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.

The bridge according to Jeong-a's dream - Koo Jeong

Brücke Wein-Kanal Arch. Hermann Czech, Wein - Franz West

Projekt für die Landschaft des Mont-de-Sene (Burgund) im Rahmen eines öffentlichen Auftrags des französischen Kultusministeriums - Markus Raetz

Entwurf für einen erneuerten Malkasten 1992 - 1994 - Ulrike Holthöfer

Financial Times Millennium Bridge Competition - Richard Serra and Frank Gehry

Prima del 73 - Fabio Mauri

den anonymen Tod ausstellen - Gregor Schneider

Grand Concours International D'Architecture  - Sol Lewitt

PROJEKT - Ulrich Rückreim

PROPOSAL FOR SEATTLE ARTS COMMISSION, IN PUBLIC - Chris Burden

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W10252
10.04.2014
Contact - Bastiaan Arler
WWW
In the summer of 1975 a fresh wind blew over the world. At a distance of 225 km, in orbit around the Earth, the USA and the USSR made contact as two spacecraft docked together in a sign of peace. In an instant it lightened the spirit of all of those caugh ...
In the summer of 1975 a fresh wind blew over the world. At a distance of 225 km, in orbit around the Earth, the USA and the USSR made contact as two spacecraft docked together in a sign of peace. In an instant it lightened the spirit of all of those caugh ...
W3980
21.05.2011
Untitled - Sky Fairchild-Waller
WWW
'Untitled' is a photo and text-based work that explores the poetics of a young mother raising a young girl. Meredith admired the speckles of flour that had landed on her apron. The print was floral; violet and pink flower buds, small and slightly fade ...
'Untitled' is a photo and text-based work that explores the poetics of a young mother raising a young girl. Meredith admired the speckles of flour that had landed on her apron. The print was floral; violet and pink flower buds, small and slightly fade ...
W3696
16.05.2011
Man thrown from his environment torned
pick up his mess
rhea his route
rolling in his fate - Alicia Larraín
WWW
The concept of this Art installation is to emphasize the segmentation or boundary as a subtle , ambiguous limit, which divides areas, confining people, separating them in the world they inhabit.  Allowing them to free themselves from their imprisonmen ...
The concept of this Art installation is to emphasize the segmentation or boundary as a subtle , ambiguous limit, which divides areas, confining people, separating them in the world they inhabit.  Allowing them to free themselves from their imprisonmen ...
W3975
21.05.2011
From Cancer to Cosmos - Peter Briggs
WWW
My project forms a link between the subterranean, a rarely explored urban space, and the five principal stars of a particular constellation, Cancer. In a nutshell the idea is to construct an underground network linking five manhole covers, the positions o ...
My project forms a link between the subterranean, a rarely explored urban space, and the five principal stars of a particular constellation, Cancer. In a nutshell the idea is to construct an underground network linking five manhole covers, the positions o ...
W3665
15.05.2011
DENKMAL FUR FREIHEIT UND EINHEIT BERLIN  - Irene Judong
WWW
Die Idee: Die Idee ist ein Park, der für die Bevölkerung zugänglich ist und insbesondere auch für kleine Kinder und Rollstuhlfahrer geeignet ist. Im Zentrum des Parks befinden sich ein Teich und eine Skulptur (vgl. Abbildungen). Das Konzept: “E ...
Die Idee: Die Idee ist ein Park, der für die Bevölkerung zugänglich ist und insbesondere auch für kleine Kinder und Rollstuhlfahrer geeignet ist. Im Zentrum des Parks befinden sich ein Teich und eine Skulptur (vgl. Abbildungen). Das Konzept: “E ...
W4314
24.05.2011
Unfinished Projects - Catarina Alexandra Costa Cubelo Morais
WWW
Unfinished Projects This project is about sound and comunication It is also about the nervous consequences that came with the repetition of the same type of sound, which at first cause a strangeness and annoyance, and then the questioning of the phen ...
Unfinished Projects This project is about sound and comunication It is also about the nervous consequences that came with the repetition of the same type of sound, which at first cause a strangeness and annoyance, and then the questioning of the phen ...
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 ...
U9752
01.01.1997
The bridge according to Jeong-a's dream - Koo Jeong
Unbuilt Roads
round bridge in the middle of the sea to be approached by boat ...
round bridge in the middle of the sea to be approached by boat ...
