Leading contemporary artist AI WEIWEI joins Factory International Creative Director Kee Hong Low to discuss his role as a global citizen, artist and thinker in a special talk at Aviva Studios on 12 March.
The talk is part of Factory International’s Artists in Times of Upheaval series. Focusing on artists in and from some of the areas most exposed to current global forces, Artists in Times of Upheaval asks ‘what space is there for artists when life ‘as normal’ no longer seems possible? Why do they continue to create art? And how?’
As a conceptual artist, AI WEIWEI uses a wide range of media to reflect on contemporary geopolitics and society – from sculptural installation, filmmaking and photography to porcelain, painting, writing and virtual spaces like social media. His work and life regularly interact and inform one another – from his early work challenging authority and history and his ongoing activism and advocacy for international human rights.
Ai Weiwei said: “Creating and experiencing art is a spectacular driver for conversations, so that we can share our collective and individual knowledge and thoughts. As citizens of the world, it is vital for us to be as informed as we can be about how our world is run and the impacts across societies.”
Kee Hong Low, Creative Director of Factory International said: “We’re so happy that Ai Weiwei is able to join us as part of Artists in Times of Upheaval. Ai Weiwei is a powerful force within the arts and hearing his insight and experiences will make for a thought provoking and inspiring evening.”
Born in Beijing in 1957, AI WEIWEI has exhibited extensively at institutions and biennials worldwide. The artist’s memoir 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows was published in 2021, and his autobiographical graphic novel Zodiac: A Graphic Memoir, in collaboration with Elettra Stamboulis and Gianluca Costantini, was published in 2024. His human rights work has been recognised through the Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent in 2012 and Amnesty International’s Ambassador of Conscience Award in 2015.
Artists in Times of Upheaval began in spring 2024 with conversations with Amir Nizar Zuabi, director of The Walk: Little Amal, and Oleksiy Radynski, co-creator of Intervention.
Further talks have featured award-winning South African artist Kemang Aw Lehulere, multi-disciplinary Hong Kong artist Samson Young, Palestinian author Adania Shibli, and a panel including Keisha Thompson, Keith Saha, Jardel Rodriques and Mahboobeh Rajabi.
ARTISTS IN TIMES OF UPHEAVAL: AI WEIWEI is a 60-minute conversation followed by a 30-minute audience Q&A on 12 March at Aviva Studios, home of Factory International.
