The museums used to be exhibition halls for government propaganda, and now every city wants to build a museum. A few thousand are to be built in the next few years, all using taxpayer money. But there is no system,… — Ai Weiwei Copy Share Image
The idea to use backpacks came from my visit to Sichuan after the earthquake in May 2008. During the earthquake many schools collapsed. Thousands of young students lost their lives, and you could see bags and study material everywhere. Then… — Ai Weiwei Copy Share Image
If my art has nothing to do with people's pain and sorrow, what is 'art' for? — Ai Weiwei Copy Share Image
Police in China can do whatever they want; after 81 days in arbitrary detention you clearly realise that they don't have to obey their… — Ai Weiwei Copy Share Image
China has a rich history that has spanned millennia. It consists of the histories of many nations and regions. — Ai Weiwei Copy Share Image
This world should be much more open and should be much more free, so the young people would have the chance to exercise the… — Ai Weiwei Copy Share Image
By participating in the society we live in, we understand our conditions and the way we relate to the world. — Ai Weiwei Copy Share Image
I see the Beijing National Stadium as an architectural project. I accepted Herzog and De Meuron's invitation to collaborate on the design, and our… — Ai Weiwei Copy Share Image
I curated this show [Shanghai Biennale ], I was by no means trying to shock people or be controversial. — Ai Weiwei Copy Share Image
I think we cannot have a double standard. We cannot see our art as different from the reality. We cannot use two different sets… — Ai Weiwei Copy Share Image
It doesn't matter where I am - China will stay in me. I don't know how far I can still walk on this road… — Ai Weiwei Copy Share Image
Chinese citizens have never had the right to really express their opinions; in the constitution it says you can, but in the real world… — Ai Weiwei Copy Share Image
Your own acts tell the world who you are and what kind of society you think it should be. — Ai Weiwei Copy Share Image
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