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.

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

Niemandsland - Hans Haacke

Grand Concours International D'Architecture  - Mahe Gilles

The World Record - General Idea

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

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

MODELL OF AN OFFICE FOR A COUPLE OF TWINS, BOTH 1,38 TALL" - Tobias Rehrenberg

Uncompleted 1966 - and on  - John Armleder

A FAIRLY TALL TOWER, 48,000 Miles High -  - Siah Armajani

Jake and Dinos Chapman's five proposals for an empty plinth situated on central londons trafalgar square - Jake and Dinos Chapman

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
#
Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W5350
18.10.2012
Mariano Del Rosario
WWW
An art installation with mirrored tunnels connecting three derelict industrial buildings as transitory laboratory space for art experimentation. A permit to contain, wrap, and occupy three toxic and derelict industrial buildings in Brooklyn, New York, ...
An art installation with mirrored tunnels connecting three derelict industrial buildings as transitory laboratory space for art experimentation. A permit to contain, wrap, and occupy three toxic and derelict industrial buildings in Brooklyn, New York, ...
W3917
20.05.2011
Europe Park / sculpture and landscape - THEODOULOS Gregoriou
WWW
The proposal was prepared for the international sculpture and landscaping competition for the Europe Park, which the Municipality of Nicosia (Cyprus) held in 2006 for the design of a grove on a central road in Nicosia. The motive was the accession of Cypr ...
The proposal was prepared for the international sculpture and landscaping competition for the Europe Park, which the Municipality of Nicosia (Cyprus) held in 2006 for the design of a grove on a central road in Nicosia. The motive was the accession of Cypr ...
W4460
25.05.2011
Wish Tree - Soyoung Park
WWW
Wish Tree I am drawn to the naivety of the words “wish” and “tree”. In the current cultural atmosphere of criticality, the naive cliche of growing wishes on a tree feels almost refreshing. But then I question what kinds of wishes we can grow on ...
Wish Tree I am drawn to the naivety of the words “wish” and “tree”. In the current cultural atmosphere of criticality, the naive cliche of growing wishes on a tree feels almost refreshing. But then I question what kinds of wishes we can grow on ...
U9478
01.01.1984
Projets non réalisés: - Daniel Buren
Unbuilt Roads
La liste non exhaustive qui suit correspond une á série de projets qui n'ont pas abouti. Ils sont de plusieurs types et les raisons de leur non aboutissement sont également différentes. Tout d'abord, tous sont liés des situations précises et dict ...
La liste non exhaustive qui suit correspond une á série de projets qui n'ont pas abouti. Ils sont de plusieurs types et les raisons de leur non aboutissement sont également différentes. Tout d'abord, tous sont liés des situations précises et dict ...
W5425
20.10.2012
Peace State of aWareness - Mo Abd-Ulla
WWW
Is peace an exceptional state? Is it fact that war breeds another war? Is war an inevitable destiny of mankind? This is a public art intervention working with and around the war monuments in London within global context of war and peace. Aiming to fr ...
Is peace an exceptional state? Is it fact that war breeds another war? Is war an inevitable destiny of mankind? This is a public art intervention working with and around the war monuments in London within global context of war and peace. Aiming to fr ...
W3563
12.05.2011
natascha seideneck
WWW
This sculpture was proposed for a crime lab and addresses elements of visibility and invisibly of the building itself, similar to physical evidence uncovering unknown facts. ...
This sculpture was proposed for a crime lab and addresses elements of visibility and invisibly of the building itself, similar to physical evidence uncovering unknown facts. ...
W3983
21.05.2011
The Panajachel Biennial’s Story: A Community Still to Come - Panajachel Biennial
WWW
The Panajachel Biennial was an initiative by a group of young independent curators (Karl Escher, Abbas Ibn Salah al Din, Guillermo Santamarina, Joao Castro da Silva y Takouhi Abesalom) who convened in Panajachel in 2009. The result of this meeting was a p ...
