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.

Broadway Musicals - Christian Marclay

Monument to Democracy - Kounellis

Just Before Dawn - David Lamelas

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

KEEPING IN TOUCH - Allan Kaprow

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

Right-of-Privacy Release - Tony Oursler

Merci, Thank you, Danke: Les 2 sujets  - Thomas Hirschorn

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

Projet pour la Place Saint Léger à Chambery  - Erik Dietman

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W4407
25.05.2011
The Great Pyramid - Ingo Niermann
WWW
The Great Pyramid—a gradually growing tomb for potentially every human being in the world. Every stone in this pyramid could house the ashes of a deceased individual. It would grow, layer per layer, over decades and centuries. ...
The Great Pyramid—a gradually growing tomb for potentially every human being in the world. Every stone in this pyramid could house the ashes of a deceased individual. It would grow, layer per layer, over decades and centuries. ...
W4527
25.05.2011
Sculpture Installation - Jaime Szczepanski
WWW
Proposal 3: Sculpture Installation Location: Convention Center Boulevard, Canal Boulevard For this project, two standard bus stop shelters will be installed in two locations. The appearance, dimensions and scale of these awnings will match those seen ...
Proposal 3: Sculpture Installation Location: Convention Center Boulevard, Canal Boulevard For this project, two standard bus stop shelters will be installed in two locations. The appearance, dimensions and scale of these awnings will match those seen ...
W5899
18.10.2013
Bagatelle - Matthijs Muller
WWW
A competition to design a landmark at the motorway exit nearby a nature reserve made me design Bagatelle. The park nearby has a strange history. First, in the early 1960's the polder was used to dump polluted mud from the port of Rotterdam. Then for over ...
A competition to design a landmark at the motorway exit nearby a nature reserve made me design Bagatelle. The park nearby has a strange history. First, in the early 1960's the polder was used to dump polluted mud from the port of Rotterdam. Then for over ...
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. ...
W4070
23.05.2011
Rebeka Bučinel
WWW
The leading idea is not to create only a new home for culture in Miren, but to create a multi-purpose central square. ...
The leading idea is not to create only a new home for culture in Miren, but to create a multi-purpose central square. ...
W5472
21.10.2012
Ismael Duá
WWW
Berlin, October 7th 2012 Dear publishers, from my numerous unrealised ideas, I uphold this one as the dearest, for I feel that we need it most these days: a paradigm shift across the arts, the sciences and politics which will allow to surpass des ...
Berlin, October 7th 2012 Dear publishers, from my numerous unrealised ideas, I uphold this one as the dearest, for I feel that we need it most these days: a paradigm shift across the arts, the sciences and politics which will allow to surpass des ...
W3513
11.05.2011
“Bus Stop” by Mira Hnatyshyn - Mira Hnatyshyn
WWW
“Bus Stop” is a moveable painting based on an image of local commuters waiting for their bus ride. “Bus Stop” explores the cultural significance that public transportation plays in society. As a physical object, t ...
“Bus Stop” is a moveable painting based on an image of local commuters waiting for their bus ride. “Bus Stop” explores the cultural significance that public transportation plays in society. As a physical object, t ...
W4016
22.05.2011
UNVEIL - Alessandro Rolandi
WWW
action-performance for Caochangdi Village project, spring 2011 1) With the help of several artists and local people from Caochangdi village,the message would be spread around of an artistic action involving the local people 2) After having bought arou ...
action-performance for Caochangdi Village project, spring 2011 1) With the help of several artists and local people from Caochangdi village,the message would be spread around of an artistic action involving the local people 2) After having bought arou ...
W4884
10.08.2012
Magazine: 2012 - Caroline Jaine
WWW
Magazine: 2012 is the first exhibition not to be held at the newly acquired Serpentine Sackler Gallery. The show features works by British artists Janice Wilkins and Caroline Jaine and includes: Anonymising the Magazine, Free Libyan Youth, Chromakey, Ico ...
