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.

Aguapracasa - Gabriel Orozco

Milan House (AC/DC & Joy Division) - Liam Gillick

Unbetitelt, Gänse-Projekt + Noch unbetitelt , " Durch den Mund sehen " + Kartoffeln  - Carsten Holler

Uncompleted 1966 - and on  - John Armleder

Art and Ourselves: A Proposal for the city of Nordhorn - Allen Rupperssberg

The lmprobable Flow - Larry Bell

Unrealized project for Tate Gallery + ICA, 1969 - Gilbert and George

WATERWORKS - Mona Hatoum

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

Project pour le parc de sculpture de Vassiviére - Paul-Armand Gette

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
#
Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W4615
25.05.2011
Tia-Simone Gardner
WWW
The project that I am working on is a more involved video project, developed out of an installation of stills, that will re-narrate, and re-edit, Ousmane Sembene's 1966 film 'La noire de.' I began the ground work for this project over a year ago while thi ...
The project that I am working on is a more involved video project, developed out of an installation of stills, that will re-narrate, and re-edit, Ousmane Sembene's 1966 film 'La noire de.' I began the ground work for this project over a year ago while thi ...
W3990
21.05.2011
Project for MAXXI Contemporary Art Museum in Roma (arh. Saha Hadid) - sculptor PhD Aili Vahtrapuu, arh. Katrin Koov, disainer Janika Vaesberg
WWW
Project for MAXXI Contemporary Art Museum in Roma (arh. Saha Hadid) Interactive sound and light installation ...
Project for MAXXI Contemporary Art Museum in Roma (arh. Saha Hadid) Interactive sound and light installation ...
W4222
24.05.2011
C’era una volta il West (Spiel mir das Lied vom Tod) - Costa Vece
WWW
C’era una volta il West (Spiel mir das Lied vom Tod) Projekt von Costa Vece, 2005 Künstlerischer Wettbewerb für den Speichervorplatz in Bremen-Vegesack "Man hängt immer zwischen Himmel und Erde und gehört weder hier noch dort hin." E ...
C’era una volta il West (Spiel mir das Lied vom Tod) Projekt von Costa Vece, 2005 Künstlerischer Wettbewerb für den Speichervorplatz in Bremen-Vegesack "Man hängt immer zwischen Himmel und Erde und gehört weder hier noch dort hin." E ...
W5231
08.10.2012
Trespassing - Ole Brodersen
WWW
The series “Trespassing” explores encounters between human and nature. Human-made objects are placed into a landscape, where their interactions with the natural elements are recorded. The photographer harnesses the forces of wind, currents and wave ...
The series “Trespassing” explores encounters between human and nature. Human-made objects are placed into a landscape, where their interactions with the natural elements are recorded. The photographer harnesses the forces of wind, currents and wave ...
W4184
24.05.2011
A POCKET FULL OF EMPTY - amalia caputo
WWW
PROJECT FOR EXHIBITION “A POCKET FULL OF EMPTY” By Amalia Caputo BRIEF DESCRIPTION This exhibition is a solo show, conceived as an interactive installation of variable dimensions that will take over the main area of an exhibition space. It is ...
PROJECT FOR EXHIBITION “A POCKET FULL OF EMPTY” By Amalia Caputo BRIEF DESCRIPTION This exhibition is a solo show, conceived as an interactive installation of variable dimensions that will take over the main area of an exhibition space. It is ...
W4755
27.05.2011
Dreamy - Oona Stern
WWW
dreamy A wall is constructed brick-and-mortar style, but instead of clay or stone, the bricks are made from shrubbery. It is both a wall and a topiary, bringing together architecture and the garden. As typical of hedgerows, it serves to define space, ...
dreamy A wall is constructed brick-and-mortar style, but instead of clay or stone, the bricks are made from shrubbery. It is both a wall and a topiary, bringing together architecture and the garden. As typical of hedgerows, it serves to define space, ...
W5438
20.10.2012
Smuggling Pomegranate Pavilion (SPP) - Mo Abd-Ulla
WWW
It is a multifaceted programme working with and around cultural practice in the Middle East and North Africa. SPP consists of exhibitions, projects, performances, lectures, discussions, and new techniques for mediating the public’s reactions to art and ...
It is a multifaceted programme working with and around cultural practice in the Middle East and North Africa. SPP consists of exhibitions, projects, performances, lectures, discussions, and new techniques for mediating the public’s reactions to art and ...
W3814
19.05.2011
Caitlin Masley
WWW
“…by remembering that cities are more than just habitats or geographical entities. They extend beyond networks of communication, commerce, sociality, or politics. Cities often exist in the form of memories and aspirations, and these cities are no less ...
