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.

654 THINGS from The United States - Edward Ruscha

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

To Two Too; Hypothetical Monument for a Natural Disaster - Jeffrey Wisniewski

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

The Clock - Ayse Erkmen

Invitation Space No.1 - Tania Mouraud

Aguapracasa - Gabriel Orozco

WATERWORKS - Mona Hatoum

KEEPING IN TOUCH - Allan Kaprow

Project for the Initiative Mahnmal Homosexuellenverfolgung, Frankfurt  - Jeff Wall

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W4657
25.05.2011
BLUE LASER LIGHT PIECE - Karen Gunderson
WWW
BLUE LASER LIGHT PIECE The location could be any small town or an area of a big town which has buildings that house many different religions. Sites: The highest point on each of the religious buildings. Materials: Blue laser light mechanisms, power ...
BLUE LASER LIGHT PIECE The location could be any small town or an area of a big town which has buildings that house many different religions. Sites: The highest point on each of the religious buildings. Materials: Blue laser light mechanisms, power ...
W5064
04.09.2012
SolarCircuit RAYsponse  - c a l c (omi - Thomas Scheiderbauer)
WWW
SolarCircuit RAYsponse is a project with the aim to let the façade of an institution (= a meaning charged façade) express itself in the public environment. its two architectonic/technical elements consist of a solar panel and a proportional related ima ...
SolarCircuit RAYsponse is a project with the aim to let the façade of an institution (= a meaning charged façade) express itself in the public environment. its two architectonic/technical elements consist of a solar panel and a proportional related ima ...
W4394
25.05.2011
MINILAND MANIFESTO  - Stephen Hobbs
WWW
MINILAND MANIFESTO Ongoing documentation of a number of our coastal cities’ incomplete highway networks has prompted a reading of the space between these structures. Aside from the parking lots and spectacular film settings they provide, they are pe ...
MINILAND MANIFESTO Ongoing documentation of a number of our coastal cities’ incomplete highway networks has prompted a reading of the space between these structures. Aside from the parking lots and spectacular film settings they provide, they are pe ...
W4858
08.08.2012
Interacting Products - Dan Riley
WWW
Interacting Products Interacting Products is an art installation consisting of two products that interact with eachother and an optional third party interacting with one of the products. The first product is a 909 drum machine which features a clap sou ...
Interacting Products Interacting Products is an art installation consisting of two products that interact with eachother and an optional third party interacting with one of the products. The first product is a 909 drum machine which features a clap sou ...
U9816
05.02.1990
The pyramids...to be seen to be believed - Jonathan Monk
Unbuilt Roads
Glasgow 1990 Cultural Capital of Europe 5 February 1990 Mr Jonathan Monk 22 Cecil Street Hillhead Glasgow G12 8RH Dear Jonathan Monk Thank you very much for your exciting letter concerning your proposed project for this year namely ...
Glasgow 1990 Cultural Capital of Europe 5 February 1990 Mr Jonathan Monk 22 Cecil Street Hillhead Glasgow G12 8RH Dear Jonathan Monk Thank you very much for your exciting letter concerning your proposed project for this year namely ...
W5427
20.10.2012
POINT 59 - hiramandirina
WWW
POINT 59 In July 1999, Irina Danilova with support of Arts Link CEC Partners went from New York to the only intersection of 59th Longitude and 59th latitude on land, in the Siberian woods of Ural mountains (3 other intersections sunk in the ocean ...
POINT 59 In July 1999, Irina Danilova with support of Arts Link CEC Partners went from New York to the only intersection of 59th Longitude and 59th latitude on land, in the Siberian woods of Ural mountains (3 other intersections sunk in the ocean ...
W3958
20.05.2011
Siphon Puti Fountain - Michael Arata
WWW
Siphon Puti Fountain, Styrofoam, paper, wood and plastic tubing penis, two water containers. The siphon Puti Fountain (suck it) directly references European Puti fountains. This Fountain was meant to be realized as a manual fountain based on the same ...
