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.

Billboard - Jimmie Durham

Museum - Katharina Fritsch

Der New-Babyloner - Constant

PROJEKT - Ulrich Rückreim

Ceinture - Huang Ping Yong

La Guerra De Los Simbolos - Victor Grippo

"Free Space" - Michelangelo Pistoletto

Douglas Gordon - 5 year drive-by; proposal for a public artwork.

MODELL OF AN OFFICE FOR A COUPLE OF TWINS, BOTH 1,38 TALL" - Tobias Rehrenberg

Unrealized Projects - Jonas Meckas

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W5030
31.08.2012
Spectral Horse - Mags Harries & Lajos Heder
WWW
Mags Harries & Lajos Héder Spectral Horse Location: Spectacle Island, Boston Harbor, MA (Proposal 2006) Size: 400’ x 250’ Materials: Lighting and light reflective materials Description: Spectacle Island lies in a very prominent position in Bost ...
Mags Harries & Lajos Héder Spectral Horse Location: Spectacle Island, Boston Harbor, MA (Proposal 2006) Size: 400’ x 250’ Materials: Lighting and light reflective materials Description: Spectacle Island lies in a very prominent position in Bost ...
U9968
25.03.1997
Passage - Richard Wentworth
Unbuilt Roads
In August 1996 I was invited to propose a pedestrian bridge across the river Thames to connect St Pauls Cathedral to the new Tate Gallery of Modern Art. Realising that bridges are conventionally controlled by the economics of wheeled traffic, and invariab ...
In August 1996 I was invited to propose a pedestrian bridge across the river Thames to connect St Pauls Cathedral to the new Tate Gallery of Modern Art. Realising that bridges are conventionally controlled by the economics of wheeled traffic, and invariab ...
W4604
25.05.2011
Ideas as falling light energy for a day - Karen Roulstone
WWW
Ideas as falling light energy for a day These sample works are from the start of a project which aims were to attempt to map thought processes connected to ideas which can never be fully resolved. The plan was to map ideas diagrammatically as falling l ...
Ideas as falling light energy for a day These sample works are from the start of a project which aims were to attempt to map thought processes connected to ideas which can never be fully resolved. The plan was to map ideas diagrammatically as falling l ...
W4563
25.05.2011
darius
WWW
Well, I do not know nevertheless I tend to imagine it being not. As for me, life seems to be a continuous experience. I suppose, if you’re only interested in the individual – arguably a rather crude segregation. But isn’t it also true ...
Well, I do not know nevertheless I tend to imagine it being not. As for me, life seems to be a continuous experience. I suppose, if you’re only interested in the individual – arguably a rather crude segregation. But isn’t it also true ...
W4721
26.05.2011
The Boston Corbett Project - Anna Bruinsma
WWW
THE BOSTON CORBETT PROJECT Location: San Francisco to Concordia Filmed by Anna Bruinsma, Performed by Lauren Kronemyer The Boston Corbett Project is an unrealized collaborative experimental documentary. The subject was a nineteen-year-old girl (Kron ...
THE BOSTON CORBETT PROJECT Location: San Francisco to Concordia Filmed by Anna Bruinsma, Performed by Lauren Kronemyer The Boston Corbett Project is an unrealized collaborative experimental documentary. The subject was a nineteen-year-old girl (Kron ...
W4621
25.05.2011
Projekt Atlantik - Maria Dundakova
WWW
Projekt Atlantik- Song, Ebbe und Flut Rhytmen Klangrealisation und Wirkung Vorbereitung: Dokumentare Atlantikwellenklang Materialausarbeitung Während 30 Tagen am Morgen vor Sonnenaufgang habe ich Ebbe und Flut Wellengeräusche an der Brasilianischen Küs ...
Projekt Atlantik- Song, Ebbe und Flut Rhytmen Klangrealisation und Wirkung Vorbereitung: Dokumentare Atlantikwellenklang Materialausarbeitung Während 30 Tagen am Morgen vor Sonnenaufgang habe ich Ebbe und Flut Wellengeräusche an der Brasilianischen Küs ...
W3918
20.05.2011
The Second Man - Carolyn McKay
WWW
Original Proposal: At Darlinghurst courthouse in 2008, Gordon Wood was found guilty of murdering Caroline Byrne by throwing her from The Gap, a notorious suicide spot in Sydney, Australia. Witnesses claim to have seen a second man at the crime scene but ...
Original Proposal: At Darlinghurst courthouse in 2008, Gordon Wood was found guilty of murdering Caroline Byrne by throwing her from The Gap, a notorious suicide spot in Sydney, Australia. Witnesses claim to have seen a second man at the crime scene but ...
W5161
24.09.2012
BIO for Viscera Film Festival - Jasmine Hirst
WWW
