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.

2 Architecture Towers - Robert Irwin

Billboard - Jimmie Durham

Proposal for a permanent video installation for the NYC headquarters of Sony Corporation - Dara Birnbaum

Engel-Detektor - Jakob Gautel & Jason Karaïndros

Placid Earth: A Project for the Meeting of Millennia - Cai Guo Quiang

MAK - Wien  - Rosemarie Trockel

Right-of-Privacy Release - Tony Oursler

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

Notebook Page: Home in the Form of a Banana with Garage,  - Claes Oldenburg

Just Before Dawn - David Lamelas

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
#
Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W5124
18.09.2012
Leaching The Grease Out Of A Cheese Pyramid - Michael Arata
WWW
"Leaching The Grease Out Of A Cheese Pyramid" 1991-2012 The project (1991) consisted of ten pounds of white cheddar cheese carved into the shape of a stepped pyramid. The pyramid was placed on a 30 inch stack of newspapers bound together with braide ...
"Leaching The Grease Out Of A Cheese Pyramid" 1991-2012 The project (1991) consisted of ten pounds of white cheddar cheese carved into the shape of a stepped pyramid. The pyramid was placed on a 30 inch stack of newspapers bound together with braide ...
W5499
09.11.2012
CUBICAL PROGRESSION  - Ada Avetist
WWW
Status: This project runs in the spirit of “concrete Utopia”, a project which is yet to be realized. This implies that it might take the duration of my lifetime to realize this work, but has to be realized at some point because I believe in its potent ...
Status: This project runs in the spirit of “concrete Utopia”, a project which is yet to be realized. This implies that it might take the duration of my lifetime to realize this work, but has to be realized at some point because I believe in its potent ...
W4540
25.05.2011
FATHOM - Kristin Jones / Andrew Ginzel
WWW
FATHOM A PROPOSAL FOR UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES BUILDING (BMSB) Gainesville, Florida October 2008 We intend to create a work, Fathom, that is integrated within both the context and architecture of the University of Florida’s new Bi ...
FATHOM A PROPOSAL FOR UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES BUILDING (BMSB) Gainesville, Florida October 2008 We intend to create a work, Fathom, that is integrated within both the context and architecture of the University of Florida’s new Bi ...
W5313
17.10.2012
“The Account” 2011 - Georgina Criddle
WWW
“The Account” 2011, is a detailed sketch and testimony of an unrealised installation project in a gas station in Berlin. The two pieces attempt to suspend the work in a potential space between fiction and reality. ...
“The Account” 2011, is a detailed sketch and testimony of an unrealised installation project in a gas station in Berlin. The two pieces attempt to suspend the work in a potential space between fiction and reality. ...
W5242
09.10.2012
Taking over the sea - Slobodan Stosic
WWW
Slobodan stosic “Taking over the sea” Proposal for land art project This sketch for geopolitical land art project is also a proposal which offers solution for balkan mentality (mostly concerning ex- Yugoslavian countries) which is riven by et ...
Slobodan stosic “Taking over the sea” Proposal for land art project This sketch for geopolitical land art project is also a proposal which offers solution for balkan mentality (mostly concerning ex- Yugoslavian countries) which is riven by et ...
U9578
01.01.1997
Financial Times Millennium Bridge Competition - Richard Serra and Frank Gehry
Unbuilt Roads
Design Intent: The main purpose of a footbridge across the Thames should be more than to transport people most efficiently from point A to point B. We propose, instead, a bridge where sociality becomes the dominant practical purpose, a structure which ...
Design Intent: The main purpose of a footbridge across the Thames should be more than to transport people most efficiently from point A to point B. We propose, instead, a bridge where sociality becomes the dominant practical purpose, a structure which ...
W10632
10.07.2014
It's About Time - Joel Leibowitz
WWW
To present Time without any subjective components other than it's own process and elemental philological descriptors. Two foam modules one comprised of the letters: TI the other ME "TI" - 64 FEET HIGH X 32 FEET WIDE carrying satellite guidance equip ...
To present Time without any subjective components other than it's own process and elemental philological descriptors. Two foam modules one comprised of the letters: TI the other ME "TI" - 64 FEET HIGH X 32 FEET WIDE carrying satellite guidance equip ...
