‘My poetry won me asylum’: Cecilia Vicuña on exile life in ‘sad’ Britain after Pinochet’s coup
Artist and poet Cecilia Vicuña is returning to London for a major exhibition, reflecting on her life as an exile following the 1973 Pinochet coup in Chile. Vicuña, who was granted asylum in the UK after her poetry was used as evidence of the danger she faced, continues to explore themes of political struggle and memory.
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The story highlights the intersection of art, political activism, and the historical experience of exile, providing a human perspective on global political events.
‘My stories want to live again’ … Vicuña with Quipu Menstrual at her new Whitechapel exhibition. ‘My stories want to live again’ … Vicuña with Quipu Menstrual at her new Whitechapel exhibition. Art and design ‘My poetry won me asylum’: Cecilia Vicuña on exile life in ‘sad’ Britain after Pinochet’s coup Five decades after convincing judges she’d be killed if she returned to Chile, the artist is back with a politically charged retrospective in the country she grew to love
Nadia Khomami Tue 6 Oct 2026 15.28 BST Last modified on Tue 6 Oct 2026 22.15 BST Share Prefer the Guardian on Google C ecilia Vicuña was 24 when she first arrived in London. She had come from Santiago on a British Council scholarship to study at the Slade School of Art , and her stay was supposed to be so brief that she didn’t even unpack her suitcase.
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