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.

Square Depression - Bruce Nauman

2 Architecture Towers - Robert Irwin

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

Tulips for Amsterdam - Isa Genzken

Broadway Musicals - Christian Marclay

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

Eight Days a Week - Joe Scanlan

Merci, Thank you, Danke: Les 2 sujets  - Thomas Hirschorn

Project for the Initiative Mahnmal Homosexuellenverfolgung, Frankfurt  - Jeff Wall

Chen H.V.O + G.T. - Bertrand Lavier

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W4230
24.05.2011
Monument for bridges. - Dico Kruijsse
WWW
Monument for bridges. Visuals of a monumental sculpture to be made out of the remains of two countryside bridges. A road of about 20 kilometres long was rebuild. Therefore as much as 50 bridges accessing the farmlands where taken apart and demolished. ...
Monument for bridges. Visuals of a monumental sculpture to be made out of the remains of two countryside bridges. A road of about 20 kilometres long was rebuild. Therefore as much as 50 bridges accessing the farmlands where taken apart and demolished. ...
W5165
25.09.2012
A Patent Application For An Artificial Imagination - Peter Stott
WWW
A description of a method for computers to create an artificial imagination of a 3D world for typography and any other 2D shape or any conglomeration of 2D shapes, incorporating 3D meshes for the creation of architectonic visions, including animated visio ...
A description of a method for computers to create an artificial imagination of a 3D world for typography and any other 2D shape or any conglomeration of 2D shapes, incorporating 3D meshes for the creation of architectonic visions, including animated visio ...
W4140
23.05.2011
Projections on Paintings - Rebecca Sherman
WWW
Projections on Paintings displays a dialogue between moving and still images to generate unpredictable visuals in real time. It includes several large-scale mix media paintings of architectural constructions that extend into a scaffolding installation o ...
Projections on Paintings displays a dialogue between moving and still images to generate unpredictable visuals in real time. It includes several large-scale mix media paintings of architectural constructions that extend into a scaffolding installation o ...
W5200
03.10.2012
The plan of scientific work « Russian branch Mecklenburg - Strelitz family. Russia - Germany. Sight of the artist of XXI century. » - Yuri Wassiliew
WWW
Wassiliew J.A., dozent of drawing department in A.I.Gertzen Russian State Pedagogical University, Sankt Petersburg, Russia. The plan of scientific work « Russian branch Mecklenburg - Strelitz family. Russia - Germany. Sight of the art ...
Wassiliew J.A., dozent of drawing department in A.I.Gertzen Russian State Pedagogical University, Sankt Petersburg, Russia. The plan of scientific work « Russian branch Mecklenburg - Strelitz family. Russia - Germany. Sight of the art ...
W4903
13.08.2012
Round Table - Raoul Marek
WWW
The “freedom and democracy monument” is designed in the shape of an oversized transparent round table: People make use of the elements of that round table by their presence and help bring life into it.The round table is the symbol of the democratic id ...
The “freedom and democracy monument” is designed in the shape of an oversized transparent round table: People make use of the elements of that round table by their presence and help bring life into it.The round table is the symbol of the democratic id ...
W4351
24.05.2011
R118 G223 B209 - Walter Benjamin Smith
WWW
Walter Benjamin Smith, R118 G223 B209, 2010- 2035, 40” x 68”, enamel on panel R118 G223 B209 is a billboard-like panel that color matches, at full saturation, the scaffolding surrounding the Manhattanville demolition site. This color has multi ...
Walter Benjamin Smith, R118 G223 B209, 2010- 2035, 40” x 68”, enamel on panel R118 G223 B209 is a billboard-like panel that color matches, at full saturation, the scaffolding surrounding the Manhattanville demolition site. This color has multi ...
W5009
30.08.2012
Structure for Formal and Material Imagination - Scott Massey
WWW
Structure for Formal and Material Imagination Travel to another dimension has long held our fascination. From Alice’s tentative leap down the rabbit hole, Wade Davis’ experients with the world’s psychotropic flora, or teleporting from the bridg ...
