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.

Grand Concours International D'Architecture  - Sol Lewitt

MAK - Wien  - Rosemarie Trockel

Time Magazine Cover - Robert Rauschenberg

My House - Uri Tzaig

Niemandsland - Hans Haacke

The Rosetta Garden - Gary Simmons

Cruzeiro Do Sul, (Southern Cross) (Crucero del Sur) 1969-70* - Cildo Meireles

Aguapracasa - Gabriel Orozco

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

CIVITAS Stadtpostkarten - Lothar Baumgarten

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W4395
25.05.2011
63 Minutes  - Lawrence Daley
WWW
63 Minutes At precisely 01:00 on 31 October British Summer Time will, for 2010 at least, come to an end. As a result the sun will set at 16:37 and a full 63 minutes of daylight will have been lost. I want to remind the people of Brighton that come late ...
63 Minutes At precisely 01:00 on 31 October British Summer Time will, for 2010 at least, come to an end. As a result the sun will set at 16:37 and a full 63 minutes of daylight will have been lost. I want to remind the people of Brighton that come late ...
W3819
19.05.2011
raphaele cohen-bacry
WWW
This is an example of the 50 dolls I made between 2007 and 2010. I used ‘’ugly’’, standardized dolls made in China and was interested in turning them into unique ‘’hand-made’’ dolls with a lot of personality and character. Each measures 4X ...
This is an example of the 50 dolls I made between 2007 and 2010. I used ‘’ugly’’, standardized dolls made in China and was interested in turning them into unique ‘’hand-made’’ dolls with a lot of personality and character. Each measures 4X ...
W4030
22.05.2011
The Grand Tour - Holly Crawford
WWW
Preliminary Proposal The Grand Tour In the current global art market only the very wealthy and select and limited number of curators may participate fully. At the fairs there are VIP lounges were you may get a message, have a snack and a glass of ...
Preliminary Proposal The Grand Tour In the current global art market only the very wealthy and select and limited number of curators may participate fully. At the fairs there are VIP lounges were you may get a message, have a snack and a glass of ...
U9807
01.01.1997
Cruzeiro Do Sul, (Southern Cross) (Crucero del Sur) 1969-70* - Cildo Meireles
Unbuilt Roads
A cube with a side measurement of 9 mm, consisting of two transverse sections: one of pine and the other of oak, trees that represented mythical beings in the cosmology of the Tupi Indians, beings whose correlation (mistakenly interpreted by the Jesuits a ...
A cube with a side measurement of 9 mm, consisting of two transverse sections: one of pine and the other of oak, trees that represented mythical beings in the cosmology of the Tupi Indians, beings whose correlation (mistakenly interpreted by the Jesuits a ...
U9731
01.01.1988
Tower Cranes, Paris  - Tadashi Kawamata
Unbuilt Roads
Please see the enclosed leaflet· "Tower Crane, Paris" (eventually reasons why the work has not been realised) Financial, technical and organisation problems Previous Publications (?) Enclosed ...
Please see the enclosed leaflet· "Tower Crane, Paris" (eventually reasons why the work has not been realised) Financial, technical and organisation problems Previous Publications (?) Enclosed ...
W4768
29.05.2011
A Skin of Shadows - Daisuke Hiraiwa
WWW
On a sunny day, we can see the shadows of everything naturally. We know that real objects are positive things and the shadows of them are negative things. I want to consider the relationship between negative and positive. Shadows represent the existence ...
On a sunny day, we can see the shadows of everything naturally. We know that real objects are positive things and the shadows of them are negative things. I want to consider the relationship between negative and positive. Shadows represent the existence ...
W3712
17.05.2011
A higher place, London 1998 (project) - Mark Pimlott
WWW
At Royal Docks, a series of parallel bands of different kinds of space and different kinds of use run alongside the existing dock. The dock was designed as a piece of infrastructure, orchestrating and rationalising the activities that took place anlongsid ...
At Royal Docks, a series of parallel bands of different kinds of space and different kinds of use run alongside the existing dock. The dock was designed as a piece of infrastructure, orchestrating and rationalising the activities that took place anlongsid ...
W3722
17.05.2011
Fotografische Sammlung, Museum Folkwang - ANJA ROSS
WWW
