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.

d'un projet dédié aux victimes de la Shoah. - Christian Boltanski

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

NON REALIZED PROJECTS - Christo and Jeanne-Claude

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

Double Exposure 1995-6  - Dan Graham

PROJECT FOR A COMMUNITY CENTER, AVENUE DES NARCISSES, CHENOVE - Vito Acconci

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

Entwurf für einen erneuerten Malkasten 1992 - 1994 - Ulrike Holthöfer

Chen H.V.O + G.T. - Bertrand Lavier

Why New Worlds Conceived by Artists Do Not Get Built - Peter Fend

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W3526
11.05.2011
T h e S o l a r E n e r g y F i e l d - Michael Jantzen
WWW
T h e S o l a r E n e r g y F i e l d Michael Jantzen © 2010 www.michaeljantzen.com ​My design inspiration for this alternative energy producing sculpture in the desert, comes from a conceptual symbolic representation of the micro energe ...
T h e S o l a r E n e r g y F i e l d Michael Jantzen © 2010 www.michaeljantzen.com ​My design inspiration for this alternative energy producing sculpture in the desert, comes from a conceptual symbolic representation of the micro energe ...
W4590
25.05.2011
Feniksi - Feniksi
WWW
From: Feniksi Re: The Artist’s Heart for Art-Historians, Curators and Art-Critics A Quitting Proposal This proposal has derived from a fond desire to quit being an artist. It has been for some time ...
From: Feniksi Re: The Artist’s Heart for Art-Historians, Curators and Art-Critics A Quitting Proposal This proposal has derived from a fond desire to quit being an artist. It has been for some time ...
W4553
25.05.2011
Roc Parés
WWW
Self-disassembling Robot: Designing and building a robot which consists of the parts, functions and behaviors strictly necessary to develop its only task: self-disassembly. After its one-and-only performance, this robot will stop working (being) as a cons ...
Self-disassembling Robot: Designing and building a robot which consists of the parts, functions and behaviors strictly necessary to develop its only task: self-disassembly. After its one-and-only performance, this robot will stop working (being) as a cons ...
W5754
21.05.2013
Like birds on the water - Laura Carthew
WWW
Laura Carthew Like birds on the water, Propositional Photo montage of a performance. 2011 This piece was going to be a continuation of my ‘Living Memorial’ project (2011), which involved people acting as objects within memorial forms. I wanted ...
Laura Carthew Like birds on the water, Propositional Photo montage of a performance. 2011 This piece was going to be a continuation of my ‘Living Memorial’ project (2011), which involved people acting as objects within memorial forms. I wanted ...
W4365
25.05.2011
THE KRACK PROJECT - Travis Wyche
WWW
THE KRACK PROJECT by DI VOZZO S.A.S The < Krack project > is a public art installation ( 220 s.m) which was conceived to compete with the Imperialist system on the production processes of realities. I designed this project so as to mobilize the ...
THE KRACK PROJECT by DI VOZZO S.A.S The < Krack project > is a public art installation ( 220 s.m) which was conceived to compete with the Imperialist system on the production processes of realities. I designed this project so as to mobilize the ...
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 ...
W3682
16.05.2011
Nick Crowe and Ian Rawlinson
WWW
Two Barges is a proposal for a pair of illuminated signs to be ferried around the island of Manhattan using the Hudson, Harlem and East Rivers.   The signs will be made from panels of tungsten lightbulbs fixed to a supporting metal rig.   The letters wi ...
Two Barges is a proposal for a pair of illuminated signs to be ferried around the island of Manhattan using the Hudson, Harlem and East Rivers.   The signs will be made from panels of tungsten lightbulbs fixed to a supporting metal rig.   The letters wi ...
W4194
24.05.2011
Fleury Jean Damien
WWW
Rotation terrestre avec différentiel / projet d'harmonisation par réglage des écoulements temporels ...
Rotation terrestre avec différentiel / projet d'harmonisation par réglage des écoulements temporels ...
W4255
24.05.2011
BLOCHER SYLVIE
WWW
Project prizewinner of the competition of the RATP (PARIS PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTEM / Metro) in bets for the year 2000. (The competition was in 1998) The project consisted of an installation in the station « Concorde » Line1 in Paris. Conditions of ...