Magazine: 2012 is the first exhibition not to be held at the newly acquired Serpentine Sackler Gallery. The show features works by British artists Janice Wilkins and Caroline Jaine and includes: Anonymising the Magazine, Free Libyan Youth, Chromakey, Ico ...
W4242
24.05.2011
HUMAN CONTACT EXERCISE #1 - Annabelle Craven-Jones
WWW
HUMAN CONTACT EXERCISE #1 Online digital text 2010 ongoing This project is an experiment exploring unknown limits. It exists as an online instruction in the minds of a potentially unlimited number of participants. Who they are and how they will ...
HUMAN CONTACT EXERCISE #1 Online digital text 2010 ongoing This project is an experiment exploring unknown limits. It exists as an online instruction in the minds of a potentially unlimited number of participants. Who they are and how they will ...
W4689
26.05.2011
UNSOLICITED - Laszlo Marsch
WWW
UNSOLICITED Dear H.U.O. and G.T., I own a copy of "Unbuild Roads". It is exciting that "residuals" and "failures" see the daylight. Going through the book and reading the intro it is obvious that most of the projects, even if unrealized, were based on c ...
UNSOLICITED Dear H.U.O. and G.T., I own a copy of "Unbuild Roads". It is exciting that "residuals" and "failures" see the daylight. Going through the book and reading the intro it is obvious that most of the projects, even if unrealized, were based on c ...
W3789
18.05.2011
DREAMS IN THE SEA-WITCH HOUSE-BOAT - Mollie Mckinley
WWW
In July 2010, a draft of this artwork was created as an experimental 24-hour site-specific installation in Far Rockaway, Brooklyn, curated by Jess Shaefer, former Director of Hendershot Gallery, NYC. The final and complete boat, as outlined below, has no ...
In July 2010, a draft of this artwork was created as an experimental 24-hour site-specific installation in Far Rockaway, Brooklyn, curated by Jess Shaefer, former Director of Hendershot Gallery, NYC. The final and complete boat, as outlined below, has no ...
W4052
22.05.2011
prayer cards - leo Morrissey
WWW
It is a tradition at Catholic funerals to give out prayer cards as a remembrance of the deceased. Over a number of years I have photographed many of these cards. For this project I will install a selection of photos of prayer cards ( the number determin ...
It is a tradition at Catholic funerals to give out prayer cards as a remembrance of the deceased. Over a number of years I have photographed many of these cards. For this project I will install a selection of photos of prayer cards ( the number determin ...
W4831
07.08.2012
Noa P. Kaplan
WWW
The lens is composed of countless arrays of glass microspheres, connected by a mesh of tiny lens fibers, and encircled by the Ciliary Muscle of the eye. Electric signals pass through the nanofiber mesh, carrying datasets of folding patterns. When activate ...
The lens is composed of countless arrays of glass microspheres, connected by a mesh of tiny lens fibers, and encircled by the Ciliary Muscle of the eye. Electric signals pass through the nanofiber mesh, carrying datasets of folding patterns. When activate ...
W3868
19.05.2011
“The Good, The Bad, The Now” 350 word FRANKLIN FURNACE proposal - Chris Twomey
WWW
Using narrative structure that will engage potential viewers through the drama of the visual story telling, my project is essentially a visual memoir and performance piece with words. Using pre-determined amount of time, for instance 3 months, I will pub ...
Using narrative structure that will engage potential viewers through the drama of the visual story telling, my project is essentially a visual memoir and performance piece with words. Using pre-determined amount of time, for instance 3 months, I will pub ...
W4375
25.05.2011
Potential Artworks to be Completed by You, the Viewer.  - Thomas Friel
WWW
Potential Artworks to be Completed by You, the Viewer. Below is a list of potential artworks that can be performed by anyone, one or many times, for an indefinite number of times. They are intended to offer an individual aesthetic experience to the p ...
Potential Artworks to be Completed by You, the Viewer. Below is a list of potential artworks that can be performed by anyone, one or many times, for an indefinite number of times. They are intended to offer an individual aesthetic experience to the p ...
W3839
19.05.2011
La Burqa Project. - Lode Kuylenstierna
WWW
La Burqa Parapluie:
Poster: 59,4 cm × 42 cm 
Copyright Lode Kuylenstierna 2011 La Burqa Taxi:
Poster: 42 cm × 59,4 cm 
Copyright Lode Kuylenstierna 2011 La Burqa Bandage:
Poster: 42 cm × 59,4 cm 
