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.

Eight Days a Week - Joe Scanlan

Tulips for Amsterdam - Isa Genzken

Entwurf für einen erneuerten Malkasten 1992 - 1994 - Ulrike Holthöfer

Making for Art - 100 Unsucceeded Presentation - 1995, 1996,  - Yutaka Sone

Chen H.V.O + G.T. - Bertrand Lavier

MAK - Wien  - Rosemarie Trockel

Uncompleted 1966 - and on  - John Armleder

Attitudine Diplomatica - Hermann Pitz

Relatum (Iron Plate and Stone) - Lee Ufan

The World Record - General Idea

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W4973
24.08.2012
neither hidden nor visible - Jean-Charles Agboton-Jumeau
WWW
neither hidden nor visible project description: My project for the Berlin edition of AUP in collaboration with the Berliner Künstlerprogramm/ DAAD is to "document, display and/or archive" the catalogue titled January 5-31, 2009 with its label.... S ...
neither hidden nor visible project description: My project for the Berlin edition of AUP in collaboration with the Berliner Künstlerprogramm/ DAAD is to "document, display and/or archive" the catalogue titled January 5-31, 2009 with its label.... S ...
W5458
20.10.2012
Jeffrey Millsaps
WWW
My submission calls for a form of weir to be built at the Schuylkill River Environmental Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The structure, which is designed to aerate the water and allow for the deposit of silt, is built in the shape of skyscrapers... ...
My submission calls for a form of weir to be built at the Schuylkill River Environmental Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The structure, which is designed to aerate the water and allow for the deposit of silt, is built in the shape of skyscrapers... ...
W3999
21.05.2011
TASTE ROOM - Jana Leo de blas
WWW
TASTE ROOM JANA LEO 2005 The following is a proposal for the Taste-Room. An eating situation that involves eating and putting people together in unusual settings. A constructed atmosphere for an eating ceremony between two strangers. “Edible pieces ...
TASTE ROOM JANA LEO 2005 The following is a proposal for the Taste-Room. An eating situation that involves eating and putting people together in unusual settings. A constructed atmosphere for an eating ceremony between two strangers. “Edible pieces ...
W3733
18.05.2011
“Veil” - Felippe Moraes
WWW
“Veil” The intervention, in the simulations proposed for “Teatro Colón” in Peru and “Paço das Artes” in São Paulo - Brazil, works by placing 3 fog machines in the top of the specific building. These machines produce smoke that are than c ...
“Veil” The intervention, in the simulations proposed for “Teatro Colón” in Peru and “Paço das Artes” in São Paulo - Brazil, works by placing 3 fog machines in the top of the specific building. These machines produce smoke that are than c ...
W4895
10.08.2012
CayucoTours - Ralph Kistler
WWW
Project Name: CayucoTours Artist: Ralph Kistler Email: check-in@subtours.com Webpage: http://www.subtours.com CayucoTours was a selected project for the 3.Biennale of the Canary Islands that ...
Project Name: CayucoTours Artist: Ralph Kistler Email: check-in@subtours.com Webpage: http://www.subtours.com CayucoTours was a selected project for the 3.Biennale of the Canary Islands that ...
W4467
25.05.2011
ExpErimEnts and obsErvations - hanna husberg
WWW
ExpErimEnts and obsErvations on diffErEnt kinds of air The project introduces a canalization of tubes with inhalers connected to N2O gas tanks at some public spaces as the auditorium of a theatre or a metro train. Experiments and observations on differe ...
ExpErimEnts and obsErvations on diffErEnt kinds of air The project introduces a canalization of tubes with inhalers connected to N2O gas tanks at some public spaces as the auditorium of a theatre or a metro train. Experiments and observations on differe ...
U9303
01.06.1990
PROPOSAL FOR SEATTLE ARTS COMMISSION, IN PUBLIC - Chris Burden
Unbuilt Roads
I propose that a typical working fisherman's boat 30 to 50 feet in length be attached to the side of the new Seattle Art Museum building. The boat's bow would point skyward, it's keel resting along one side of the building . A cable from the roof to the b ...
I propose that a typical working fisherman's boat 30 to 50 feet in length be attached to the side of the new Seattle Art Museum building. The boat's bow would point skyward, it's keel resting along one side of the building . A cable from the roof to the b ...
W4599
25.05.2011
Oh Buck, horse heartbreak - Bethany Fancher
WWW
Oh Buck, horse heartbreak Posted by Bethany Jean at 6/11/2008 11:43 AM Categories: horse travel Well, circumstances don't provide enough time for Buck to feel ok being in a trailer. Karin's job ended early and it is time to go. Buck is staying on the ...
Oh Buck, horse heartbreak Posted by Bethany Jean at 6/11/2008 11:43 AM Categories: horse travel Well, circumstances don't provide enough time for Buck to feel ok being in a trailer. Karin's job ended early and it is time to go. Buck is staying on the ...
W3965
21.05.2011
OKAMOTO Mitsuhiro
