21st Century POETRY Festival
An international meeting of
Spoken Word · Video Poetry and Visual arts
Wednesday 1 April 2026 ·
16:00 – 22:00
PARADISO Ubud Cinema
Jalan Goutama Selatan,
Bali- Ubud
Admission:
Regular 200K | Local / KTP 100K
TICKETS available HERE
and at the Paradiso Ubud Cinema entrance
21st Century Poetry Festival presents a vibrant meeting point of global voices and contemporary expression. The five hours programme showcases experimentation, creative collaboration, and the evolving forms of new poetics.
16:00
Welcome drinks and vegan food at the restaurant
17:00
Open Meeting for poets and people who want to practice writing: How to write Documentary Poetry – Living History Through Poetry.
Bring a memory or a story — and leave with a poem. Participants explore how individual experience connects to collective memory and transforms into poetry. Come as you are. No experience needed.
18:00
Poetry on Screen:
a curated selection of 12 poetry films from 11 countries
ΕΛΕFΘΕREE -I. Spirakis- Greece | Chimenea- K. & N.Agyeman USA | Heartbreak – A. Nkanyuza- Angola | I Am My Own Idol- M. Hamill- UK | My Friends Are Black Birds- S. Rengifo- Colombia | They Will Not Take Away the Beauty of the Night- H.Newton- UK | Whiteweight A.Kafentzi- Ireland / Greece | Floodtide I. Gibbins- Australia | What I Fear Most Is Becoming a ‘Poet’- J. Lees- UK | Dear Younger Me- Ι. Shiphrah-India | The Music That Lives in Me- A. Yausheva- Serbia / UK | Free Words- A Poet from Gaza- A.H. Ilhan-Turkey
19:00 till 22.00
22 artists LIVE Performances-
an open sharing of Spoken Word · Poetry Readings – Hip Hop · Freestyle- Ambient music and Visual Arts
In an era defined by rapid change and digital noise, spoken word has re‑emerged as one of the most vital artistic forms of the 21st century — a space where truth, identity, and collective memory are voiced with urgency and emotional force. The artists featured in this festival represent a global spectrum of poetic expression, blending performance, activism, storytelling, and experimental sound to confront the realities of our time. Their work spans themes of social awareness and personal transformation, demonstrating how spoken word continues to shape cultural discourse and empower communities.
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+The Institute [for Experimental Arts] and FILM POETRY Digital Platform of international video poetry present rare visual materials, documents, and artefacts tracing the evolution of radical poetry, performance, and avant garde media practices.
The Institute for Experimental Arts
http://theinstitute.info
FILM Poetry Digital Platfrorm
http://filmpoetry.org
PARADISO Ubud Cinema
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Report on the 21st Century POETRY Festival in Bali- Indonesia
The Institute for Experimental Arts successfully organized an international poetry festival in Bali, bringing together poets, video poetry directors, and musicians from 15 countries. The festival created a vibrant meeting point for Balinese, Indonesian, and international artists, fostering meaningful exchanges and collaborations across disciplines and cultures.
Throughout the event, audiences experienced a rich program characterized by the high quality, originality, and diversity of the artistic works presented. The festival highlighted the dynamic energy of the contemporary poetry and interdisciplinary arts scene, offering moments of inspiration and creative dialogue.
The Institute for Experimental Arts would like to warmly thank all the participating artists for their contributions, as well as Paradiso Ubud Cinema for generously providing its wonderful venue and highly professional technical team, which were essential to the successful realization of the festival.
