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.

Tulips for Amsterdam - Isa Genzken

Art and Ourselves: A Proposal for the city of Nordhorn - Allen Rupperssberg

PROPOSALl + VOORSTEL - Guillame Bijl

The pyramids...to be seen to be believed - Jonathan Monk

Tower Cranes, Paris  - Tadashi Kawamata

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

119. PROJET DE DESTRUCTION DU MUSEE 1970 - 1971 - Jef Geys

Ceinture - Huang Ping Yong

City Hall Tower Night Ilumination - Krysztof Wodiczko

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

Agency of Unrealised Projects
Logo by Liam Gillick
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Date
Title
Source
Description
Tags
W4486
25.05.2011
12 Swings In a Circle - Veronica Wilton
WWW
W3754
18.05.2011
DATENRAUM DEUTSCHLAND (GERMANY DATA SPACE) (A TOPOGRAPHIC, NON-NARRATIVE INFORMATION COLLAGE / VIDEO INSTALLATION) - Ira Schneider
WWW
With support from the Fulbright Commission, Ira Schneider has produced a video installation which in one space presents the historic and contemporary German contribution to world culture. A map of Germany with its 16 federal states (Bundeslands) is tra ...
With support from the Fulbright Commission, Ira Schneider has produced a video installation which in one space presents the historic and contemporary German contribution to world culture. A map of Germany with its 16 federal states (Bundeslands) is tra ...
W4315
24.05.2011
Catherine Vieira
WWW
For this public art installation, Invisible border, Paris-based artist Catherine Vieira proposes installing along East River State Park in Brooklyn a four layers of mesh fabric tent. ...
For this public art installation, Invisible border, Paris-based artist Catherine Vieira proposes installing along East River State Park in Brooklyn a four layers of mesh fabric tent. ...
U9804
25.03.1997
Unrealized Projects - Jonas Meckas
Unbuilt Roads
Dear Hans Ulrich: Tonight I am thinking about my unrealized projects. I have many of them. One is: To publish a book of IDEAS. I consider that ideas are the cheapest thing in the world. I have about 10,000 of them. But I have no time to put them all in ...
Dear Hans Ulrich: Tonight I am thinking about my unrealized projects. I have many of them. One is: To publish a book of IDEAS. I consider that ideas are the cheapest thing in the world. I have about 10,000 of them. But I have no time to put them all in ...
W3986
21.05.2011
EMOTIONAL SPACE - sculptor PhD, Aili Vahtrapuu, disainer Janika Vesberg
WWW
Project for Venice XII International Architectural Biennale : People meet in Architecture. An interactive installation to analyse and combine the aural and the visual STATEMENT : PEOPLE MEET IN ARCHITECTURE Venice XII International Architectural ...
Project for Venice XII International Architectural Biennale : People meet in Architecture. An interactive installation to analyse and combine the aural and the visual STATEMENT : PEOPLE MEET IN ARCHITECTURE Venice XII International Architectural ...
U9533
01.01.1992
AUSSICHTSTURM, HOLZHAUS (WOHNHAUS), SCHWIMMBECKEN, FREIE FAHRT - Maria Eichhorn
Unbuilt Roads
AUSSICHTSTURM Auf der höchsten Erhebung einer Landschaft einen 33 Meter hohen Aussichtsturm in einer offenen Konstruktion (Stahlskelettbauweise) bauen. Mit standigen Offnungszeiten. HOLZHAUS (WOHNHAUS) In einer Gegend mit wenigen oder keinen Hau ...
AUSSICHTSTURM Auf der höchsten Erhebung einer Landschaft einen 33 Meter hohen Aussichtsturm in einer offenen Konstruktion (Stahlskelettbauweise) bauen. Mit standigen Offnungszeiten. HOLZHAUS (WOHNHAUS) In einer Gegend mit wenigen oder keinen Hau ...
D10800
06.09.2012
An unrealized interview - Nico Dockx
DAAD
Since my first meeting with Hans Ulrich Obrist on 15.03.2002 in his office at the Musée d'Art moderne de la ville de Paris -talking together about new kinds of slowness…- we tried for almost 10 years to go and visit the Greek filmmaker Theo Angelopoulo ...
Since my first meeting with Hans Ulrich Obrist on 15.03.2002 in his office at the Musée d'Art moderne de la ville de Paris -talking together about new kinds of slowness…- we tried for almost 10 years to go and visit the Greek filmmaker Theo Angelopoulo ...
W3573
12.05.2011
MOROSO Prize 2010 Proposal - Gabriele De Santis
WWW
Introduction Before this opportunity, I knew of Moroso, but I was not fortunate enough to fully engage with it in-depth. The first step was obviously to carefully explore the website. Through the images and literature offered I gained a better underst ...
Introduction Before this opportunity, I knew of Moroso, but I was not fortunate enough to fully engage with it in-depth. The first step was obviously to carefully explore the website. Through the images and literature offered I gained a better underst ...