WWW
In this case, I mean unaccomplished exhibition period as 'unrealized project'. After the show started, Louis Vuitton has asked KOBE FASHION MUSEUM to stop showing my artwork 'Batta Mon', to stop selling the show catalog and also to remove the show poster ...
In this case, I mean unaccomplished exhibition period as 'unrealized project'. After the show started, Louis Vuitton has asked KOBE FASHION MUSEUM to stop showing my artwork 'Batta Mon', to stop selling the show catalog and also to remove the show poster ...
W5093
11.09.2012
H.U.R.I.M.P.R - Alina Tudor and Razvan Neagoe
WWW
H.U.R.I.M.P.R (part of MOnuMENTS project) MOnuMENTS project starts from the necessity of a reflexion on the deficitary relationship we have with history and recent memory, following a representative piece for the relationship between the political disc ...
H.U.R.I.M.P.R (part of MOnuMENTS project) MOnuMENTS project starts from the necessity of a reflexion on the deficitary relationship we have with history and recent memory, following a representative piece for the relationship between the political disc ...
W5067
05.09.2012
Color Pencil Tree - Dave Rittinger
WWW
Artist and designer Dave Rittinger has developed a proposal for a public art installation entitled 'Color Pencil Tree'. The arboreal sculpture morphs tree branches with the body of the colored drawing tools. The concept is dictated by the usage of exist ...
Artist and designer Dave Rittinger has developed a proposal for a public art installation entitled 'Color Pencil Tree'. The arboreal sculpture morphs tree branches with the body of the colored drawing tools. The concept is dictated by the usage of exist ...
W4792
13.06.2011
No Flag Long Enough - Santiago Pinyol
WWW
NO FLAG LONG ENOUGH Flags are not meant to touch the floor, everybody knows that. Flags are meant to be weaved, to be watched, to preside. The intervention proposed to bring the flags down from their vertical order into the horizontal one, connecti ...
NO FLAG LONG ENOUGH Flags are not meant to touch the floor, everybody knows that. Flags are meant to be weaved, to be watched, to preside. The intervention proposed to bring the flags down from their vertical order into the horizontal one, connecti ...
W3863
19.05.2011
RE:BORN - Chris Twomey
WWW
“RE:BORN” is a futuristic art installation challenging our direction as a species, our choices in our lives, and our genetic choices for a future life and its ramifications. It is an opportunity to participate in a sci-fi art fantasy, perhaps soon to ...
“RE:BORN” is a futuristic art installation challenging our direction as a species, our choices in our lives, and our genetic choices for a future life and its ramifications. It is an opportunity to participate in a sci-fi art fantasy, perhaps soon to ...
W3846
19.05.2011
We Prowl - Jodi Patterson
WWW
"We Prowl" series. Drew idealistic male forms on plastic as inspired by online personal profiles. Titles came from the tag lines used to lure a mate (submitting "Black Cat Hunting 4 Goddess" and "Wealth and Power"). Wealthy and Strong * 32- ...
"We Prowl" series. Drew idealistic male forms on plastic as inspired by online personal profiles. Titles came from the tag lines used to lure a mate (submitting "Black Cat Hunting 4 Goddess" and "Wealth and Power"). Wealthy and Strong * 32- ...
W3495
11.05.2011
Recipes for Disaster - Joy Garnett
WWW
Joy Garnett Recipes for Disaster Real recipes with humorous (dark), brief but informative essays. Cautionary tales, food chain fables. Dorothy Parker meets M.F.K. Fisher's How to Cook a Wolf in a Bruce Sterlingesque post-apocalyptic future. Heston B ...
Joy Garnett Recipes for Disaster Real recipes with humorous (dark), brief but informative essays. Cautionary tales, food chain fables. Dorothy Parker meets M.F.K. Fisher's How to Cook a Wolf in a Bruce Sterlingesque post-apocalyptic future. Heston B ...
W4354
25.05.2011
The Collider - Ivan Isaev, Nikita Spiridonov
WWW
At all times man’s course of life as a whole and spiritual in particular embodies in the art. There was many attempts in the history of art to curb the human essence, to understand the meaning of life, purpose, place in nature finally all human natur ...
At all times man’s course of life as a whole and spiritual in particular embodies in the art. There was many attempts in the history of art to curb the human essence, to understand the meaning of life, purpose, place in nature finally all human natur ...
W4919
16.08.2012
Random Conservatorio - Riccardo Benassi
WWW
Random Conservatorio An old public swimming pool, disused since many years, will re-open today. Instead of being refill with water, the pool is pack with small and colorful toy keyboards. Any splash is a tune, any children a musician. Random Conse ...
Random Conservatorio An old public swimming pool, disused since many years, will re-open today. Instead of being refill with water, the pool is pack with small and colorful toy keyboards. Any splash is a tune, any children a musician. Random Conse ...
