Ai Weiwei (b. 1957) is a Chinese artist and activist based in Portugal. Ai grew up in exile in northwestern China. He studied animation at the Beijing Film Academy as well as English language at the University of Pennsylvania. He later enrolled at the Art Students League of New York City. After creative years in the East Village, he returned to China in 1993. In 2011, Ai, who has repeatedly criticized the Chinese government, was arrested for a period of 81 days. In 2015, he first moved to Berlin, then to Cambridge, England. Since 2021, Ai lives in Portugal. Numerous institutions have hosted solo shows for him, including Haus der Kunst in Munich (2009), Tate Modern in London (2011), Martin-Gropius-Bau in Berlin (2014), and Albertina Modern in Vienna (2022). Ai’s work challenges the geopolitical and socio-political conditions in China and beyond.