W4020
22.05.2011
Rural pleasure trip / an investigation of sounds - Gisela Weimann
WWW
Gisela Weimann >www.giselaweimann.de< Since the 80s the focal points of my projects are sound installations and experimental music-theatre productions that include artists and theorists from different fields and national descend. Gisela Weimann ...
Gisela Weimann >www.giselaweimann.de< Since the 80s the focal points of my projects are sound installations and experimental music-theatre productions that include artists and theorists from different fields and national descend. Gisela Weimann ...
W5390
20.10.2012
Jesvin Yeo
WWW
Unrealized Project by Jesvin Yeo The initial intention of this project was to design and create a series of dolls to illustrate the dark period of Singapore in 1950s. When there had been more than 30 secret societies and almost everyday, there were gan ...
Unrealized Project by Jesvin Yeo The initial intention of this project was to design and create a series of dolls to illustrate the dark period of Singapore in 1950s. When there had been more than 30 secret societies and almost everyday, there were gan ...
W4164
23.05.2011
Judith Sönnicken
WWW
my unrealizeable artwork is the image of my nose turning into a balcony and my brain coming out to have a cigarette. the point of visualizing it would be to put it in front of the eyes, but in fact that image is taking place behind. ...
my unrealizeable artwork is the image of my nose turning into a balcony and my brain coming out to have a cigarette. the point of visualizing it would be to put it in front of the eyes, but in fact that image is taking place behind. ...
W5071
05.09.2012
Daily Range - Matan Ashkenazy
WWW
DAILY RANGE. MATAN ASHKENAZY This body of work includes colour photographs done in Israel with an 8x10 plate camera between 2009-2012. The images deal with confined space within the natural environment aesthetically, politically and construct wise. A ...
DAILY RANGE. MATAN ASHKENAZY This body of work includes colour photographs done in Israel with an 8x10 plate camera between 2009-2012. The images deal with confined space within the natural environment aesthetically, politically and construct wise. A ...
W4266
24.05.2011
M86 - Samuel Levack and Jennifer Lewandowski
WWW
A Proposal – M86 As the end of the year is culled, we invite a fresh adventure. A journey, to the heart of the UK landscape. A journey, through the blood metaphor. We propose: a one-week road trip in which we will visit the site of all 86 of the se ...
A Proposal – M86 As the end of the year is culled, we invite a fresh adventure. A journey, to the heart of the UK landscape. A journey, through the blood metaphor. We propose: a one-week road trip in which we will visit the site of all 86 of the se ...
W5338
18.10.2012
Hanínga Thiel
WWW
3 proposals for the Istanbul Biennale: Proposal 1: LOST DIRECTION Some theory first: Do you know the rules and do you know the guidelines? The world has become chaotic. Confusing, mostly because opposing trends such as globalization (the increas ...
3 proposals for the Istanbul Biennale: Proposal 1: LOST DIRECTION Some theory first: Do you know the rules and do you know the guidelines? The world has become chaotic. Confusing, mostly because opposing trends such as globalization (the increas ...
W3799
18.05.2011
PHOTOGRAPHIC DOCUMENTATION OF THE STONE CIRCLES OF SENEGAL AND THE GAMBIA - Kerry Stuart Coppin
WWW
Panoramic Documentation of The Stone Circles of Senegal and The Gambia: I propose to extend visual research to a region of the continent not well known - a little documented rural region. One of five sites in Africa recently (2006) declared Unesco World ...
Panoramic Documentation of The Stone Circles of Senegal and The Gambia: I propose to extend visual research to a region of the continent not well known - a little documented rural region. One of five sites in Africa recently (2006) declared Unesco World ...
W3621
14.05.2011
The 3 Muses of West Hollywood - Phil Tarley
WWW
Public Art For Street Installation in the City of West Hollywood, California ARTIST’S STATEMENT: THE 3 MUSES OF WEST HOLLYWOOD Who are we, the people of West Hollywood? Where do we come from? What do we do? As we live out our lives here ...
Public Art For Street Installation in the City of West Hollywood, California ARTIST’S STATEMENT: THE 3 MUSES OF WEST HOLLYWOOD Who are we, the people of West Hollywood? Where do we come from? What do we do? As we live out our lives here ...
W4284
24.05.2011
Mr. Imagination’s Arch of Unity - Mr. Imagination (Gregory Warmack)