Jasmine Hirst: BIO for Viscera Film Festival New York underground artist Jasmine Hirst's ten-year correspondence with serial killer Aileen Wuornos leads to an intimate and mesmerizing interview on Florida's death row. In 1993 I saw Aileen’s photogr ...
Jasmine Hirst: BIO for Viscera Film Festival New York underground artist Jasmine Hirst's ten-year correspondence with serial killer Aileen Wuornos leads to an intimate and mesmerizing interview on Florida's death row. In 1993 I saw Aileen’s photogr ...
D10806
01.01.2008
A Play in Three Acts - Bethan Huws
DAAD
To find three existing flower shops in a relatively large town. The first would be tightly categorised: red roses; pink roses; white lilies, etc. The second would be less so. And the third would resemble something from nature (like many ...
To find three existing flower shops in a relatively large town. The first would be tightly categorised: red roses; pink roses; white lilies, etc. The second would be less so. And the third would resemble something from nature (like many ...
W4971
23.08.2012
Eurasian Gondolas - Eurasian Gondolas
WWW
Eurasian Gondolas Eurasian Gondolas connects Europe and Asia, the East and the West through the world’s longest aerial tramway. In a time of permanent global exchange the transnational network connects more than 30 cities and developing areas in b ...
Eurasian Gondolas Eurasian Gondolas connects Europe and Asia, the East and the West through the world’s longest aerial tramway. In a time of permanent global exchange the transnational network connects more than 30 cities and developing areas in b ...
U9696
01.01.1993
Ceinture - Huang Ping Yong
Unbuilt Roads
Ce Projet était fait pour la vitrine (galerie) qui se situe autour de la salle principal et d'un autre côte vers las rues, la piece est un tuyau transparent de 75M longeur, 40 cm diamétre, delans mettre les plus sortes d'insecte = sorpion, lézards, ar ...
Ce Projet était fait pour la vitrine (galerie) qui se situe autour de la salle principal et d'un autre côte vers las rues, la piece est un tuyau transparent de 75M longeur, 40 cm diamétre, delans mettre les plus sortes d'insecte = sorpion, lézards, ar ...
W4144
23.05.2011
Winifred Bendiner-Viani
WWW
The two images attached are part of an ongoing series of 8"X 8" mixed media collages. ...
The two images attached are part of an ongoing series of 8"X 8" mixed media collages. ...
W5081
06.09.2012
Der Todeszug - The LGB Group
WWW
Der Todeszug is a project that envisioned using an entire train as a canvas. Not as a bombed out suburban train, but a civic connection between the seperated Belgrade and Sarajevo, whose train connection was severed for over 18 years due to war and nation ...
Der Todeszug is a project that envisioned using an entire train as a canvas. Not as a bombed out suburban train, but a civic connection between the seperated Belgrade and Sarajevo, whose train connection was severed for over 18 years due to war and nation ...
W4511
25.05.2011
Big Pending Coloured Glass Pipe Organ - Tina Braegger
WWW
Big Pending Coloured Glass Pipe Organ (Unrealized, Mai 2011) (50m x 36m x 18m Pending Coloured Glass Pipe Organ, Uyuni salt desert, Bolivia) What (form): It has long since been an idea of mine to build a big pending pipe organ out of co ...
Big Pending Coloured Glass Pipe Organ (Unrealized, Mai 2011) (50m x 36m x 18m Pending Coloured Glass Pipe Organ, Uyuni salt desert, Bolivia) What (form): It has long since been an idea of mine to build a big pending pipe organ out of co ...
W4265
24.05.2011
Kristin Jones / Andrew Ginzel
WWW
Project for Hypothetical Pond Sonsbeek Arnheim, The Netherlands 1986 ...
Project for Hypothetical Pond Sonsbeek Arnheim, The Netherlands 1986 ...
W4476
25.05.2011
MEGAPHONE: The New Wireless - Elizabeth McTernan
WWW
MEGAPHONE: The New Wireless An extension of my ongoing performance project "The Satellites Are Dust, the Phone Lines Are Down, the Postal Service Is Bankrupt" (a post-apocalyptic romance of sorts), I propose erecting a telephone pole crowned with a gre ...
MEGAPHONE: The New Wireless An extension of my ongoing performance project "The Satellites Are Dust, the Phone Lines Are Down, the Postal Service Is Bankrupt" (a post-apocalyptic romance of sorts), I propose erecting a telephone pole crowned with a gre ...
W3857
19.05.2011
PAPEL PICADO 2009 - Joan Skelton Smith
WWW
In 2009 I began a series of tissue paper cut outs inspired by Mexican Day of the Dead papel picado banners drawing subject matter from news sources. I envision the banners as an ongoing series adding to the historical record. I would like to see them dis ...