Copyright Lode Kuylenstierna 2011 T ...
La Burqa Parapluie:
Poster: 59,4 cm × 42 cm 
Copyright Lode Kuylenstierna 2011 La Burqa Taxi:
Poster: 42 cm × 59,4 cm 
Copyright Lode Kuylenstierna 2011 La Burqa Bandage:
Poster: 42 cm × 59,4 cm 
Copyright Lode Kuylenstierna 2011 T ...
W4167
24.05.2011
Outopia - Eloise Kirk
WWW
Outopia ‘Outopia’ (meaning no place) is an on-going, fragmented project based on a fictional landscape. This landscape is neither here nor there; it exists only as representation of the internal self, in perpetual relation with the world. ...
Outopia ‘Outopia’ (meaning no place) is an on-going, fragmented project based on a fictional landscape. This landscape is neither here nor there; it exists only as representation of the internal self, in perpetual relation with the world. ...
W4398
25.05.2011
Lars Bergmann
WWW
a project which are unrealized because of the world financial crisis. ...
a project which are unrealized because of the world financial crisis. ...
W5056
03.09.2012
School of Pharmacy in Sevilla - Taller Basico de Arquitectura [TBA]
WWW
School of Pharmacy in Sevilla (2011) We propose to build a new public space, a place opened to students and visitors, a room for the city. This room recreates an enclosed space, a courtyard. The new public space is affected by movements and pedestrian ...
School of Pharmacy in Sevilla (2011) We propose to build a new public space, a place opened to students and visitors, a room for the city. This room recreates an enclosed space, a courtyard. The new public space is affected by movements and pedestrian ...
W4374
25.05.2011
Proposal for culture (an interactive installation)  - Thessia Machado
WWW
Proposal for culture (an interactive installation) I’ve been thinking about the different ways in which organisms can perceive their environment and adapt to it — capturing and responding to either images, air vibration, or smells, sounds, flavors, ...
Proposal for culture (an interactive installation) I’ve been thinking about the different ways in which organisms can perceive their environment and adapt to it — capturing and responding to either images, air vibration, or smells, sounds, flavors, ...
W5149
24.09.2012
Blue Republic - Blue Republic
WWW
Does our feeling at home in our world have to be based on the long index of scaffoldings, enhancements, prosthetic devices, concepts, theories, and beliefs? Is there a way out, or are we trapped forever by our limitations? The yet unrealized project of Bl ...
Does our feeling at home in our world have to be based on the long index of scaffoldings, enhancements, prosthetic devices, concepts, theories, and beliefs? Is there a way out, or are we trapped forever by our limitations? The yet unrealized project of Bl ...
D10803
09.09.2012
Untitled  - Theo Eshetu
DAAD
W3840
19.05.2011
One month of picnics. - Ding Ren
WWW
What better place for art and life to intersect, interweave, and co-mingle than in food? In the making, consumption, and presentation of food. Everyone needs to eat, and there are so many politics in this necessity. When art is food and food is art, t ...
What better place for art and life to intersect, interweave, and co-mingle than in food? In the making, consumption, and presentation of food. Everyone needs to eat, and there are so many politics in this necessity. When art is food and food is art, t ...
W4759
27.05.2011
One Thousand Worlds in 16 minutes and 40 seconds - Nuala Clarke
WWW
TITLE: One Thousand Worlds in 16 minutes and 40 seconds FORM: A video installation in which 10 screens of indeterminate size are arranged site specifically. Each screen shows, for one second at a time, one of 1000 small square paintings from the exist ...
TITLE: One Thousand Worlds in 16 minutes and 40 seconds FORM: A video installation in which 10 screens of indeterminate size are arranged site specifically. Each screen shows, for one second at a time, one of 1000 small square paintings from the exist ...
W4319
24.05.2011
(Twitter Carrier Pigeon) - seth marshall weiner
WWW
(Social Networking Utilities and the Argument for Physical Space (Twitter Carrier Pigeon) As social networking utilities continue to provide open forums for users to communicate, protest and organize, they lack the necessity for a physical space. T ...
(Social Networking Utilities and the Argument for Physical Space (Twitter Carrier Pigeon) As social networking utilities continue to provide open forums for users to communicate, protest and organize, they lack the necessity for a physical space. T ...