Artist Ai Weiwei

Ai Weiwei was born in 1957 in Beijing. He lives and works in both Berlin and Beijing. He attended the Beijing Film Academy and later, on moving to New York (1983–1993), continued his studies at the Parsons School of Design. Major solo exhibitions include the National Gallery in Prague, Czech Republic (2017); Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, Italy (2016); 21er Haus Museum of Contemporary Art, Vienna, Austria (2016); Helsinki Art Museum, Finland (2016); Royal Academy of Art, London, UK (2015); Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin, Germany (2014); Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C. (2012); Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taiwan (2011); Tate Modern, London (2010); and Haus der Kunst, Munich (2009). Architectural collaborations include the 2012 Serpentine Pavilion and the 2008 Beijing National Stadium, with Herzog and de Meuron. Among numerous awards and honors, he was granted the lifetime achievement award from the Chinese Contemporary Art Awards in 2008 and the Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent from the Human Rights Foundation, New York in 2012; he was made Honorary Academician at the Royal Academy of Arts, London in 2011. He was given the Ambassador of Conscience Award by Amnesty International, London in 2015. (Source: Public Art Fund)