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.

Proposal for a permanent video installation for the NYC headquarters of Sony Corporation - Dara Birnbaum

Broadway Musicals - Christian Marclay

Visual Poem: Cap I Cua - Joan Brossa

MAK - Wien  - Rosemarie Trockel

The World Record - General Idea

Nicht realisierte Projekte - Stefan Demary

Electronic Theater - Laurie Anderson

"400" - Manfred Pernice

Project tor the Veterans Administration Hospital--Bay Pines, Florida. - Robert Morris

Tower Cranes, Paris  - Tadashi Kawamata

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
#
Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W5432
20.10.2012
Sheli Lehadpasa (Mine for printing) - Tamar Lederberg
WWW
Sheli Lehadpasa (Mine for printing) Art constitutes a tool for contending with difficult psychological situations. A situation of loss and pain generates creative forces. An illness triggered fervent creativity in my mother. The trauma following her il ...
Sheli Lehadpasa (Mine for printing) Art constitutes a tool for contending with difficult psychological situations. A situation of loss and pain generates creative forces. An illness triggered fervent creativity in my mother. The trauma following her il ...
W5185
30.09.2012
White Cube Research - Pascal Unbehaun
WWW
WHITE CUBE RESEARCH aims to set up a full operative institute for theoretical research in an exhibition context. The researchers are asked to gather in a small building, the white cube (or just in an office-like setup) inside an art exhibition. ...
WHITE CUBE RESEARCH aims to set up a full operative institute for theoretical research in an exhibition context. The researchers are asked to gather in a small building, the white cube (or just in an office-like setup) inside an art exhibition. ...
U9562
01.01.1994
Catwalk - Sylive Fleury
Unbuilt Roads
An outdoor concrete sculpture, yet uncompleted. This minimal sculpture is to be built using the traditional catwalk runway model, as in use for most fashion shows. Although adaptable, it should be constructed according to standard proportions, in a ...
An outdoor concrete sculpture, yet uncompleted. This minimal sculpture is to be built using the traditional catwalk runway model, as in use for most fashion shows. Although adaptable, it should be constructed according to standard proportions, in a ...
W3701
17.05.2011
Taxonomy of Aborted Ideas - Mariángeles Soto-Díaz
WWW
"Taxonomy of Aborted Ideas" is both a standalone work and a classification system inspired by Jorge Luis Borges' Chinese Encyclopedia and Michel Foucault's The Order of Things. Aborted ideas are part of the topography of unrealized projects, but unlike un ...
"Taxonomy of Aborted Ideas" is both a standalone work and a classification system inspired by Jorge Luis Borges' Chinese Encyclopedia and Michel Foucault's The Order of Things. Aborted ideas are part of the topography of unrealized projects, but unlike un ...
W4286
24.05.2011
Proposal for Vision and Vernacular Eight African American Artists in Venice  - Lonnie Holley
WWW
Lonnie Holley From Earth the Mother to the Black Mother and Back Again Proposal for Vision and Vernacular Eight African American Artists in Venice Presented by the American Folk Art Museum at Fondaco dei Tedeschi, June 2011 Artist State ...
Lonnie Holley From Earth the Mother to the Black Mother and Back Again Proposal for Vision and Vernacular Eight African American Artists in Venice Presented by the American Folk Art Museum at Fondaco dei Tedeschi, June 2011 Artist State ...
W4823
07.08.2012
Outstretched Arms - Todd Williamson
WWW
"Outstretched Arms" is a project that was originally conceived in 2009 for a university show. It features a 4ft diameter hanging painting that slowly rotates with the air currents. It also features a 10 minute commissioned work of music that supports ...
"Outstretched Arms" is a project that was originally conceived in 2009 for a university show. It features a 4ft diameter hanging painting that slowly rotates with the air currents. It also features a 10 minute commissioned work of music that supports ...
W5164
25.09.2012
E-Motion Pictures - Ron Weijers
WWW
The ‘E-Motion Pictures’ project by the Dutch multi-disciplinary artist Ron Weijers, one could review as a series of mixed media video works that are only present in a specific set space and time – as opposed to his regular mixed-media paintings whic ...
The ‘E-Motion Pictures’ project by the Dutch multi-disciplinary artist Ron Weijers, one could review as a series of mixed media video works that are only present in a specific set space and time – as opposed to his regular mixed-media paintings whic ...
