“Living Quipu” by Cecilia Vicuña, October 19, 2018

Chilean-born, New York–based artist Cecilia Vicuña stages a participatory, meditative performance in the Shapiro Family Courtyard. Her performance “Living Quipu” represents a rebirthing of the quipu, an ancient Andean system of knotted cords that served as a mode of writing, record keeping, and remembering that was banned by the Spanish in colonial times. Vicuña weaves and wraps the audience in raw wool, poetry, and song, channeling the power of the quipu as a vehicle for connection. For Vicuña, each person becomes a knot and vessel for memory in her “quipu for the future.”

“Cecilia Vicuña: Disappeared Quipu” is organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Brooklyn Museum.

Generously supported by the Museum Council Artist in Residency Program Fund.