W3987
21.05.2011
MEMORY CONFETTI  - STEPHEN j SHANABROOK / VERONIKA GEORGIEVA
WWW
The project MEMORY CONFETTI consists of two parts: through various social network sites we will introduce the project and request the public’s time based participation in sending us images that will be turned into 35 mm slides. These slides mixed with n ...
The project MEMORY CONFETTI consists of two parts: through various social network sites we will introduce the project and request the public’s time based participation in sending us images that will be turned into 35 mm slides. These slides mixed with n ...
W3841
19.05.2011
God's ear wax - Janice Perry
WWW
"God's ear wax." Large sculpture for public space. Multiple media. Conceived 2004/2011. Janice Perry. B. 1950. USA. The sculpture is comprised of an extremely large ball of wax (with a very high melting point), 100-500 feet in diameter, dark golden br ...
"God's ear wax." Large sculpture for public space. Multiple media. Conceived 2004/2011. Janice Perry. B. 1950. USA. The sculpture is comprised of an extremely large ball of wax (with a very high melting point), 100-500 feet in diameter, dark golden br ...
W4189
24.05.2011
“What It’s Gonna Take“ - Anne Herzblut
WWW
“What It’s Gonna Take“ An installation about death, time and consumption The initial point fort this installation are thoughts about a very common place: about my own death. The question is: HOW MANY things and HOW MUCH I will need until I die ...
“What It’s Gonna Take“ An installation about death, time and consumption The initial point fort this installation are thoughts about a very common place: about my own death. The question is: HOW MANY things and HOW MUCH I will need until I die ...
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 ...
W4550
25.05.2011
Where Did My Husband Go...?
WWW
Where Did My Husband Go...? This two projection and six single channel video installation, based on a personally written poem entitled the same, presents images of contemporary times but reflects back to the Middle Passage, approximately 1440- 1640’s ...
Where Did My Husband Go...? This two projection and six single channel video installation, based on a personally written poem entitled the same, presents images of contemporary times but reflects back to the Middle Passage, approximately 1440- 1640’s ...
W4518
25.05.2011
Viktor Timofeev
WWW
In this painting I have "created" a triumphal arch constructed out of 13 worker-housing units, stacked precariously and defying the laws of physics. While this village/monument is rendered to appear structurally sound, its context is most certainly utopia ...
In this painting I have "created" a triumphal arch constructed out of 13 worker-housing units, stacked precariously and defying the laws of physics. While this village/monument is rendered to appear structurally sound, its context is most certainly utopia ...
W5456
20.10.2012
“short hi.stories” series - Plamen Yordanov
WWW
waste not art “short hi.stories” series 1995 – ongoing unrealized/unrealizable project intended for installation at the Serpentine Gallery, London (or any other museum that wishes to exhibit the project) by Plamen Yordanov descriptio ...
waste not art “short hi.stories” series 1995 – ongoing unrealized/unrealizable project intended for installation at the Serpentine Gallery, London (or any other museum that wishes to exhibit the project) by Plamen Yordanov descriptio ...
W3912
20.05.2011
"Blue Plaque Portraits" [Working Title] - Jill Chong
WWW
Dear Resident of __________________________________, My name is Jill Chong and I am a second year student of fine art at Goldsmiths College. I am writing to you because I am currently doing a project based on English Heritage’s Blue Plaques scheme. M ...
Dear Resident of __________________________________, My name is Jill Chong and I am a second year student of fine art at Goldsmiths College. I am writing to you because I am currently doing a project based on English Heritage’s Blue Plaques scheme. M ...
W4240
24.05.2011
Josefina Posch
WWW
W4381
25.05.2011
Listening Sign - Jamie Pawlus
WWW
Project: Listening Sign The empty sign structure is rapidly populating the urban and rural horizon across the entire United States. I perceive it as a symbol of an economy, culture, and the human spirit in a state of decline. This structure is more tha ...
Project: Listening Sign The empty sign structure is rapidly populating the urban and rural horizon across the entire United States. I perceive it as a symbol of an economy, culture, and the human spirit in a state of decline. This structure is more tha ...
