ...
W5031
31.08.2012
If Wishes Were... - Ian Amell
WWW
"If Wishes Were..." was my proposal for a Public Realm sculpture based on the readily understood (in North America) practice at Christmas and Easter of wishing on the neck bone of the turkey eaten at these family feasts. Venice has its “Bridge of Si ...
"If Wishes Were..." was my proposal for a Public Realm sculpture based on the readily understood (in North America) practice at Christmas and Easter of wishing on the neck bone of the turkey eaten at these family feasts. Venice has its “Bridge of Si ...
W4208
24.05.2011
One-way toilet - Will Foster
WWW
One-way toilet. Shitting in the street. 2001 A toilet for public use is sited in an inner city location. The walls of the toilet are made entirely from Pellicle mirror glass, which is partially reflective and partially transparent. ...
One-way toilet. Shitting in the street. 2001 A toilet for public use is sited in an inner city location. The walls of the toilet are made entirely from Pellicle mirror glass, which is partially reflective and partially transparent. ...
W4635
25.05.2011
“Handy Space Bags”  - Valeska Peschke
WWW
“Handy Space Bags” Kafka wrote: "Everyone carries a room about him." Everyone carries a room about him through other rooms. I hope to examine and detect ‘traverse rooms’ . In daily life, moving through the city, the utilities needed are enclos ...
“Handy Space Bags” Kafka wrote: "Everyone carries a room about him." Everyone carries a room about him through other rooms. I hope to examine and detect ‘traverse rooms’ . In daily life, moving through the city, the utilities needed are enclos ...
W3508
11.05.2011
Karin Schaefer
WWW
Attached are images of a model for a large scale public work that has not been realized. The making of this work started a few weeks after 911 as I needed to find a way to process and work with the reality of the event. Models have been exhibited in vari ...
Attached are images of a model for a large scale public work that has not been realized. The making of this work started a few weeks after 911 as I needed to find a way to process and work with the reality of the event. Models have been exhibited in vari ...
W11076
07.04.2016
Temple of Modern Virtue - Vilja Achté
WWW
My work revolves around the relevance of the intentionally incomplete state as a method of production in art and design practice. The term itself is an adaptation of the Renaissance term ‘non-finito’, which quite literally means ‘not finished’, an ...
My work revolves around the relevance of the intentionally incomplete state as a method of production in art and design practice. The term itself is an adaptation of the Renaissance term ‘non-finito’, which quite literally means ‘not finished’, an ...
W3998
21.05.2011
A GARDEN INSIDE INSTITUTIONS - Jana Leo De Blas
WWW
GREEN & WET Angel Borrego & Jana Leo Repetition and Acumulation. The wall is made out of individual plants. Each plant is pretty similar to another But, at the same time, different. For long term installations, a person could sponsors one or more p ...
GREEN & WET Angel Borrego & Jana Leo Repetition and Acumulation. The wall is made out of individual plants. Each plant is pretty similar to another But, at the same time, different. For long term installations, a person could sponsors one or more p ...
W4039
22.05.2011
Transcendence , 2010 - Shuli Sade
WWW
Transcendence , 2010, by Shuli Sadé 60 photographic panels of 20 x 20 Inches each, printed on duraclear, fused glass/acrylic, natural light/ suspended to create moving shadows “Tran.scen.dence completes a cycle of the envisioned and the built. It ...
Transcendence , 2010, by Shuli Sadé 60 photographic panels of 20 x 20 Inches each, printed on duraclear, fused glass/acrylic, natural light/ suspended to create moving shadows “Tran.scen.dence completes a cycle of the envisioned and the built. It ...
W5287
16.10.2012
John R. Neeson
WWW
These images were submitted as a proposal as to the Bemis Centre USA. The modus operanti of this and related projects is to introduce as little as possible into an architectural space in order to heighten the perception and experience of ‘reality’. Wh ...
These images were submitted as a proposal as to the Bemis Centre USA. The modus operanti of this and related projects is to introduce as little as possible into an architectural space in order to heighten the perception and experience of ‘reality’. Wh ...
U9690
01.01.1995
Untitled, modeled after the Leipzig Völkerschlachtdenkmal...  - Jenny Holzer
Unbuilt Roads
Title of the project: Untitled, modeled after the Leipzig Völkerschlachtdenkmal, a lazer projection of Lustmord texts onto a 1913 Battle of nations Monument. (100yr in Leipzig, Germany anniversary of 1813 battle) Description: Jenny s ...
Title of the project: Untitled, modeled after the Leipzig Völkerschlachtdenkmal, a lazer projection of Lustmord texts onto a 1913 Battle of nations Monument. (100yr in Leipzig, Germany anniversary of 1813 battle) Description: Jenny s ...
W3907
20.05.2011
Alan Yates
WWW
As Contemporary art exhibitions develop towards a multiplicity of practises and genres, many are being used for urban regeneration and environmental projects. In this new landscape I wish to lead on initiatives to re-shape the urban landscape to incorpora ...