Project prizewinner of the competition of the RATP (PARIS PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTEM / Metro) in bets for the year 2000. (The competition was in 1998) The project consisted of an installation in the station « Concorde » Line1 in Paris. Conditions of ...
W4190
24.05.2011
ZhangLu
WWW
The political speech in China, most of speaker are speaked with unacceptable slow tunes. And clapping of the time may longer than a sentence. This project is consists of tow parts, a book and an online game. The book is about how to made the handclap in d ...
The political speech in China, most of speaker are speaked with unacceptable slow tunes. And clapping of the time may longer than a sentence. This project is consists of tow parts, a book and an online game. The book is about how to made the handclap in d ...
U9543
01.01.1974
Aus: Katalog 'Kunst bleibt Kunst' - Hans Peter Feldman
Unbuilt Roads
Während der Ausstellung sollten in drei Kölner Tageszeitungen in jeweils drei Ausgaben ein bis zwei Bilder erscheinen. Diese Bilder sollten an beliebiger Stelle des redaktionellen Teils stehen und keinerlei Beziehungen zu sie umgebenden Texten oder ande ...
Während der Ausstellung sollten in drei Kölner Tageszeitungen in jeweils drei Ausgaben ein bis zwei Bilder erscheinen. Diese Bilder sollten an beliebiger Stelle des redaktionellen Teils stehen und keinerlei Beziehungen zu sie umgebenden Texten oder ande ...
W4076
23.05.2011
Reuniting ‘Between You & I - Sara Brannan
WWW
In 2007 Anthony McCall produced a limited edition number of prints (150) to coincide with his exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery in London. What I’d like to do in this work is try to reunite as many as possible of the prints to be exhibited togethe ...
In 2007 Anthony McCall produced a limited edition number of prints (150) to coincide with his exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery in London. What I’d like to do in this work is try to reunite as many as possible of the prints to be exhibited togethe ...
W5444
20.10.2012
The Ghost Room - Veronika Gorelik
WWW
27 crates 6 tones of amber--13000 pounds 10 years to construct baroque music-bach It is around 8 evening--precisely when all black tie art and social events start around a metropolitan city. Not unlike any of these type of events -many people gather ...
27 crates 6 tones of amber--13000 pounds 10 years to construct baroque music-bach It is around 8 evening--precisely when all black tie art and social events start around a metropolitan city. Not unlike any of these type of events -many people gather ...
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 ...
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° ...
W3520
11.05.2011
Steingrimur Eyfjord
WWW
These ideas are from a project I am working on which has the working title “KELLINGIN“ and is a collection of ideas, text and images. ...
These ideas are from a project I am working on which has the working title “KELLINGIN“ and is a collection of ideas, text and images. ...
W4193
24.05.2011
Matthew Mitchell
WWW
1992-93 unrealized site specific installation of a New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority map into a New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority subway train car. ...
1992-93 unrealized site specific installation of a New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority map into a New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority subway train car. ...
W3865
19.05.2011
23rd Street Station MTA PROPOSAL 5-5-00 - Chris Twomey
WWW
The concept for this proposal evolved from my own experience riding the subway line last year when I had to travel with my infant. I would board the train at rush hour with her sleeping snugly positioned in my body. Then, I noticed the harried and tired ...
The concept for this proposal evolved from my own experience riding the subway line last year when I had to travel with my infant. I would board the train at rush hour with her sleeping snugly positioned in my body. Then, I noticed the harried and tired ...
W3610
13.05.2011
Click An inverted press conference.  - Tina Willgren
WWW
From the opposing sides of a conference room, two groups of press photographers, videographers and sound technicians (20-40 persons in all) enter. Their aim is to document the movements, poses, sounds and facial expressions of the other group, as well as ...