W3636
14.05.2011
Shadows, 1999 - Ingrid Lahti
WWW
Shadows, 1999: Two airplane silhouettes (15’ x 9’ and 10’ x 7’, respectively) will be hung between the airplane hangars at the former Sand Point Naval Air Station. The silhouettes, chosen from WWII airplane recognition manuals, are those of the WW ...
Shadows, 1999: Two airplane silhouettes (15’ x 9’ and 10’ x 7’, respectively) will be hung between the airplane hangars at the former Sand Point Naval Air Station. The silhouettes, chosen from WWII airplane recognition manuals, are those of the WW ...
W3810
18.05.2011
Convention - David K. Ross
WWW
Convention' was an unsolicited, and as I found out in March of this year, unaccepted proposal to the promoters of the Toronto International Art Fair. ...
Convention' was an unsolicited, and as I found out in March of this year, unaccepted proposal to the promoters of the Toronto International Art Fair. ...
W4412
25.05.2011
The Room102 Collective  - Room102 (Eleni Frudaraki & Juan Caicedo)
WWW
The Room102 Collective is a recently formed art collective currently in the pursue of finding what bonds it together conceptually. In it take part at the moment: Eleni Froudaraki * 1984 in Crete, Greece. She studied painting and sculpture in Athens School ...
The Room102 Collective is a recently formed art collective currently in the pursue of finding what bonds it together conceptually. In it take part at the moment: Eleni Froudaraki * 1984 in Crete, Greece. She studied painting and sculpture in Athens School ...
W4679
26.05.2011
“Freud is the Mirror of Marx” - Andrea Goldman
WWW
“Freud is the Mirror of Marx” would be a photographic show down a long hallway or narrow room. On one side of the hallway, images tangentially related to Freudian thought are hung, across from each image is a photograph tangentially related to Marxist ...
“Freud is the Mirror of Marx” would be a photographic show down a long hallway or narrow room. On one side of the hallway, images tangentially related to Freudian thought are hung, across from each image is a photograph tangentially related to Marxist ...
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 ...
W5210
05.10.2012
The Ringer (What Every Tower Needs) - Zoe Mackler
WWW
Project Proposal In Brief -­ The Ringer (What Every Tower Needs) This work address the complex feelings of displacement and disconnect experienced by the Glasgow School of Art and the surrounding community during campus redevelopment. Honoring the ideals ...
Project Proposal In Brief -­ The Ringer (What Every Tower Needs) This work address the complex feelings of displacement and disconnect experienced by the Glasgow School of Art and the surrounding community during campus redevelopment. Honoring the ideals ...
W5258
12.10.2012
Collective biographies - Haim Ben Shitrit
WWW
Collective biographies Chapter 1 Bernd Sering Bernd is my friend and colleague for more than 20 years. He came to Israel from Bavaria in the beginning of the eighties, finished an MA In physics, got married to Dafna and they had 2 boys. The fact tha ...
Collective biographies Chapter 1 Bernd Sering Bernd is my friend and colleague for more than 20 years. He came to Israel from Bavaria in the beginning of the eighties, finished an MA In physics, got married to Dafna and they had 2 boys. The fact tha ...
W3766
18.05.2011
francine LeClercq
WWW
image 1: Exit, local law 26, study for an un-threaded stair. image 2: study for spatial composition of laser levels in exhibition space ...
image 1: Exit, local law 26, study for an un-threaded stair. image 2: study for spatial composition of laser levels in exhibition space ...
W5172
26.09.2012
Anca Benera + Arnold Estefan
WWW
We wanted to cut 0,892 cm² of soil from the Serpent Island - former Romanian territory, occupied by USSR in 1948 - a minuscule territory located in the northwestern Black Sea, which belongs now to Ukraine. ...
We wanted to cut 0,892 cm² of soil from the Serpent Island - former Romanian territory, occupied by USSR in 1948 - a minuscule territory located in the northwestern Black Sea, which belongs now to Ukraine. ...
W4436
25.05.2011
Lucy Hawthorne
WWW
I imagined the toothpick sculpture project as a lighthearted, easy to produce artwork - a method of shoehorning myself out of my artmaking slumber. 3000 toothpicks and 4 months later and I've barely made a dent. How does this object swallow so many toothp ...