The Panajachel Biennial was an initiative by a group of young independent curators (Karl Escher, Abbas Ibn Salah al Din, Guillermo Santamarina, Joao Castro da Silva y Takouhi Abesalom) who convened in Panajachel in 2009. The result of this meeting was a p ...
W5125
18.09.2012
Unsearchables - Nathiel de Large // Patrick Mohundro
WWW
Sited Articles: Consciousness as Integrated Information: a Provisional Manifesto Biol. Bull. December 2008 vol. 215 no. 3 216-242 Unsearchables Nathaniel De Large // Patrick Mohundro The premise Unsearchables lies in the archetype of Google and ...
Sited Articles: Consciousness as Integrated Information: a Provisional Manifesto Biol. Bull. December 2008 vol. 215 no. 3 216-242 Unsearchables Nathaniel De Large // Patrick Mohundro The premise Unsearchables lies in the archetype of Google and ...
W5305
17.10.2012
Otherhedron - Lucy Pullen, Carolina Trigo
WWW
“Otherhedron is a trip. From pole to pole, the object moves around the world like a pebble rolling gently on the ground. Demarcating locations as nodes or points in the globe that, when joined, trace a plane much like one of the sides of Otherhedron." ...
“Otherhedron is a trip. From pole to pole, the object moves around the world like a pebble rolling gently on the ground. Demarcating locations as nodes or points in the globe that, when joined, trace a plane much like one of the sides of Otherhedron." ...
W5447
20.10.2012
Caution work in progress - Geraldo Zamproni
WWW
Caution work in progress Passively invites the viewer to turn to touch in order to satisfy an inevitable curiosity about what is being done. There is a strong sense of this logic does not work, it will foam that wall? ...
Caution work in progress Passively invites the viewer to turn to touch in order to satisfy an inevitable curiosity about what is being done. There is a strong sense of this logic does not work, it will foam that wall? ...
W5072
05.09.2012
Futures, Derivatives & Other Options  - Burak Delier
WWW
Futures, Derivatives & Other Options Burak Delier In my latest works I have been dealing with the conflicting relationships of the tools of conduct employed by contemporary capitalism (techniques, tools, processes) and the fields of art and politics. M ...
Futures, Derivatives & Other Options Burak Delier In my latest works I have been dealing with the conflicting relationships of the tools of conduct employed by contemporary capitalism (techniques, tools, processes) and the fields of art and politics. M ...
W4681
26.05.2011
Heads in Starlight - TARO ZORRILLA
WWW
Heads in Starlight, a closing event, for Feel Felt (see background on page 2) night performance for up to 100. We bring pre-cut unassembled tall paper-cone hats and on site we thread tall grass stalks and fine light-optic cables through the tips of the h ...
Heads in Starlight, a closing event, for Feel Felt (see background on page 2) night performance for up to 100. We bring pre-cut unassembled tall paper-cone hats and on site we thread tall grass stalks and fine light-optic cables through the tips of the h ...
W11140
20.11.2016
Proposal for the Hollywood Fault - Lee Lavy
WWW
Hollywood Fault The Hollywood Fault, according the the State Geological Survey map released in January 2014, runs east to west through Hollywood. It is represented on the map as a yellow gash, roughly 500 ft wide, traveling along Sunset Blvd, up to Hol ...
Hollywood Fault The Hollywood Fault, according the the State Geological Survey map released in January 2014, runs east to west through Hollywood. It is represented on the map as a yellow gash, roughly 500 ft wide, traveling along Sunset Blvd, up to Hol ...
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 ...
W4846
08.08.2012
Heterotopiaq = Shone-Makom - Chen Serfaty
WWW
Project Name: "Heterotopiaq = Shone-Makom" Heterotopia is a concept in human geography elaborated by philosopher Michel Foucault to describe places and spaces that function in non- hegemonic conditions. This project is about a space that has been int ...
Project Name: "Heterotopiaq = Shone-Makom" Heterotopia is a concept in human geography elaborated by philosopher Michel Foucault to describe places and spaces that function in non- hegemonic conditions. This project is about a space that has been int ...
W5275
15.10.2012