WWW
Mr. Imagination (Gregory Warmack) Mr. Imagination’s Arch of Unity Proposal for Vision and Vernacular Eight African American Artists in Venice Presented by American Folk Art Museum at Fondaco dei Tedeschi, June 2011 Artist Statement The su ...
Mr. Imagination (Gregory Warmack) Mr. Imagination’s Arch of Unity Proposal for Vision and Vernacular Eight African American Artists in Venice Presented by American Folk Art Museum at Fondaco dei Tedeschi, June 2011 Artist Statement The su ...
W4037
22.05.2011
Lynn Carlson
WWW
An Installation, on site, composed of baskets and crates on waist high tables offering musical instruments while supermarket music wafts through the space. An art project is full of possibilities. For the artist, it may mean expanding on a theme. F ...
An Installation, on site, composed of baskets and crates on waist high tables offering musical instruments while supermarket music wafts through the space. An art project is full of possibilities. For the artist, it may mean expanding on a theme. F ...
W4237
24.05.2011
Susanna Byrne
WWW
People are incalculable, not perfect organisms. Systems and processes require the functioning of all the appropriate elements of a formula - remove, alter, adjust or replace any and the algorithm will malfunction. There is a vernacular of aesthetics emb ...
People are incalculable, not perfect organisms. Systems and processes require the functioning of all the appropriate elements of a formula - remove, alter, adjust or replace any and the algorithm will malfunction. There is a vernacular of aesthetics emb ...
W4297
24.05.2011
WRAPPED MOON PROJECT - Reynard Loki
WWW
WRAPPED MOON PROJECT An Unrealized Project by Reynard Loki http://wrappedmoonproject.blogspot.com/ BACKGROUND On February 16, 1998, using the pseudonym of Red Q. Nary, I sent out the following e-mail to Woody Smith, the Curator of website of t ...
WRAPPED MOON PROJECT An Unrealized Project by Reynard Loki http://wrappedmoonproject.blogspot.com/ BACKGROUND On February 16, 1998, using the pseudonym of Red Q. Nary, I sent out the following e-mail to Woody Smith, the Curator of website of t ...
W4038
22.05.2011
Les dessous de Môtiers - Jacqueline Benz
WWW
Les dessous de Môtiers Le toit est soulevé par une grue, 80 cm d’intervalle marquent l’écart entre le bâtiment et le toit. Les pans du toit ont l’air de flotter un peu au-dessus de la maison, dans une légère mise en mouvement. Rien n’est ...
Les dessous de Môtiers Le toit est soulevé par une grue, 80 cm d’intervalle marquent l’écart entre le bâtiment et le toit. Les pans du toit ont l’air de flotter un peu au-dessus de la maison, dans une légère mise en mouvement. Rien n’est ...
W3938
20.05.2011
LETTER OF INTEREST for “Art Mediator” - Verina Gfader
WWW
The attached letter bears witness to a mail exchange following the Manifesta 8 (in the region of Murcia, Spain) announcement and job vacancies within education there. The proposal tries to create a space of uncertainty for the Manifesta organisers. ...
The attached letter bears witness to a mail exchange following the Manifesta 8 (in the region of Murcia, Spain) announcement and job vacancies within education there. The proposal tries to create a space of uncertainty for the Manifesta organisers. ...
W4210
24.05.2011
Way of the Closs - Branko Mejač
WWW
Presenting to you my nees project" Way of the Closs" which war taking shape from 1996 to 2003. Project was chosen for exhibition in a gallery "Family" in Ljubljana (Slovenia), but it was later turned down without any official explanation. Fourteen Stati ...
Presenting to you my nees project" Way of the Closs" which war taking shape from 1996 to 2003. Project was chosen for exhibition in a gallery "Family" in Ljubljana (Slovenia), but it was later turned down without any official explanation. Fourteen Stati ...
W3730
18.05.2011
“Priceless”, a proposal - Ama Saru Hsiao Chen
WWW
A proposal for an art fair. The difference between collections initiated through private sector and public fund raises concern of artworks value. As when artwork is purchased by a collector, it automatically obtains market value for future economic act ...
A proposal for an art fair. The difference between collections initiated through private sector and public fund raises concern of artworks value. As when artwork is purchased by a collector, it automatically obtains market value for future economic act ...
W3517
11.05.2011
Spartak Dulic
WWW
W4368
25.05.2011
Qi.ng
WWW
Title: Importance of some Note Medium: 12 x 8" Digital capture of graphite on 3 x 3" scrap paper ...
Title: Importance of some Note Medium: 12 x 8" Digital capture of graphite on 3 x 3" scrap paper ...