Fotografische Sammlung, Museum Folkwang, Goethestraße 41, D-45128 Essen Stipendium der Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach-Stiftung für Zeitgenössische Fotografie 2008 Antragstellerin: ANJA ROSS Schon lange arbeite ich mit der Fotografie intu ...
Fotografische Sammlung, Museum Folkwang, Goethestraße 41, D-45128 Essen Stipendium der Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach-Stiftung für Zeitgenössische Fotografie 2008 Antragstellerin: ANJA ROSS Schon lange arbeite ich mit der Fotografie intu ...
W3641
15.05.2011
Go Down Moses- Synopsis - Ahmad Hosni
WWW
Synopsis Go Down, Moses is book project that was conceived from the outset as a sequence of photographs existing in a relation to a parallel body of text.  The project is about a place in the process of becoming a tourist enclave and what has prec ...
Synopsis Go Down, Moses is book project that was conceived from the outset as a sequence of photographs existing in a relation to a parallel body of text.  The project is about a place in the process of becoming a tourist enclave and what has prec ...
W3597
13.05.2011
Heman Chong
WWW
I wanted to purchase the coffee table in Room 503, Hong Lou Hotel, Lianzhou, China and to mount it as a monument for all the shady deals that have been worked out over this table at a solo at Vitamin Creative Space in Guangzhou. ...
I wanted to purchase the coffee table in Room 503, Hong Lou Hotel, Lianzhou, China and to mount it as a monument for all the shady deals that have been worked out over this table at a solo at Vitamin Creative Space in Guangzhou. ...
W4506
25.05.2011
The Dead Brushes Society - Paulo Patrício
WWW
The Dead Brushes Society Unrealized project for an exhibition presenting old or/and unused brushes who belong to acclaimed contemporary artists. Brushes they love or with which they did major works (or at least, representative of they're career). That du ...
The Dead Brushes Society Unrealized project for an exhibition presenting old or/and unused brushes who belong to acclaimed contemporary artists. Brushes they love or with which they did major works (or at least, representative of they're career). That du ...
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 ...
W5173
26.09.2012
Jugoslav Mitevski
WWW
W4593
25.05.2011
Sketch-collage for a project - antonio menchen
WWW
Untitled. 2008. Sketch-collage for a project. Variable measures. ...
Untitled. 2008. Sketch-collage for a project. Variable measures. ...
W4907
13.08.2012
Text - Cristina Zabalaga
WWW
A 16:43 min fictional experimental film exploring the limits of language. Why can‘t we live without words? The continuity of language and discourse constitutes a bridge over the abyss of loss and despair. Text THE WASTE LAND, T.S. Eliot II. A ...
A 16:43 min fictional experimental film exploring the limits of language. Why can‘t we live without words? The continuity of language and discourse constitutes a bridge over the abyss of loss and despair. Text THE WASTE LAND, T.S. Eliot II. A ...
W4175
24.05.2011
BIYING ZHANG
WWW
As a young Chinese artist living in the United States, Zhang feels a strong sense of being a foreign person in this country especially after her marriage to a US citizen. In her artwork, Zhang explores the difference and displacement that she feels. ...
As a young Chinese artist living in the United States, Zhang feels a strong sense of being a foreign person in this country especially after her marriage to a US citizen. In her artwork, Zhang explores the difference and displacement that she feels. ...
U9936
23.01.1997
Messages to the Public - Nancy Spero
Unbuilt Roads
Dear Hans-Ulrich, Thank you for inviting me to participate in "Unbuilt Worlds - unrealized artist-projects". Sounds terrific. In 1986 I was invited to participate in a program called "Messages to the Public". The invited artists would be given a 30- ...
Dear Hans-Ulrich, Thank you for inviting me to participate in "Unbuilt Worlds - unrealized artist-projects". Sounds terrific. In 1986 I was invited to participate in a program called "Messages to the Public". The invited artists would be given a 30- ...
W5029
31.08.2012
Marsh Islands - Mags Harries & Lajos Heder
WWW
Mags Harries & Lajos Héder Marsh Islands Location: South Bay Harbor Trails, Boston, MA (Proposal 2006) Client: South Bay Harbor Trail Public Art Initiative, Edward Ingersoll Browne Fund of the City of Boston Material: Marsh grass, steel, structural ...
Mags Harries & Lajos Héder Marsh Islands Location: South Bay Harbor Trails, Boston, MA (Proposal 2006) Client: South Bay Harbor Trail Public Art Initiative, Edward Ingersoll Browne Fund of the City of Boston Material: Marsh grass, steel, structural ...