From the opposing sides of a conference room, two groups of press photographers, videographers and sound technicians (20-40 persons in all) enter. Their aim is to document the movements, poses, sounds and facial expressions of the other group, as well as ...
W4427
25.05.2011
THE AUDIENCE IS DEAD  - fabienne audeoud
WWW
THE AUDIENCE IS DEAD Fabienne Audéoud In 2000, I was living in London when my partner went mad. I fully realized it the night he obsessively asked me if I understood that millions of people were dying in Africa. I had replied that I couldn’t, I jus ...
THE AUDIENCE IS DEAD Fabienne Audéoud In 2000, I was living in London when my partner went mad. I fully realized it the night he obsessively asked me if I understood that millions of people were dying in Africa. I had replied that I couldn’t, I jus ...
W4726
26.05.2011
The Centralizer - Scott Richardson
WWW
The Centralizer The inspiration for this device came about to address the plight of the city-dweller trapped in a densely populated urban environment, who needed to decompress, ground themselves, and/or get in touch with nature and natural rhythms, a ...
The Centralizer The inspiration for this device came about to address the plight of the city-dweller trapped in a densely populated urban environment, who needed to decompress, ground themselves, and/or get in touch with nature and natural rhythms, a ...
W3895
20.05.2011
Editorial Sculpture: Divina Commedia  - Javier Toro Blum
WWW
The Divina Commedia triptych is a sculpture project, consisting in three ovoid metal cast pieces. Each piece has engraved in low relief (1.5mm) one part of the Dante Alighieri's Divina Commedia: Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso. With a 2.5mm typography ev ...
The Divina Commedia triptych is a sculpture project, consisting in three ovoid metal cast pieces. Each piece has engraved in low relief (1.5mm) one part of the Dante Alighieri's Divina Commedia: Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso. With a 2.5mm typography ev ...
W5129
19.09.2012
SFAI Project Proposal - Leo Morrissey
WWW
SFAI Project Proposal. (2012) The project will entail spending one day walking throughout various neighborhoods in San Francisco. Through out the day I will digitally document various manhole covers, utility covers, water meter covers, etc…. ...
SFAI Project Proposal. (2012) The project will entail spending one day walking throughout various neighborhoods in San Francisco. Through out the day I will digitally document various manhole covers, utility covers, water meter covers, etc…. ...
W5286
16.10.2012
Cove - Jerry Monteith
WWW
Cove Cove is a site work that would be made of earth, concrete and aluminum. The bulk of the mass is earth, which would be compacted and finished with a layer of topsoil. The curved wall, two orange vertical panels and the cone would all need to have s ...
Cove Cove is a site work that would be made of earth, concrete and aluminum. The bulk of the mass is earth, which would be compacted and finished with a layer of topsoil. The curved wall, two orange vertical panels and the cone would all need to have s ...
W3821
19.05.2011
Thanatopolis / Solace grove - Rebecca Keller
WWW
This was a proposal for a project called "Thanatopolis" --asking for outdoor works that explored the rituals of interment and memorialization. (This proposal was for an outdoor art environment that was also a place of memory) Imagine walking though ...
This was a proposal for a project called "Thanatopolis" --asking for outdoor works that explored the rituals of interment and memorialization. (This proposal was for an outdoor art environment that was also a place of memory) Imagine walking though ...
W10481
28.04.2014
The Geese of Feliferhof - Esther Shalev-Gerz with Jochen Gerz
WWW
Graz, Austria In 1996, Esther Shalev-Gerz and Jochen Gerz won an international competition launched by the Austrian government to pay tribute to those who opposed the Nazi regime. The artists proposed installing four white flags carrying red inscriptio ...
Graz, Austria In 1996, Esther Shalev-Gerz and Jochen Gerz won an international competition launched by the Austrian government to pay tribute to those who opposed the Nazi regime. The artists proposed installing four white flags carrying red inscriptio ...