Siphon Puti Fountain, Styrofoam, paper, wood and plastic tubing penis, two water containers. The siphon Puti Fountain (suck it) directly references European Puti fountains. This Fountain was meant to be realized as a manual fountain based on the same ...
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. ...
W5098
13.09.2012
we love live - Copa & Sordes
WWW
we love live an idea for an ornament in public space ...
we love live an idea for an ornament in public space ...
W4400
25.05.2011
INCEPTION - Nick Sung
WWW
EPTION The installation of an exact replica of an AMC movie theatre in Emeryville, California in which a section of the end credits of Christopher Nolan's Inception will play, continuously looped, day and night, ad infinitum. Against the backdrop o ...
EPTION The installation of an exact replica of an AMC movie theatre in Emeryville, California in which a section of the end credits of Christopher Nolan's Inception will play, continuously looped, day and night, ad infinitum. Against the backdrop o ...
W4700
26.05.2011
Counting Time - Catherine Cullen
WWW
Counting Time is a proposal for seven precious and semi-precious stones in colors that range from red to yellow, to be rough hewn into lumpy orbs. Counting stones hover in the mist of the pre-verbal yet bear an acute understanding of the imprecision inevi ...
Counting Time is a proposal for seven precious and semi-precious stones in colors that range from red to yellow, to be rough hewn into lumpy orbs. Counting stones hover in the mist of the pre-verbal yet bear an acute understanding of the imprecision inevi ...
W4476
25.05.2011
MEGAPHONE: The New Wireless - Elizabeth McTernan
WWW
MEGAPHONE: The New Wireless An extension of my ongoing performance project "The Satellites Are Dust, the Phone Lines Are Down, the Postal Service Is Bankrupt" (a post-apocalyptic romance of sorts), I propose erecting a telephone pole crowned with a gre ...
MEGAPHONE: The New Wireless An extension of my ongoing performance project "The Satellites Are Dust, the Phone Lines Are Down, the Postal Service Is Bankrupt" (a post-apocalyptic romance of sorts), I propose erecting a telephone pole crowned with a gre ...
W4122
23.05.2011
The Butterfly Tree - Chris Lipomi
WWW
There is a project which I have been thinking about and working on for quite some time now. Basically it is a living kinetic sculpture of a full sized tree (15/20 ft. tall), with living green tropical butterflies as the leaves. The tree itself, function ...
There is a project which I have been thinking about and working on for quite some time now. Basically it is a living kinetic sculpture of a full sized tree (15/20 ft. tall), with living green tropical butterflies as the leaves. The tree itself, function ...
W5150
24.09.2012
a Tunnel - Nimrod Reuveni
WWW
A Tunnel - an unrealized project The project was designed for "Fresh Paint 3" art fair in Tel Aviv, 2009, as a special project of Nimrod Reuveni in collaboration with Dani Karavan. Explanation: Three-dimensional composition, consisting of ready m ...
A Tunnel - an unrealized project The project was designed for "Fresh Paint 3" art fair in Tel Aviv, 2009, as a special project of Nimrod Reuveni in collaboration with Dani Karavan. Explanation: Three-dimensional composition, consisting of ready m ...
W4334
24.05.2011
METEORITE AL CONTRARIO (INVERTED METEORITE)  - Davide Bertocchi
WWW
METEORITE AL CONTRARIO (INVERTED METEORITE) - 2011 PROJECT. STONE, SPACE MISSION Courtesy the artist A medium size stone (more or less 50 cm x 50 cm x 50 cm) is sent into space. Like a meteorite but following an opposite trajectory, that is, inste ...
METEORITE AL CONTRARIO (INVERTED METEORITE) - 2011 PROJECT. STONE, SPACE MISSION Courtesy the artist A medium size stone (more or less 50 cm x 50 cm x 50 cm) is sent into space. Like a meteorite but following an opposite trajectory, that is, inste ...
U9848
01.01.1997
Right-of-Privacy Release - Tony Oursler
Unbuilt Roads
Miscellaneous Instruments FORM 5:I-3.02 RIGHT-OF-PRIVACY RELEASE Short Form [Name of Motion Picture Company] [Address] Dear Sirs: I am one of the persons of whom [name of author] wrote in his book [name of book]. You are p ...