W4917
15.08.2012
Oxford Toilet Exchange - Katie Herzog
WWW
Oxford Toilet Exchange My proposed exchange will be facilitated via the swapping of doors in the stalls of the public toilet at the Oxford University Library with stall doors in the Oxford Public Library. Library Toilet as Final Frontier: On Reject ...
Oxford Toilet Exchange My proposed exchange will be facilitated via the swapping of doors in the stalls of the public toilet at the Oxford University Library with stall doors in the Oxford Public Library. Library Toilet as Final Frontier: On Reject ...
W4245
24.05.2011
Frau Fiber
WWW
My lifeʼs work is dedicated to instigating new ways for participants to consider their engagement in the world, their purchasing power, or non-purchasing power. Transforming spaces of relaxation into spaces of physical production. Encouraging Participant ...
My lifeʼs work is dedicated to instigating new ways for participants to consider their engagement in the world, their purchasing power, or non-purchasing power. Transforming spaces of relaxation into spaces of physical production. Encouraging Participant ...
W4120
23.05.2011
Virginia Mastrogiannaki
WWW
The principal idea of the project has its roots on the "cosmogonist" myth of the Cosmic Egg, references of which we find in the history of almost all primitive cultures. We have been asked to research a "cosmogonist" myth and then to carry out a project ...
The principal idea of the project has its roots on the "cosmogonist" myth of the Cosmic Egg, references of which we find in the history of almost all primitive cultures. We have been asked to research a "cosmogonist" myth and then to carry out a project ...
W5060
03.09.2012
Indoor swiming pool competition - Rodrigo Lima Arquitecto
WWW
Indoor swiming pool competition. A water surface, running along a curve shaped hangar, ends in a water fall. The water surface contains 4 swimming pools, each one dedicated to a different type of water activity. (Sports or Play) ...
Indoor swiming pool competition. A water surface, running along a curve shaped hangar, ends in a water fall. The water surface contains 4 swimming pools, each one dedicated to a different type of water activity. (Sports or Play) ...
W3826
19.05.2011
CrossSpot  - Tomasz Domanski
WWW
The work I called CrossSpot is a new project . I will try to place it outdoor in the town (Wroclaw) in the area of so called four temples. In one city district there are situated one synagogue, one orthodox Russian, catholic and protestant churches. ...
The work I called CrossSpot is a new project . I will try to place it outdoor in the town (Wroclaw) in the area of so called four temples. In one city district there are situated one synagogue, one orthodox Russian, catholic and protestant churches. ...
W4889
10.08.2012
Outpost - Ann Messner
WWW
Call me mad. During 2005-7 I built a place within a place in my studio, in effect I occupied the space with a work that came to be titled 'outpost'. I just assumed I would find a public site to temporarily install the work; more specifically an open civic ...
Call me mad. During 2005-7 I built a place within a place in my studio, in effect I occupied the space with a work that came to be titled 'outpost'. I just assumed I would find a public site to temporarily install the work; more specifically an open civic ...
W5350
18.10.2012
Mariano Del Rosario
WWW
An art installation with mirrored tunnels connecting three derelict industrial buildings as transitory laboratory space for art experimentation. A permit to contain, wrap, and occupy three toxic and derelict industrial buildings in Brooklyn, New York, ...
An art installation with mirrored tunnels connecting three derelict industrial buildings as transitory laboratory space for art experimentation. A permit to contain, wrap, and occupy three toxic and derelict industrial buildings in Brooklyn, New York, ...
W3476
11.05.2011
Works of Denisa Lehocká - Denisa Lehocka
WWW
Born 1971 in Trencin, SK, Lives and works in Bratislava, SK Works of Denisa Lehocká association, imagination, intuition, subconscioussness, shape, question-mark, vessel, plate, bowl, container, vase, bin, hoppit, pot, receptacle, utensil, dish, tray, ...
Born 1971 in Trencin, SK, Lives and works in Bratislava, SK Works of Denisa Lehocká association, imagination, intuition, subconscioussness, shape, question-mark, vessel, plate, bowl, container, vase, bin, hoppit, pot, receptacle, utensil, dish, tray, ...
W4166
24.05.2011
heaven and hell box - jonathan paul gillette
WWW
heaven and hell box the heaven and hell box is a three chamber room. the viewer enters the front space through a centered pvc curtain and then chooses to enter the right or left space via two side orientated pvc curtains. the left space is climate cont ...
heaven and hell box the heaven and hell box is a three chamber room. the viewer enters the front space through a centered pvc curtain and then chooses to enter the right or left space via two side orientated pvc curtains. the left space is climate cont ...