W4579
25.05.2011
URBAN ENTANGLEMENT - Annita Koutsonanou | Evy Tsolaki | Maria Spaniola
WWW
URBAN ENTANGLEMENT …I thought of a maze of mazes, of a sinuous, ever growing maze which would take in both past and future and would somehow involve the stars [..]. I thought that a man might be an enemy of other men, of the different moment of other ...
URBAN ENTANGLEMENT …I thought of a maze of mazes, of a sinuous, ever growing maze which would take in both past and future and would somehow involve the stars [..]. I thought that a man might be an enemy of other men, of the different moment of other ...
W5175
26.09.2012
Action Office III - Geissler Sann
WWW
Action Office III The first cubicles were designed in 1967 by Robert Propst. The purpose was to give the workers more privacy, to isolate them from sights and noises of an open workspace. Probst consulted for his research mathematicians, behavioral psych ...
Action Office III The first cubicles were designed in 1967 by Robert Propst. The purpose was to give the workers more privacy, to isolate them from sights and noises of an open workspace. Probst consulted for his research mathematicians, behavioral psych ...
W10278
01.01.2010
The Saffron Dome - Gabriella Ciancimino
WWW
“The Saffron Dome” is a project created in 2010 for a sculptural work recalling classical pavilions, made of materials that remind of industrial sheds, surmounted by domes in which it is possible to grow typical aromatic plants of the place where the ...
“The Saffron Dome” is a project created in 2010 for a sculptural work recalling classical pavilions, made of materials that remind of industrial sheds, surmounted by domes in which it is possible to grow typical aromatic plants of the place where the ...
W5152
24.09.2012
Greeting Hand - Ullrich Laentzsch
WWW
The poem is originally dedicated to the 72.8% of citizens of New York City who 2 weeks past 9/11 who two weeks past 9/11 opposed revenge. Later this poem became not only the visual basis for music video like closing scene of a feature film project NO WIND ...
The poem is originally dedicated to the 72.8% of citizens of New York City who 2 weeks past 9/11 who two weeks past 9/11 opposed revenge. Later this poem became not only the visual basis for music video like closing scene of a feature film project NO WIND ...
W5172
26.09.2012
Anca Benera + Arnold Estefan
WWW
We wanted to cut 0,892 cm² of soil from the Serpent Island - former Romanian territory, occupied by USSR in 1948 - a minuscule territory located in the northwestern Black Sea, which belongs now to Ukraine. ...
We wanted to cut 0,892 cm² of soil from the Serpent Island - former Romanian territory, occupied by USSR in 1948 - a minuscule territory located in the northwestern Black Sea, which belongs now to Ukraine. ...
W3570
12.05.2011
Structures of Deceit - Julianna Balogh
WWW
Address to the Art World 2000 "Art has been defined over and over as man's highest spiritual expression, and in one respect superior to religion in that it is the only activity that does not lead to killing; it is in fact the redeemer of an otherwise e ...
Address to the Art World 2000 "Art has been defined over and over as man's highest spiritual expression, and in one respect superior to religion in that it is the only activity that does not lead to killing; it is in fact the redeemer of an otherwise e ...
W3881
19.05.2011
Ned James & the Swifts
WWW
Proposal: Part 1. Use the artists fee to place 1000 £1 bets on the races during St Patrick’s Day. Dressed as the embodiment of St Patrick placing the bets one after another will take all day and create a performance of endurance and intrigue. T ...
Proposal: Part 1. Use the artists fee to place 1000 £1 bets on the races during St Patrick’s Day. Dressed as the embodiment of St Patrick placing the bets one after another will take all day and create a performance of endurance and intrigue. T ...
W4390
25.05.2011
Isabelle Desjeux
WWW
The project was to collect failed projects from scientists. It consisted of me interviewing scientists about anything that hadn't worked or couldn't get published, couldn't get used... I thought I would make a book from each of the scientists' story... ...
The project was to collect failed projects from scientists. It consisted of me interviewing scientists about anything that hadn't worked or couldn't get published, couldn't get used... I thought I would make a book from each of the scientists' story... ...