In 2009 I began a series of tissue paper cut outs inspired by Mexican Day of the Dead papel picado banners drawing subject matter from news sources. I envision the banners as an ongoing series adding to the historical record. I would like to see them dis ...
W4783
05.06.2011
The Manual  - Najda EL-Amriti
WWW
Title: 3 Years (The Manual) Date: 2009 Medium: Hard bound book In march 2009, the final year of my degree, the point at which important decisions needed to be made as to what to do, where to go and how to do it...I began writing. A reversion back to. ...
Title: 3 Years (The Manual) Date: 2009 Medium: Hard bound book In march 2009, the final year of my degree, the point at which important decisions needed to be made as to what to do, where to go and how to do it...I began writing. A reversion back to. ...
W4290
24.05.2011
Strategia Della Tensione - Faber Lorne
WWW
Strategia Della Tensione By Faber Lorne “Strategia Della Tensione” is plans to be made with plastic fence used on construction site. Once placed in a specific environment, the plastic fence of safety activates the temporary subtraction of ...
Strategia Della Tensione By Faber Lorne “Strategia Della Tensione” is plans to be made with plastic fence used on construction site. Once placed in a specific environment, the plastic fence of safety activates the temporary subtraction of ...
W5127
18.09.2012
Taxonomy of Suspended Ideas - Mariangeles Soto-Diaz
WWW
Taxonomy of Suspended Ideas (Volume 1, 52) by Mariángeles Soto-Díaz (2012) "Taxonomy of Suspended Ideas" is a standalone classification system for ideas whose future will never be. The taxonomy adapts every year to accommodate the exponential growth of ...
Taxonomy of Suspended Ideas (Volume 1, 52) by Mariángeles Soto-Díaz (2012) "Taxonomy of Suspended Ideas" is a standalone classification system for ideas whose future will never be. The taxonomy adapts every year to accommodate the exponential growth of ...
W5293
16.10.2012
Santes Tudful  - Andrew Leicester
WWW
Santes Tudful (Saint Tudful) Landmark for Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, UK Santes Tudful is an embodiment of her place-name Merthy Tydfil overlooking a major highway on the Anglos/Welsh border. Rahter than being remembered and sanctified because of her tragic ...
Santes Tudful (Saint Tudful) Landmark for Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, UK Santes Tudful is an embodiment of her place-name Merthy Tydfil overlooking a major highway on the Anglos/Welsh border. Rahter than being remembered and sanctified because of her tragic ...
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 ...
U9796
28.02.1995
Broadway Musicals - Christian Marclay
Unbuilt Roads
Proposal for a Times Square Business Improvement District Traffic Median Public Art Project Febuary 28th, 1995 Artist: Christian Marclay Title: Broadway Musicals Site: Traffic median between Broadway and Seventh Avenue, from 4 ...
Proposal for a Times Square Business Improvement District Traffic Median Public Art Project Febuary 28th, 1995 Artist: Christian Marclay Title: Broadway Musicals Site: Traffic median between Broadway and Seventh Avenue, from 4 ...
W4720
26.05.2011
Matthew-Robin Nye
WWW
1 – Islington Mill, Manchester. Submitted April 11 2011. Declined May 12 2011 To the Residency Awards Committee at the Islington Mill, Manchester: Thank you for taking the time to review my application for a 4-6 week Artist Residency at the Islingto ...
1 – Islington Mill, Manchester. Submitted April 11 2011. Declined May 12 2011 To the Residency Awards Committee at the Islington Mill, Manchester: Thank you for taking the time to review my application for a 4-6 week Artist Residency at the Islingto ...
W4306
24.05.2011
LOVE IS IN THE AIR - Zilvinas Kempinas + Architect Bettina Zerza
WWW
LOVE IS IN THE AIR Im Jahr 1960 beschrieb Neil Armstrong, der erste Mensch auf dem Mond, aus dem Fenster seines Raumschiffs die Erde als „eine große blaue Murmel“. Ort Die Fluggastbrücke ist ein O ...
LOVE IS IN THE AIR Im Jahr 1960 beschrieb Neil Armstrong, der erste Mensch auf dem Mond, aus dem Fenster seines Raumschiffs die Erde als „eine große blaue Murmel“. Ort Die Fluggastbrücke ist ein O ...
W4465
25.05.2011
ExoMars - Lyn Hagan
WWW
The European Space Agency (ESA) currently runs a space exploration programme called Aurora which includes a planned robotic mission to the surface of Mars. The ExoMars rover will be sent in 2018 to gather and analyse data they receive and includes a nu ...
The European Space Agency (ESA) currently runs a space exploration programme called Aurora which includes a planned robotic mission to the surface of Mars. The ExoMars rover will be sent in 2018 to gather and analyse data they receive and includes a nu ...