“…by remembering that cities are more than just habitats or geographical entities. They extend beyond networks of communication, commerce, sociality, or politics. Cities often exist in the form of memories and aspirations, and these cities are no less ...
W4549
25.05.2011
Auto da fe.  - Paul Murnaghan
WWW
Auto da fe. Shortly before the demolition of Sean Tracey House AKA Pallas Heights, the keys to the gallery and studios will be handed over to Paul Murnaghan. Murnaghan has agreed with Pallas Heights’ curators, Mark Cullen and Brian Duggan, that he wil ...
Auto da fe. Shortly before the demolition of Sean Tracey House AKA Pallas Heights, the keys to the gallery and studios will be handed over to Paul Murnaghan. Murnaghan has agreed with Pallas Heights’ curators, Mark Cullen and Brian Duggan, that he wil ...
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 ...
W4020
22.05.2011
Rural pleasure trip / an investigation of sounds - Gisela Weimann
WWW
Gisela Weimann >www.giselaweimann.de< Since the 80s the focal points of my projects are sound installations and experimental music-theatre productions that include artists and theorists from different fields and national descend. Gisela Weimann ...
Gisela Weimann >www.giselaweimann.de< Since the 80s the focal points of my projects are sound installations and experimental music-theatre productions that include artists and theorists from different fields and national descend. Gisela Weimann ...
W4154
23.05.2011
Talk to the Other Side - KOLEKTIVA
WWW
Talk to the Other Side Unrealized project in public space by KOLEKTIVA (Vesna Bukovec, Lada Cerar, Metka Zupanič) The idea for the project was developed during the Editing residency in Gorizia at the border between Italy and Slovenia. The initial ...
Talk to the Other Side Unrealized project in public space by KOLEKTIVA (Vesna Bukovec, Lada Cerar, Metka Zupanič) The idea for the project was developed during the Editing residency in Gorizia at the border between Italy and Slovenia. The initial ...
W3624
14.05.2011
Steve Rosenthal
WWW
Unrealized project from March 2008. The proposal was made to Acantia Health and Beauty Ltd, seeking sponsorship in the form of 6000 bars of Coal Tar Soap to realize the construction of a 'Yellow Brick Road' for my final degree show. Please see text (i ...
Unrealized project from March 2008. The proposal was made to Acantia Health and Beauty Ltd, seeking sponsorship in the form of 6000 bars of Coal Tar Soap to realize the construction of a 'Yellow Brick Road' for my final degree show. Please see text (i ...
W4730
26.05.2011
Nosferatu in Shadowform - Jade Juliana Boyd
WWW
Jade Boyd ‘Nosferatu in Shadowform’ In 2006 I came to the idea of creating a holographic projection, a looping figure of Nosferatu, after researching into the use of the supernatural in the landscape in film, and the ephemerality of the film mediu ...
Jade Boyd ‘Nosferatu in Shadowform’ In 2006 I came to the idea of creating a holographic projection, a looping figure of Nosferatu, after researching into the use of the supernatural in the landscape in film, and the ephemerality of the film mediu ...
W4670
26.05.2011
Translating Missed Time  - April Lamm and Franz Stauffenberg
WWW
Translating Missed Time In Rococo England, 1751, the British usurped its citizens of 11 days. That is, September 3 became September 14th with the wave of a parliamentary wand. Riots ensued, placards were held high in the streets proclaiming “Give u ...
Translating Missed Time In Rococo England, 1751, the British usurped its citizens of 11 days. That is, September 3 became September 14th with the wave of a parliamentary wand. Riots ensued, placards were held high in the streets proclaiming “Give u ...
W3587
13.05.2011
Christopher Otto
WWW
In 2001, when I was 23, I attempted to make a computer art program which would dial each entry in Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus as a phone number and speak the line to whomever picked up. I was accepted to present it at a few events, but w ...
In 2001, when I was 23, I attempted to make a computer art program which would dial each entry in Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus as a phone number and speak the line to whomever picked up. I was accepted to present it at a few events, but w ...
W4105
23.05.2011
Dazzle Study #10 an onwards     - Håvard Pedersen
WWW
Dazzle Study #10 an onwards were to be a series of abstract artwork, both site specific work and as individual sculptures, based on the theory of Dazzle Camouflage. The camouflage, credited to the English painter Norman Wilkinson, where first used during ...
Dazzle Study #10 an onwards were to be a series of abstract artwork, both site specific work and as individual sculptures, based on the theory of Dazzle Camouflage. The camouflage, credited to the English painter Norman Wilkinson, where first used during ...
W5233
08.10.2012
