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A conversation on the opening day of Vicuña’s exhibition considers a new commission connecting water struggles in Chile and Los Angeles.
All times are local to the venue · America/Los Angeles
A knot can hold a connection across distance. In Cecilia Vicuña’s work, the quipu becomes a way to think about relationships among people, landscapes and water. At MOCA Grand Avenue, the artist joins UCLA professor Elizabeth DeLoughrey to discuss her new Maricunga project and the wider practice behind it.
The Dream of Water: Quipu of Encounters Maricunga takes its focus from the Maricunga Salt Flats in the southern Atacama Desert. MOCA says corporate lithium mining poses increasing threats to the area’s ecosystems and to communities with generations of ties to the territory.
The commission reaches beyond that landscape. MOCA describes a collaborative project in phases, with artists, young people, scientists and Indigenous water defenders in Chile and Los Angeles taking part in exchanges about the water crises in both places. A ritual quipu assembly in Los Angeles is planned as the culmination; the November event is a conversation about the work, not that assembly.
Further reading: Cecilia Vicuña in Conversation with Elizabeth DeLoughrey | MOCA LA ↗ · Cecilia Vicuña The Dream of Water: Quipu of Encounters Maricunga | MOCA LA ↗
Quipu comes from the Quechua word for “knot.” Vicuña has reimagined the pre-Columbian system of knotted recording through ritual works that bring people and places into relation. The talk will also consider her work across poetry, performance and textiles. Earlier in her career, she coined the term Arte Precario for structures made to disappear in the landscape.
DeLoughrey teaches in UCLA’s English Department and Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. Her work on postcolonial and Indigenous literature, climate change and the Caribbean and Pacific Islands brings another perspective to the discussion. Her book Allegories of the Anthropocene examines climate change and empire in literary and visual art.
Further reading: Cecilia Vicuña in Conversation with Elizabeth DeLoughrey | MOCA LA ↗ · Cecilia Vicuña The Dream of Water: Quipu of Encounters Maricunga | MOCA LA ↗
Vicuña and DeLoughrey discuss the Maricunga commission alongside the artist’s work in poetry, performance and textiles.
The talk is free with RSVP. MOCA lists ticket releases on October 26 for members and October 28 for the general public; check the ticket portal for current availability.
Cecilia Vicuña in Conversation with Elizabeth DeLoughrey | MOCA LA ↗ · MOCA LA | Tickets and Memberships ↗
MOCA provides assisted listening devices on request. For an ASL interpreter at a talk-focused public program, the museum asks for two weeks’ notice by email at [email protected]. Wheelchairs are available at lobby desks.
The event is at MOCA Grand Avenue, 250 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012, not The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. MOCA identifies Grand Ave Arts / Bunker Hill as its nearest Metro station and recommends the Metro Trip Planner.
A short-term rideshare loading zone is outside the museum, just past the traffic lights.
Cecilia Vicuña in Conversation with Elizabeth DeLoughrey | MOCA LA ↗ · Plan Your Visit | MOCA LA ↗ · Parking, Public Transit, Bikes & Ride Share at MOCA Grand Avenue | MOCA LA ↗
MOCA lists California Plaza parking at 351 S. Olive St., with entrances from Olive Street or Lower Grand marked 1 CAL and 2 CAL. The museum does not validate downtown parking.
A public bike rack is behind the MOCA Box Office, to the left of the MOCA Store entrance.
Parking, Public Transit, Bikes & Ride Share at MOCA Grand Avenue | MOCA LA ↗
Sunday, November 15, 2026, from 3 to 4 p.m. at MOCA Grand Avenue.
Cecilia Vicuña in Conversation with Elizabeth DeLoughrey | MOCA LA ↗ · Cecilia Vicuña The Dream of Water: Quipu of Encounters Maricunga | MOCA LA ↗
The conversation is free with RSVP. Check MOCA’s ticket portal for current availability.
Cecilia Vicuña in Conversation with Elizabeth DeLoughrey | MOCA LA ↗ · MOCA LA | Tickets and Memberships ↗
Yes. The Dream of Water: Quipu of Encounters Maricunga is listed at MOCA Grand Avenue through June 6, 2027. The conversation is a separate event on November 15.
Cecilia Vicuña The Dream of Water: Quipu of Encounters Maricunga | MOCA LA ↗
Email [email protected]. MOCA asks for two weeks’ notice for interpretation at talk-focused public programs.
250 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Map search by venue and address. Check the organiser’s entrance details before travelling.
Images from the linked sources. Each caption identifies the context of the image.
Event, planning and background information checked 2026-10-29 against the linked sources.