World-renowned artist Cecilia Vicuña to perform at Firstsite in exhibition opening

Cecilia Vicuña, the Chilean-born artist who was exiled in London after the military coup in her native country in 1973, will give a free performance exploring the relationship between word and thread to mark the opening of a new exhibition organised by the singular-sounding Essex Collection of Art from Latin America.

Fiber of Pray/Fiber of Gold will take place for an hour in the auditorium of Colchester’s Firstsite, representing a memorable opening for the Unravelling Threads display. The political activist and founding member of Artists for Democracy has spent five decades performing and exhibiting across Europe, Latin America and the US, and will answer questions about her life and work following the event.

The exhibition has been devised by Valeria Paz Moscoso, the former Curator of Exhibitions at the National Museum of Art in La Paz. It is inspired by Vicuña’s participation in a London conference on textiles and South American politics.

“Cecilia is a world-renowned artist and we are proud she will be coming to Firstsite to mark the opening,” said Joanne Harwood, the director of the Collection.

“Her performance reflects many of the themes investigated by the exhibition.”

• Takes place 3pm-4pm on March 18 2012. Unravelling Threads continues until June 17 2012.