Structure for Formal and Material Imagination Travel to another dimension has long held our fascination. From Alice’s tentative leap down the rabbit hole, Wade Davis’ experients with the world’s psychotropic flora, or teleporting from the bridg ...
W3661
15.05.2011
Efrat Kedem
WWW
Project description All over the world there are bus stops, They serves us as buildings for a fleeting moment, a man passes them and wait some time before the bus arrives, then, continues on his way, We stand or sit in stations for a few minutes, some ...
Project description All over the world there are bus stops, They serves us as buildings for a fleeting moment, a man passes them and wait some time before the bus arrives, then, continues on his way, We stand or sit in stations for a few minutes, some ...
W3797
18.05.2011
Kerry Stuart Coppin
WWW
An unrealized project, submitted to the Agency of Unrealized Projects (AUP), May 18, 20011: PHOTOGRAPHIC DOCUMENTATION OF THE STONE CIRCLES OF SENEGAL AND THE GAMBIA ...
An unrealized project, submitted to the Agency of Unrealized Projects (AUP), May 18, 20011: PHOTOGRAPHIC DOCUMENTATION OF THE STONE CIRCLES OF SENEGAL AND THE GAMBIA ...
W3518
11.05.2011
Stairway to Heaven - Alex Murdin
WWW
Stairway to Heaven Sometime in the 1800's steps were cut into it on Haytor, a rocky belvedere on Dartmoor in Devon, and an iron handrail was erected alongside. A Doctor Coker, a visitor in 1851, noted the "...stair step to enable the enervated and ping ...
Stairway to Heaven Sometime in the 1800's steps were cut into it on Haytor, a rocky belvedere on Dartmoor in Devon, and an iron handrail was erected alongside. A Doctor Coker, a visitor in 1851, noted the "...stair step to enable the enervated and ping ...
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 ...
W4299
24.05.2011
Polished Concrete (the dissolution of the work into its reflected conditions) - Ian Skedd
WWW
Polished Concrete (the dissolution of the work into its reflected conditions) • Prior to the opening of an exhibition, the concrete floor of a gallery space will be treated with a chemical densifier and sanded with progressively finer grinding tool ...
Polished Concrete (the dissolution of the work into its reflected conditions) • Prior to the opening of an exhibition, the concrete floor of a gallery space will be treated with a chemical densifier and sanded with progressively finer grinding tool ...
W5065
04.09.2012
The Canon - Stephanie Radok
WWW
The unrealised project is called 'The canon'. The unrealised project is called 'The canon'. It involves casting 1,001 books representing the canon of Western literature. A list of the books, the rejected works and the reasons for the choices made form ...
The unrealised project is called 'The canon'. The unrealised project is called 'The canon'. It involves casting 1,001 books representing the canon of Western literature. A list of the books, the rejected works and the reasons for the choices made form ...
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 ...
W4024
22.05.2011
'Theatre Pieces' (2006) - Celine Condorelli
WWW
I am sending you one of my favourite projects of all times, that didn't get made, didn't happen in the way it was intended, and was a total failure in the shape that it did happen. ...
I am sending you one of my favourite projects of all times, that didn't get made, didn't happen in the way it was intended, and was a total failure in the shape that it did happen. ...
W4715
26.05.2011
Annan Shehadi
WWW
This project is a way of mapping a home I have never been to from the outside. It is about the outside world not recognizing my identity as a Palestinian, or my people's right to their homeland. In that sense, it is unrealized. 31°53’20.24”N, 35° ...
This project is a way of mapping a home I have never been to from the outside. It is about the outside world not recognizing my identity as a Palestinian, or my people's right to their homeland. In that sense, it is unrealized. 31°53’20.24”N, 35° ...
W5048
03.09.2012
Unrealized Poster - Robert Linsley
WWW
Unrealized project for a poster, circa 2002. FORWARD UNDER THE BANNER OF THE EXECUTIVE DAEMON! ALL POWER TO THE OTHER DAEMONS! EAST VAN RULES! ...
Unrealized project for a poster, circa 2002. FORWARD UNDER THE BANNER OF THE EXECUTIVE DAEMON! ALL POWER TO THE OTHER DAEMONS! EAST VAN RULES! ...
W4158
23.05.2011
CODE NAME: HELTER SKELTER - simon tyszko
WWW
