Ai Weiwei
Ai Weiwei is a Chinese artist known for his contemporary art, documentary work, and activism.
Biography of Ai Weiwei
Ai Weiwei was born in 1957 in Beijing, China. Ai Weiwei's father was Ai Qing, a Chinese poet who faced condemnation during the Anti-Rightist Movement. When Ai was just one year old, the family was sent to a labor camp in Beidahuang, Heilongjiang, in 1958.
Later, they were exiled to Shihezi, Xinjiang, where they resided for 16 years. It wasn't until Mao Zedong's death and the conclusion of the Cultural Revolution in 1976 that the family returned to Beijing.
In 1978, Ai Weiwei entered the Beijing Film Academy, where he pursued studies in animation. During the same year, he co-founded the avant-garde art collective known as the "Stars" alongside Ma Desheng, Wang Keping, Mao Lizi, and others. However, the group disbanded in 1983.
Between 1981 and 1993, Ai Weiwei resided in the United States, becoming part of the first wave of Chinese students to study abroad. Initially, he settled in Philadelphia and San Francisco, where he pursued English studies at the University of Pennsylvania and the Berkeley Adult School. Later, he relocated to New York City, briefly attending Parsons School of Design. Subsequently, from 1983 to 1986, he studied at the Art Students League of New York under the guidance of Bruce Dorfman, Knox Martin, and Richard Pousette-Dart. Despite later leaving formal education, he continued to support himself through street portraiture and various odd jobs. During this time, he immersed himself in the works of artists such as Marcel Duchamp, Andy Warhol, and Jasper Johns.
In 1993, Ai Weiwei returned to China due to his father's illness. By 1999, he had settled in Caochangdi, northeast Beijing, where he constructed his inaugural architectural endeavor, a studio house. Motivated by his fascination with architecture, he established the FAKE Design architecture studio in 2003.
However, he was arrested in 2011 on charges of tax evasion, resulting in an 81-day incarceration before his release. Subsequently, the Chinese government confiscated his passport, barring him from travel. It wasn't until 2015, upon the return of his passport, that Ai relocated to Berlin, setting up a spacious studio in a former brewery.
Ai Weiwei announced his departure from Berlin in 2019. He then settled in Cambridge, England, only to relocate again in September 2019, this time to Montemor-o-Novo, Portugal.
As an activist, Ai Weiwei has been outspokenly critical of the Chinese government's positions on democracy and human rights. He has delved into government corruption and concealment, notably investigating the Sichuan schools corruption scandal that arose from the collapse of "tofu-dreg schools" during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.
His accolades include the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chinese Contemporary Art Awards in 2008 and an appointment as Honorary Academician at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, in 2011. Ai Weiwei's advocacy for human rights has earned him prestigious recognition, such as the Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent in 2012 and Amnesty International’s Ambassador of Conscience Award in 2015.