Surface Enlightenment - Bill Vielehr
WWW
Titled "Surface Enlightenment," this piece consists of two wall reliefs, each of which is 4' high x 30' long x 4" deep. They are made of cast & fabricated aluminum with highly reflective textured surfaces. Bill Vielehr PO Box 19734 Boulder, CO 80308-27 ...
Titled "Surface Enlightenment," this piece consists of two wall reliefs, each of which is 4' high x 30' long x 4" deep. They are made of cast & fabricated aluminum with highly reflective textured surfaces. Bill Vielehr PO Box 19734 Boulder, CO 80308-27 ...
W4244
24.05.2011
Hophornbeam Hill - McKendree Key
WWW
Hophornbeam Hill From August 2nd - September 3rd, 2009, I lived in the woods in Vermont on a hillside known locally as Hophornbeam Hill. ...
Hophornbeam Hill From August 2nd - September 3rd, 2009, I lived in the woods in Vermont on a hillside known locally as Hophornbeam Hill. ...
W4529
25.05.2011
Jaime Szczepanski
WWW
In 2006, I initiated a serial photographic project of static, frontal shots of closed storefronts in Paris, along with videos of storekeepers closing their shops. The material was to be amassed and combined in a stroboscopic video montage, tentatively tit ...
In 2006, I initiated a serial photographic project of static, frontal shots of closed storefronts in Paris, along with videos of storekeepers closing their shops. The material was to be amassed and combined in a stroboscopic video montage, tentatively tit ...
W3644
15.05.2011
Lucie Chan
WWW
I sometimes go to a library and spend an hour there finding certain books to leave cut out scraps of my old drawings, parts that I really like, s gifts. These drawings are small with short texts on them that are taken from books I own. ...
I sometimes go to a library and spend an hour there finding certain books to leave cut out scraps of my old drawings, parts that I really like, s gifts. These drawings are small with short texts on them that are taken from books I own. ...
W4816
07.08.2012
Photographs of Common Objects - Bradley Olson
WWW
For the series of black and white still life’s, Photographs of Common Objects, I used a 4” x 5” view camera to capture in fine detail, the form and surface of relics from daily life. Among them - adding machines, ceramic, glass, and plastic cups, ki ...
For the series of black and white still life’s, Photographs of Common Objects, I used a 4” x 5” view camera to capture in fine detail, the form and surface of relics from daily life. Among them - adding machines, ceramic, glass, and plastic cups, ki ...
W5214
06.10.2012
Pentahedrices - Stephen Da Lay
WWW
Stephen M. Da Lay has met the requirements for the Marjorie Schiele Prize. He received his BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute in 1989, and his work has been shown nationally and internationally. Stephen’s work has been exhibited at 2nd Penang I ...
Stephen M. Da Lay has met the requirements for the Marjorie Schiele Prize. He received his BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute in 1989, and his work has been shown nationally and internationally. Stephen’s work has been exhibited at 2nd Penang I ...
W5134
19.09.2012
Full Tr, Full Rf : The body posthuman, vol.1  - Mustafa Kemal Yurttas
WWW
The project proposal “Full Tr, Full Rf : The body posthuman, vol.1” highlightens the key concepts of identity, desire, simulation, cyborg through the materiality and immateriality of transformation, transition, transparency, transposition, trace a ...
The project proposal “Full Tr, Full Rf : The body posthuman, vol.1” highlightens the key concepts of identity, desire, simulation, cyborg through the materiality and immateriality of transformation, transition, transparency, transposition, trace a ...
U9701
01.01.1994
Festival du film de famille - Pierre Huyghe
Unbuilt Roads
Le Festival du film de famille est un événement qui séted sur 3 jours, c'est le pant de dipart d'une dénie partagée qui peut se répéter sur plusieurs [arnisé?]. Une communanté affactive [illisible] son [basan?] d'histories par sa propre producti ...
Le Festival du film de famille est un événement qui séted sur 3 jours, c'est le pant de dipart d'une dénie partagée qui peut se répéter sur plusieurs [arnisé?]. Une communanté affactive [illisible] son [basan?] d'histories par sa propre producti ...
W4576
25.05.2011
UNREALIZED PROJECT PROPOSAL - Jud Yalkut
WWW
UNREALIZED PROJECT PROPOSAL JUD YALKUT “End (Less) Loops: was a proposal offered in response to an invitation to the “Perform/Create CPT’s Earth Day/ Chernobyl/Commemoration” t the Cleveland Public Theatre in Ohio for April 25-25, 1992at a s ...
UNREALIZED PROJECT PROPOSAL JUD YALKUT “End (Less) Loops: was a proposal offered in response to an invitation to the “Perform/Create CPT’s Earth Day/ Chernobyl/Commemoration” t the Cleveland Public Theatre in Ohio for April 25-25, 1992at a s ...