You, Are Not You, You Are Me…No Shit - Beth Emily Richards
WWW
You, Are Not You, You Are Me…No Shit Beth Emily Richards www.bethemilyrichards.com All the Arnold Schwarzenegger impersonators in the world race each other on a military air assault obstacle course. The Arnie impersonator that comes last in the rou ...
You, Are Not You, You Are Me…No Shit Beth Emily Richards www.bethemilyrichards.com All the Arnold Schwarzenegger impersonators in the world race each other on a military air assault obstacle course. The Arnie impersonator that comes last in the rou ...
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 ...
W4146
23.05.2011
Art School - Cornford & Cross
WWW
Art School would have occupied the Chisenhale Gallery, London, for one month to facilitate an explicit and implicit enquiry into notions of the art school. With contributions from artists, writers and curators, the project would have encouraged participa ...
Art School would have occupied the Chisenhale Gallery, London, for one month to facilitate an explicit and implicit enquiry into notions of the art school. With contributions from artists, writers and curators, the project would have encouraged participa ...
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 ...
W3626
14.05.2011
Détente Reflection 195 - Jenny Zhe Chang
WWW
Détente Reflection 195 will be a series of 195 sculptures of intercut, deconstructed and reconstructed table tennis bats that uncannily explores cultural fusions and disconnections between East and West. The word détente of the title refers to the perma ...
Détente Reflection 195 will be a series of 195 sculptures of intercut, deconstructed and reconstructed table tennis bats that uncannily explores cultural fusions and disconnections between East and West. The word détente of the title refers to the perma ...
W4674
26.05.2011
traps as artworks and artworks as traps - Daniel Rubim
WWW
“There cannot be a hammer by itself; A hammer implies on nails to be hammered, Wood to hammer them into, saw to shape the wood And so forth.” Alfred Gell – Vogel’s net: traps as artworks and artworks as traps Migrations is the process of ...
“There cannot be a hammer by itself; A hammer implies on nails to be hammered, Wood to hammer them into, saw to shape the wood And so forth.” Alfred Gell – Vogel’s net: traps as artworks and artworks as traps Migrations is the process of ...
W5107
14.09.2012
Eli Skipp
WWW
This project requires an indoor climbing wall of significant width and height (minimum 40' x 65'). A route setter will be hired to climb and lay out climbing holds and place climbing tape to mark the route (color is up to the setter, but yellow is prefer ...
This project requires an indoor climbing wall of significant width and height (minimum 40' x 65'). A route setter will be hired to climb and lay out climbing holds and place climbing tape to mark the route (color is up to the setter, but yellow is prefer ...
U9864
01.01.1992
Post Photographic apparatus - Steven Pippin
Unbuilt Roads
Description: The impetus came from , or was initially inspired by the endless stream of monotonous images created by the exponential growth in the amount of photographic apparatus. In an effort to counteract this mediocre use of such a powerfull medium ...
Description: The impetus came from , or was initially inspired by the endless stream of monotonous images created by the exponential growth in the amount of photographic apparatus. In an effort to counteract this mediocre use of such a powerfull medium ...
W3893
20.05.2011
The Divina Commedia triptych - 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. ...
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. ...
W4664
25.05.2011
Field Experiment Osnabrück - MomenTech
WWW
Field Experiment Osnabrück an unrealized project by MomenTech http://momentech.blogspot.com Field Experiment Osnabrück is a proposed large-scale work in the public sphere based on MomenTech’s Field Experiment installation, an interactive, site-spec ...
Field Experiment Osnabrück an unrealized project by MomenTech http://momentech.blogspot.com Field Experiment Osnabrück is a proposed large-scale work in the public sphere based on MomenTech’s Field Experiment installation, an interactive, site-spec ...
W4546
25.05.2011
IRON CLOUD - Rick Shaefer
WWW
IRON CLOUD by Rick Shaefer ...
IRON CLOUD by Rick Shaefer ...