Personal Info

Known For

Directing

Gender

Male

Birthday

August 27, 1957 (67 years old)

Place of Birth

Beijing, China

Ai Weiwei

Biography

Ai Weiwei is a Chinese contemporary artist and activist. Ai grew up in the far north-west of China, where he lived under harsh conditions due to his father's exile. As an activist, he has been openly critical of the Chinese Government's stance on democracy and human rights. He investigated government corruption and cover-ups, in particular the Sichuan schools corruption scandal following the collapse of schools in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. In 2011, Ai Weiwei was arrested at Beijing Capital International Airport on 3 April, for allegedly economic crimes. He was detained for 81 days without charge. Ai Weiwei emerged as a vital instigator in Chinese cultural development, an architect of Chinese modernism, and one of the nation's most vocal political commentators. Ai Weiwei encapsulates political conviction and his personal poetry in his many sculptures, photographs and public works. In doing this, he makes use of Chinese art forms to display the Chinese political and social issues. After being allowed to leave China in 2015, he has lived in Berlin, Germany, and, since 2019, in Cambridge, UK, with his family, working and traveling internationally.

Known For

KUN 13: Criticizing Ai Weiwei and Wu Haohao

Why Are We Creative?: The Centipede's Dilemma

Laogai: Prison Nation - Inside China's Ruling System

Discard the Old Path of Closed Doors and Rigidity and Reject Evil Attempts to Change the Party's Banner