W4483
25.05.2011
Transformation #2 - Samuel Levack and Jennifer Lewandowski
WWW
Transformation #2 2003 Mixed media installation Dimension variable A sculptural installation created as a partial remake of the film 'The Big Blue' (1988). Made up of an assemblage of collected, found and fabricated objects, including hundreds of sh ...
Transformation #2 2003 Mixed media installation Dimension variable A sculptural installation created as a partial remake of the film 'The Big Blue' (1988). Made up of an assemblage of collected, found and fabricated objects, including hundreds of sh ...
W5348
18.10.2012
The house skin project - Rebecca Harris
WWW
The house skin project was intended to explore the transitory and fragile nature of home. Placing lightweight muslin fabric onto the entire side of a windowless brick wall an indexical print would remain. The project got as far as a trial piece, as seen ...
The house skin project was intended to explore the transitory and fragile nature of home. Placing lightweight muslin fabric onto the entire side of a windowless brick wall an indexical print would remain. The project got as far as a trial piece, as seen ...
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. ...
U9557
23.04.1997
Eislandschaft - P. Fischli und D. Weiss
Unbuilt Roads
HEIZKRAFTWERK RÖMERBRUCKE STADTWERKE SAARBROCKEN - KUNSTPROJEKT - Bauherr: Stadtwerke Saarbrücken Projekt 3: "Eislandschaft" Künstler: P. Fischli und D. Weiss, Zürich Architekten: PAS, Jourdan und Müller Lage und Baubeschreibung ...
HEIZKRAFTWERK RÖMERBRUCKE STADTWERKE SAARBROCKEN - KUNSTPROJEKT - Bauherr: Stadtwerke Saarbrücken Projekt 3: "Eislandschaft" Künstler: P. Fischli und D. Weiss, Zürich Architekten: PAS, Jourdan und Müller Lage und Baubeschreibung ...
W4329
24.05.2011
Nicolau Tudela
WWW
This unfinished work was an installation based on the deficiency of the author. The base of the conception was in fact his right arm and it would reflect the, some what, painful and discomfort feelings that the author felt and feels about and with it. The ...
This unfinished work was an installation based on the deficiency of the author. The base of the conception was in fact his right arm and it would reflect the, some what, painful and discomfort feelings that the author felt and feels about and with it. The ...
W10554
04.06.2014
Green Soundscape // Audio collage - Reference to the Arab revolution - Youssef Tabti
WWW
I. Collect recording in North Africa (Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt) The project addresses the idea of Arabic cities landscape from an auditory perspective. I would like to collect a various audio sources on location to recreate a complex and subje ...
I. Collect recording in North Africa (Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt) The project addresses the idea of Arabic cities landscape from an auditory perspective. I would like to collect a various audio sources on location to recreate a complex and subje ...
W4361
25.05.2011
Drapeaux : Symboles d’identité (Flags : Symbols of Identity) - Alfonso Arzapalo
WWW
Drapeaux : Symboles d’identité (Flags : Symbols of Identity) Flag No. 44 From the series: Flags The project was a proposal for the Manif d'Art 2008, in Quebec City whose theme was "la rencontre" (the get together) and was part of the 400 anniv ...
Drapeaux : Symboles d’identité (Flags : Symbols of Identity) Flag No. 44 From the series: Flags The project was a proposal for the Manif d'Art 2008, in Quebec City whose theme was "la rencontre" (the get together) and was part of the 400 anniv ...
W4873
09.08.2012
Forms of Responsibility - Jenny Brown
WWW
Forms of Responsibility • Recent Projects by Jenny Brown Jenny Brown Tied (Melting Ice Sea Creatures), 2006 Video Still Variable Dimensions In early 2005, an elegant gesture of product repatriation was conceived and produced by Jenny Brown as a way of b ...
Forms of Responsibility • Recent Projects by Jenny Brown Jenny Brown Tied (Melting Ice Sea Creatures), 2006 Video Still Variable Dimensions In early 2005, an elegant gesture of product repatriation was conceived and produced by Jenny Brown as a way of b ...
W4936
19.08.2012
Niddah: 14 days - Gabriella Boros
WWW
As I turned 50, my self-image as a female began to change with the changes in my body. As I was approaching menopause, it interested me to understand why there was such a negative approach to female purity in my religion. I began to explore the Judaic pra ...
As I turned 50, my self-image as a female began to change with the changes in my body. As I was approaching menopause, it interested me to understand why there was such a negative approach to female purity in my religion. I began to explore the Judaic pra ...