W4484
25.05.2011
Phobos self-degradation  - Toby Huddlestone
WWW
Phobos self-degradation – the artist sends a form of self-degrading archival document to the Mars moon Phobos. Stickney crater, Phobos. Imaged by Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, March 23, 2008. Place Phobos, the largest of Mars' two moons, and th ...
Phobos self-degradation – the artist sends a form of self-degrading archival document to the Mars moon Phobos. Stickney crater, Phobos. Imaged by Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, March 23, 2008. Place Phobos, the largest of Mars' two moons, and th ...
W5069
05.09.2012
National Bank - Assaf Gruber
WWW
National Bank: In April 2009, I contacted the Sport Center of the National Bank of Belgium to submit to them a proposition for an exhibition: We planned to exhibit Getting Even, a piece made with slices of bowling balls that are scattered around and be ...
National Bank: In April 2009, I contacted the Sport Center of the National Bank of Belgium to submit to them a proposition for an exhibition: We planned to exhibit Getting Even, a piece made with slices of bowling balls that are scattered around and be ...
W4653
25.05.2011
Replacing the stream‐of‐consciousness - urssa severa
WWW
Replacing the stream‐of‐consciousness by Urssa Severa “Welcome, O life, I go to encounter for the millionth time the reality of experience and to forge in the smithy of my soul the uncreated conscience of my race.” Inspired by this declaratio ...
Replacing the stream‐of‐consciousness by Urssa Severa “Welcome, O life, I go to encounter for the millionth time the reality of experience and to forge in the smithy of my soul the uncreated conscience of my race.” Inspired by this declaratio ...
D10807
01.01.2003
ÉCOUTE - Bethan Huws
DAAD
To film a colony of coots on a small, dark pond, recording their daily and seasonal life. The film (image) would put equal emphasis on sound. The only word in the entire film is the title: Écoute (French, “listen”), which forms a homophone wit ...
To film a colony of coots on a small, dark pond, recording their daily and seasonal life. The film (image) would put equal emphasis on sound. The only word in the entire film is the title: Écoute (French, “listen”), which forms a homophone wit ...
W4753
27.05.2011
Jardin Cotonco - Filip Van Dingenen
WWW
JARDIN COTONCO ‘Jardin Cotonco’ is a local recreational park in the Waterwijk district in Ghent- Belgium. It aspires to be a pedagogical garden/green area in the historical centre of the city of Ghent, a laboratory and extension to MIAT (Museum ...
JARDIN COTONCO ‘Jardin Cotonco’ is a local recreational park in the Waterwijk district in Ghent- Belgium. It aspires to be a pedagogical garden/green area in the historical centre of the city of Ghent, a laboratory and extension to MIAT (Museum ...
W3889
20.05.2011
Fireflies - Fani Zguro
WWW
“Fireflies” is a site-specific installation, I got the idea while traveling for Bogota to Medellin by land, through the mountain. For the first time after sever years I saw groups of fireflies in the woods. Why there are not so many fireflies around t ...
“Fireflies” is a site-specific installation, I got the idea while traveling for Bogota to Medellin by land, through the mountain. For the first time after sever years I saw groups of fireflies in the woods. Why there are not so many fireflies around t ...
W4062
23.05.2011
List of Musicians for Inclusion in Predictive Text - Song-Ming Ang
WWW
Dear Nokia, List of Musicians for Inclusion in Predictive Text I would like to offer a suggestion for your company, which is to include the names of commonly mentioned musicians into the word list of the Predictive Text function. As an avid ...
Dear Nokia, List of Musicians for Inclusion in Predictive Text I would like to offer a suggestion for your company, which is to include the names of commonly mentioned musicians into the word list of the Predictive Text function. As an avid ...
W3844
19.05.2011
I want to do the laundry; or rather I want to finish the laundry - Svava Thordis Juliusson
WWW
TO: Agency of Unrealized Projects I want to do the laundry; or rather I want to finish the laundry. It is a project that poses vague theoretical and aesthetic questions, but to explore possible ways to put an end to this task could forever change the t ...
TO: Agency of Unrealized Projects I want to do the laundry; or rather I want to finish the laundry. It is a project that poses vague theoretical and aesthetic questions, but to explore possible ways to put an end to this task could forever change the t ...