Police in China can do whatever they want; after 81 days in arbitrary detention you clearly realise that they don't have to… — Ai Weiwei Copy Share Image
...photographs are facts, but not necessarily true... The present always surpasses the past, and the future will not care about today. — Ai Weiwei Copy Share Image
I spent a lot of time standing on street corners [of New York City] talking to local residents. I spent time in… — Ai Weiwei Copy Share Image
A lot of the time [in the U.S.], I was thinking about how spending time is always questionable or is always the… — Ai Weiwei Copy Share Image
I don't think China has professional museums - not in the past, present, or near future. — Ai Weiwei Copy Share Image
After I came back [to China], there was still a long period of time when I felt I had nothing to do. — Ai Weiwei Copy Share Image
We live in changing times, and many people experience the challenges that come with it. In the face of uncertain futures, no… — Ai Weiwei Copy Share Image
I loved New York—every inch of it. It was a little bit scary at that time, but still, the excitement was so… — Ai Weiwei Copy Share Image
The leadership knows that you cannot solve the issues of China's future with the means of the past. The demographic consequences of… — Ai Weiwei Copy Share Image
Somehow, we [ Tan Dun and director Chen Kaige] were all privileged at the time; we could be outside of China. But… — Ai Weiwei Copy Share Image
The seed is a household object but at the same time it is a revolutionary symbol. — Ai Weiwei Copy Share Image
Any design, any city, any kind of craziness or tragedy, it all comes from a long time of preparation. — Ai Weiwei Copy Share Image
At the moment about 350,000 students return to China from abroad each year - 350,000 young and educated people. I know about… — Ai Weiwei Copy Share Image
Creativity is the power to reject the past, to change the status quo, and to seek new potential. Simply put, aside from… — Ai Weiwei Copy Share Image
Once I was in New York, I completely had no interest for a long time in what happened in China because I… — Ai Weiwei Copy Share Image
Stupidity can win for a moment, but it can never really succeed because the nature of humans is to seek freedom. Rulers… — Ai Weiwei Copy Share Image
Had I to create a name for these times, I’d say it is the age of craziness — 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