In What Is Poetry to You?, Cecilia Vicuña asks passersby on the streets of Bogotá — including artists, sex workers, children, a police officer, and a scientist — the question: “What is poetry to you?” The diverse answers she gathers reveal the richness of Colombia’s oral culture and show how poetry thrives beyond books and institutions.

Cecilia Vicuña is a poet, performer, and sound and visual artist. In the 1960s she developed the concept of arte precario (“precarious art”) in response to ecological, social, and cultural challenges. Born in Santiago, she was exiled in the early 1970s after the military coup against President Allende. A sense of impermanence and her wish to preserve Chile’s indigenous history and culture run throughout her work.

The film is part of the parallel film programme accompanying It Goes Without Saying and is on view in the choir space until Sunday 16 November.
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© Photo: Brent Mertens

From 18 December, the next film in the series, I comme Iran (2014) by Sanaz Azari, will be shown.
Between 17 November and 17 December, the choir space will host a series of temporary works and interventions.