CODE NAME: HELTER SKELTER In this project, code named Helter Skelter, I wish to create a series of unique sonic compositions to be performed and played upon (using various sensors, mikes, radio signals, selected instruments and the specific resonant ...
CODE NAME: HELTER SKELTER In this project, code named Helter Skelter, I wish to create a series of unique sonic compositions to be performed and played upon (using various sensors, mikes, radio signals, selected instruments and the specific resonant ...
W4596
25.05.2011
Tulipa Feteo - Derek Curry
WWW
Tulipa Feteo is a work that I hope will eventually result in a new breed of tulip. I have been searching for genetic biologists to collaborate with to cross the genetics of a carrion flower with those of a tulip to create a tulip that will smell like rot ...
Tulipa Feteo is a work that I hope will eventually result in a new breed of tulip. I have been searching for genetic biologists to collaborate with to cross the genetics of a carrion flower with those of a tulip to create a tulip that will smell like rot ...
W4313
24.05.2011
Unreal cities  - Emilio Said (Mexico City)
WWW
Emilio Said Unreal cities Informal architecture zone The diverse social dynamics that gather in the public field generate mechanic interactions to shape bonds between the city and who transit in it. By this way, Said´s work is integrated in ...
Emilio Said Unreal cities Informal architecture zone The diverse social dynamics that gather in the public field generate mechanic interactions to shape bonds between the city and who transit in it. By this way, Said´s work is integrated in ...
W10583
18.06.2014
Downriver - Jonathan Parsons
WWW
proposal for the 2010 Spitalfields Sculpture Prize Downriver further develops my established practice of making ‘dissected’ map sculptures. Previously, I have taken actual source maps and cut away everything from them except one particular visual e ...
proposal for the 2010 Spitalfields Sculpture Prize Downriver further develops my established practice of making ‘dissected’ map sculptures. Previously, I have taken actual source maps and cut away everything from them except one particular visual e ...
W5057
03.09.2012
Sheltered Apartments in Buztintxuri  - Taller Basico de Arquitectura [TBA]
WWW
Sheltered Apartments in Buztintxuri (2009) We understand the site as an opportunity to inhabit a space that ends in a dividing wall, and so, an uncompleted space. From this wall, we build a bone that links the existing buildings with the new project an ...
Sheltered Apartments in Buztintxuri (2009) We understand the site as an opportunity to inhabit a space that ends in a dividing wall, and so, an uncompleted space. From this wall, we build a bone that links the existing buildings with the new project an ...
W3691
16.05.2011
Rolf Hinterecker
WWW
The train will be fixed in a steal frame construction Most of the complex construction is placed under the water surface. Counterbalances in the cube are needed for the balance. Several boom supports floating short above the ground will protect an overset ...
The train will be fixed in a steal frame construction Most of the complex construction is placed under the water surface. Counterbalances in the cube are needed for the balance. Several boom supports floating short above the ground will protect an overset ...
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 ...
U9973
23.01.1993
Brücke Wein-Kanal Arch. Hermann Czech, Wein - Franz West
Unbuilt Roads
Denen, die in dieselben Flüsse steigen, fließen immer neue Wasser zu , und (immer neue) Seelen entsteigen der Feuchtigkeit. Heraklit, Fragment 12[1] Linkes Brückenauflager Ansicht Nordwest M 1:33 ...
Denen, die in dieselben Flüsse steigen, fließen immer neue Wasser zu , und (immer neue) Seelen entsteigen der Feuchtigkeit. Heraklit, Fragment 12[1] Linkes Brückenauflager Ansicht Nordwest M 1:33 ...
W3678
15.05.2011
The Bardo Board Game Project - barbara russell
WWW
I have revisited “The Bardo Board Game Project” with great excitement and joy thanks to you! I share an exciting temporary art installation that can benefit families whose children face day-to-day life decision challenges that take them away from a c ...
I have revisited “The Bardo Board Game Project” with great excitement and joy thanks to you! I share an exciting temporary art installation that can benefit families whose children face day-to-day life decision challenges that take them away from a c ...