I imagined the toothpick sculpture project as a lighthearted, easy to produce artwork - a method of shoehorning myself out of my artmaking slumber. 3000 toothpicks and 4 months later and I've barely made a dent. How does this object swallow so many toothp ...
W4845
08.08.2012
Floating Web - Rietveld Landscape
WWW
Floating Web Radio Kootwijk used to be the symbol of vision and innovation. However, the last couple of years it became the symbol of vacancy and stagnation. “The Web” – Radio Kootwijk revitalizes the alien innovation landscape from 1920. The Web ...
Floating Web Radio Kootwijk used to be the symbol of vision and innovation. However, the last couple of years it became the symbol of vacancy and stagnation. “The Web” – Radio Kootwijk revitalizes the alien innovation landscape from 1920. The Web ...
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 ...
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 ...
W5420
20.10.2012
“These things I do, and shall do, if I can, are no longer, or are not yet, or never were, or never will be, or if they were, if they are, if they will be, were not here, are not here, will not be here, but elsewhere”. - Alessandro Laita
WWW
TITLE “These things I do, and shall do, if I can, are no longer, or are not yet, or never were, or never will be, or if they were, if they are, if they will be, were not here, are not here, will not be here, but elsewhere”. DESCRIPTION The who ...
TITLE “These things I do, and shall do, if I can, are no longer, or are not yet, or never were, or never will be, or if they were, if they are, if they will be, were not here, are not here, will not be here, but elsewhere”. DESCRIPTION The who ...
W4083
23.05.2011
The Queen’s Sconce - Anna Walker
WWW
The Queen’s Sconce brief: to enhance the new Queen’s Sconce bridge, which was installed in summer 2010. The commission - to respond to the new bridge, the setting, Civil War History and the story of the Sconce itself. The existing design takes its ins ...
The Queen’s Sconce brief: to enhance the new Queen’s Sconce bridge, which was installed in summer 2010. The commission - to respond to the new bridge, the setting, Civil War History and the story of the Sconce itself. The existing design takes its ins ...
W10876
12.02.2015
Walking (Autonomous) Sculpture - Genco Gulan
WWW
I am interested in making moving (autonomous) sculptures with real robots. I did worked with some other different kinds of robots and got a prize with them at EMAF in 2005 as part of a larger project . But they were smaller, and theri walking, moving capa ...
I am interested in making moving (autonomous) sculptures with real robots. I did worked with some other different kinds of robots and got a prize with them at EMAF in 2005 as part of a larger project . But they were smaller, and theri walking, moving capa ...
W5049
03.09.2012
Civic Centre in Salburua  - Taller Basico de Arquitectura [TBA]
WWW
Civic Centre in Salburua (2009) The expansion of the city towards the peripheral neighborhoods has occupied the green limits between the inhabited zone and the world. These areas still retain their limit character, and they don’t appear on the city a ...
Civic Centre in Salburua (2009) The expansion of the city towards the peripheral neighborhoods has occupied the green limits between the inhabited zone and the world. These areas still retain their limit character, and they don’t appear on the city a ...
W5364
19.10.2012
Ongoing Meeting Between Reality and Memory - Na'ama Zussman
WWW
Unrealized Project : This work offers an Ongoing Meeting Between Reality and Memory, onto anyone can reflects and projects himself, as his dimensions of presentation – past , present, future and time, and therefore creates sustainable relations betwe ...
Unrealized Project : This work offers an Ongoing Meeting Between Reality and Memory, onto anyone can reflects and projects himself, as his dimensions of presentation – past , present, future and time, and therefore creates sustainable relations betwe ...
W4811
07.08.2012
Detachment - Amira Parree
WWW
Hand made latex dress sewed by hand for 100 hours within 10 days, partly burnd. The dress is one piece of 6 yards long material, 2 dresses in one piece. One side is empty and the other side is worn by me. Detachment, the title expresses my willingne ...
Hand made latex dress sewed by hand for 100 hours within 10 days, partly burnd. The dress is one piece of 6 yards long material, 2 dresses in one piece. One side is empty and the other side is worn by me. Detachment, the title expresses my willingne ...