Miscellaneous Instruments FORM 5:I-3.02 RIGHT-OF-PRIVACY RELEASE Short Form [Name of Motion Picture Company] [Address] Dear Sirs: I am one of the persons of whom [name of author] wrote in his book [name of book]. You are p ...
W4889
10.08.2012
Outpost - Ann Messner
WWW
Call me mad. During 2005-7 I built a place within a place in my studio, in effect I occupied the space with a work that came to be titled 'outpost'. I just assumed I would find a public site to temporarily install the work; more specifically an open civic ...
Call me mad. During 2005-7 I built a place within a place in my studio, in effect I occupied the space with a work that came to be titled 'outpost'. I just assumed I would find a public site to temporarily install the work; more specifically an open civic ...
W5380
19.10.2012
Caution! Work in Progress - Geraldo Zamproni
WWW
Caution! Work in Progress Rack or plastic folding board with vibrant yellow tone is a warning message that awakens the immediate interest of the observer in conferring closely with looking at what is happening. ...
Caution! Work in Progress Rack or plastic folding board with vibrant yellow tone is a warning message that awakens the immediate interest of the observer in conferring closely with looking at what is happening. ...
W5054
03.09.2012
Parish in Lezkairu - Taller Basico de Arquitectura [TBA]
WWW
Parish in Lezkairu (2011) The building takes an "L" form, as it differentiates two principal zones: the temple, which occupies one side of the "L", and the rooms and housings, that occupy the other side. Both areas coexist in a strong and unified image ...
Parish in Lezkairu (2011) The building takes an "L" form, as it differentiates two principal zones: the temple, which occupies one side of the "L", and the rooms and housings, that occupy the other side. Both areas coexist in a strong and unified image ...
W5395
20.10.2012
Frontier Monument - Kasper Kovitz
WWW
"I love those who do not wish to preserve themselves; the down-going ones do I love with mine entire love, for they go beyond" Frontier Monument (alternative title: Witchbunker) is the second in a series of public monuments on which I have been ...
"I love those who do not wish to preserve themselves; the down-going ones do I love with mine entire love, for they go beyond" Frontier Monument (alternative title: Witchbunker) is the second in a series of public monuments on which I have been ...
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 ...
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 ...
W4345
24.05.2011
AGENCY FOR UNREALIZED PROJECTS - Paulo Luís Almeida
WWW
AGENCY FOR UNREALIZED PROJECTS Most part of my drawings are studies for non-performed actions. I began making them as previews for the documentation process, strategies of framing the sequences of small, often unnoticed, performances. Gradually, these ...
AGENCY FOR UNREALIZED PROJECTS Most part of my drawings are studies for non-performed actions. I began making them as previews for the documentation process, strategies of framing the sequences of small, often unnoticed, performances. Gradually, these ...
W4233
24.05.2011
Elise Lammer
WWW
This work is an homage to the lost artwork by John Baldessari "Untitled (after Palm Tree (for Charlemagne)" 1975. This unrealized project aims to collect similar postcards as the ones displayed in Peter Kirby's documentary and recreate Baldessari's lost ...
This work is an homage to the lost artwork by John Baldessari "Untitled (after Palm Tree (for Charlemagne)" 1975. This unrealized project aims to collect similar postcards as the ones displayed in Peter Kirby's documentary and recreate Baldessari's lost ...
W5264
13.10.2012
I’m giving time to my time - Klodian Deda
WWW
I’m giving time to my time I introduce my project that is linked with the 6° Arte Laguna Italia Prize Contest. The Prize was opened to all Artists, without any limit of age, sex, nationality or other qualifications. Each artist could participate with o ...
I’m giving time to my time I introduce my project that is linked with the 6° Arte Laguna Italia Prize Contest. The Prize was opened to all Artists, without any limit of age, sex, nationality or other qualifications. Each artist could participate with o ...
W4557
25.05.2011
Gravity - Kristin Jones / Andrew Ginzel
WWW
Gravity Proposal for the Pantheon Rome, Italy ...
Gravity Proposal for the Pantheon Rome, Italy ...