Ai Weiwei's Biography
Ai Weiwei is a Chinese contemporary artist, activist, and architectural designer. Born in 1957 in Beijing, Ai's father, the renowned poet Ai Qing, was exiled to a labor camp during the Cultural Revolution and Ai spent the early part of his childhood in the countryside. In 1978, he moved to the United States, where he studied and worked as an artist before returning to China in 1993. As an artist, Ai has produced an extensive body of work, including photography, sculpture, installation art, design, and architectural projects. His work has been exhibited around the world and he has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions, including at the Tate Modern in London, the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, and the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing. Ai has also been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize in 2003, the Ordway Prize in 2010, and the Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent in 2012. He is a vocal advocate for human rights in China and has been jailed for his activism.