Ai Weiwei

Profile/CV

Ai Weiwei Biography

Ai Weiwei was born in 1957 in Beijing, China, where he lives and works. He has exhibited internationally, including recent solo shows at Mori Art Museum, Tokyo and Haus der Kunst, Munich, and has contributed to many group exhibitions around the world, including at the São Paulo Biennial; Documenta 12, Kassel, Germany and Tate Liverpool, UK. Ai also founded the design company Fake Design and co-founded the China Art Archives and Warehouse in Beijing. His work is held in many major collections, including Tate Collection (Table and Pillar 2002).

In response to Ai Weiwei's arrest and detainment, leading museums around the world have joined and launched an online petition to express concern for Ai's freedom and call for his release, including Guggenheim Museum; the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD); Museum of Modern Art, New York; Tate, London; Gwangju Biennale, Korea; and the Musée national d'art moderne/Centre de création industrielle, Paris. We sincerely hope that our collective action using social networking sites - Ai Weiwei's favored medium of social sculpture - will promote Ai's liberty and the principle of free creative expression.