W3793
18.05.2011
Bathhaus - Guillermo Creus
WWW
This project was originally submitted to De Appel Curatorial Programme and was rejected in its original format (my original idea was to have the project proposal to be the project in itself). Freida Abtan, Peter Dobill and Aïda Ruilova. Curated by ...
This project was originally submitted to De Appel Curatorial Programme and was rejected in its original format (my original idea was to have the project proposal to be the project in itself). Freida Abtan, Peter Dobill and Aïda Ruilova. Curated by ...
W4251
24.05.2011
AFTER TILTED ARC - Kristin Jones / Andrew Ginzel
WWW
KRISTIN JONES / ANDREW GINZEL AFTER TILTED ARC, 1985 Proposal for Alternative to Existing Federal Plaza, Storefront for Art and Architecture, New York City. Dimensions: 55' H x 20' W x 85' D (1676 H x 610 W x 2591 D cm.) Elements: Water ...
KRISTIN JONES / ANDREW GINZEL AFTER TILTED ARC, 1985 Proposal for Alternative to Existing Federal Plaza, Storefront for Art and Architecture, New York City. Dimensions: 55' H x 20' W x 85' D (1676 H x 610 W x 2591 D cm.) Elements: Water ...
W5096
12.09.2012
Kelly Malec-Kosak
WWW
W3728
17.05.2011
Mount of Olives - Felippe Moraes
WWW
The project "Mount of Olives" is constituted by seven scaffolds with different heights, each one with an olive tree in a wooden box with earth inside in the top. The trees must be kept alive by an automatic irrigation system. ...
The project "Mount of Olives" is constituted by seven scaffolds with different heights, each one with an olive tree in a wooden box with earth inside in the top. The trees must be kept alive by an automatic irrigation system. ...
W4630
25.05.2011
Newark Orphan Asylum - Ann LePore
WWW
Newark Orphan Asylum is a proposal for public art at NJIT Alumni Center at 323 Marlin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Newark. In conjunction with Do1thing.org, an organization for homeless youth, and/or Heart Gallery of New Jersey (heartgallerynj.org), an organiz ...
Newark Orphan Asylum is a proposal for public art at NJIT Alumni Center at 323 Marlin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Newark. In conjunction with Do1thing.org, an organization for homeless youth, and/or Heart Gallery of New Jersey (heartgallerynj.org), an organiz ...
W4772
29.05.2011
Unrealized Artist Identity - Katharina Galla
WWW
Unrealized Artist Identity This project is a life. Embodied by a person, who is frequently reckoned to be an artists. "So, you are an artist…", they say. Sometimes, I embrace my unrealized identity. It feels like a factoid, not a li ...
Unrealized Artist Identity This project is a life. Embodied by a person, who is frequently reckoned to be an artists. "So, you are an artist…", they say. Sometimes, I embrace my unrealized identity. It feels like a factoid, not a li ...
W4209
24.05.2011
Monumentti Kutsunta - Will Foster
WWW
Monumentti Kutsunta. Monument Conscription. 2003, Helsinki. Call a draft for individuals to become public Monuments for one hour. The underline concept can be seen in ‘One & Other’ a work later realised by Antony Gormley on the fourth plinth. ...
Monumentti Kutsunta. Monument Conscription. 2003, Helsinki. Call a draft for individuals to become public Monuments for one hour. The underline concept can be seen in ‘One & Other’ a work later realised by Antony Gormley on the fourth plinth. ...
U9898
01.01.1997
PROJEKT - Ulrich Rückreim
Unbuilt Roads
13 Kuben Granit Rosa Porrino, jeweils horizontal und vertikal gespalten jeweils ca. 300 x 200 x 200 cm davon jeweils ca. 90 cm in die Erde eingelassen 120 Bäume jeweils in lOer Gruppen gepflanzt Gesamtareal: 100 x 100 m Dreize ...
13 Kuben Granit Rosa Porrino, jeweils horizontal und vertikal gespalten jeweils ca. 300 x 200 x 200 cm davon jeweils ca. 90 cm in die Erde eingelassen 120 Bäume jeweils in lOer Gruppen gepflanzt Gesamtareal: 100 x 100 m Dreize ...
W3603
13.05.2011
francine LeClercq
WWW
in memoriam of a work not yet done ...
in memoriam of a work not yet done ...
W4285
24.05.2011
Overlords - Tom Estes
WWW
Overlords by Tom Estes Description Overlords was originally conceived as a video installation comprised of images of ‘Time Travel’ projected on to a book called ‘Local History and Antiquities’. The work was deliberately left incomplete. The ph ...
Overlords by Tom Estes Description Overlords was originally conceived as a video installation comprised of images of ‘Time Travel’ projected on to a book called ‘Local History and Antiquities’. The work was deliberately left incomplete. The ph ...