As Contemporary art exhibitions develop towards a multiplicity of practises and genres, many are being used for urban regeneration and environmental projects. In this new landscape I wish to lead on initiatives to re-shape the urban landscape to incorpora ...
W5251
10.10.2012
Katya Fialkova
WWW
The project was supposed to be a video in which an absurd woman tries to ‘fix’ nature. She puts skirts on trees, makeup on flowers and sunscreen on branches. She throws fabric over a gnarly tree stump to make it ‘prettier’. She measures a wide tre ...
The project was supposed to be a video in which an absurd woman tries to ‘fix’ nature. She puts skirts on trees, makeup on flowers and sunscreen on branches. She throws fabric over a gnarly tree stump to make it ‘prettier’. She measures a wide tre ...
W4989
28.08.2012
Food Sluice - Ulrike Möntmann
WWW
FOOD SLUICE The literal reference of the Food Sluice is to a way of channelling food. Following the principle of a sluice, the flow of food between two spaces is regulated, without there ever being a direct, open connection between these spaces. Un ...
FOOD SLUICE The literal reference of the Food Sluice is to a way of channelling food. Following the principle of a sluice, the flow of food between two spaces is regulated, without there ever being a direct, open connection between these spaces. Un ...
W5137
20.09.2012
Lolita Lebron - Llaima Sanfiorenzo
WWW
LOLITA (Erste Fassung) Regie und Idee Llaima Suwani Inhaltsangaben Llaima Suwani und Eyerí Cruz Drehbuch Eyerí Cruz Innen Betriebshalle einer Näherei – Vormittags Eine mit industriellen Nähmaschinen vollgestellte grosse Halle, wo viele uniformierte ...
LOLITA (Erste Fassung) Regie und Idee Llaima Suwani Inhaltsangaben Llaima Suwani und Eyerí Cruz Drehbuch Eyerí Cruz Innen Betriebshalle einer Näherei – Vormittags Eine mit industriellen Nähmaschinen vollgestellte grosse Halle, wo viele uniformierte ...
U9567
01.01.1995
Museum - Katharina Fritsch
Unbuilt Roads
Beschreibung des Modells bitte dem Katalog "Katharina Fritsch, Museum, Biennale Venedig 1995" entnehmen. (Erster Abschnitt: Modell 1:10) Der Katalog ist bei Cantz in Stuttgart gedruckt. Previous Publications (?) Katalog der Biennale Venedig 1995 (s ...
Beschreibung des Modells bitte dem Katalog "Katharina Fritsch, Museum, Biennale Venedig 1995" entnehmen. (Erster Abschnitt: Modell 1:10) Der Katalog ist bei Cantz in Stuttgart gedruckt. Previous Publications (?) Katalog der Biennale Venedig 1995 (s ...
U9617
01.07.1991
Project pour le parc de sculpture de Vassiviére - Paul-Armand Gette
Unbuilt Roads
Un bloc de granite choisi dans la partie boisée de l'île sera considéré comme étant le centre d'une circonférence de 25m. de rayon, qui, sans que cela soit indiqué sur place d'aucune façon, restera vierge de toutes interventions (aménagements, co ...
Un bloc de granite choisi dans la partie boisée de l'île sera considéré comme étant le centre d'une circonférence de 25m. de rayon, qui, sans que cela soit indiqué sur place d'aucune façon, restera vierge de toutes interventions (aménagements, co ...
W5296
17.10.2012
Swimming Pool - Ferhat Özgür
WWW
‘SWIMMING POOL’ AN UNREALISED PROJECT BY FERHAT OZGUR PARIS 2012 The unrealised project entitled ‘Swimming Pool’ has been designed as a project which aims to blur the border between art and life. Here the aim of the project is to add new ...
‘SWIMMING POOL’ AN UNREALISED PROJECT BY FERHAT OZGUR PARIS 2012 The unrealised project entitled ‘Swimming Pool’ has been designed as a project which aims to blur the border between art and life. Here the aim of the project is to add new ...
W4957
20.08.2012
Pelican Bay maximum-security glass prison - Eugene Soler
WWW
California’s Pelican Bay maximum security prison is more than 150% over capacity with a high number of inmates re-offending after released. Located within a nearby clearing of forest, the proposal is to create a facility for inmate’s rehabilitation by ...
California’s Pelican Bay maximum security prison is more than 150% over capacity with a high number of inmates re-offending after released. Located within a nearby clearing of forest, the proposal is to create a facility for inmate’s rehabilitation by ...
W5216
06.10.2012
Zeitseeing - Gisela Weimann
WWW
I am interested in the interplay between objects and sounds and movement in time and space. Word games and the change of classical musical formats with an ironic undertone are often part of my projects. ...
I am interested in the interplay between objects and sounds and movement in time and space. Word games and the change of classical musical formats with an ironic undertone are often part of my projects. ...