Ai Weiwei: According to What?
August 17 – October 27, 2013
“The most powerful figure in contemporary art.” — ArtReview
Although Chinese artist Ai Weiwei is one of the most prolific, provocative and significant artists at work today, audiences in North America have had little exposure to his vast and varied output. That will change this summer, when the AGO becomes the only Canadian stop on a North American tour that is already drawing crowds — and controversy — at the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C.
Featuring photographs, sculpture, installation art and audio and video pieces, Ai Weiwei: According to What? examines how the artist spotlights the complexities of a changing world and probes such issues as freedom of expression, individual and human rights, the power of digital communication and the range of creative practice that characterizes contemporary art today both in China and globally.
This exhibition was organized by the Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, and curated by the Museum's chief curator, Mami Kataoka.
Join Ai Weiwei and internationally renowned author Salman Rushdie for a discussion about freedom and moral courage, moderated by New York Times reporter and author Patricia Cohen. Tune into nytimes.com/opinion on Friday, May 3, 2013, at 7 pm EDT to watch this event live on the web.
Ai Weiwei’s Snake Ceiling
Ai Weiwei created this serpentine sculpture, made of backpacks, to commemorate the more than 5,000 school children who were killed in a massive earthquake in China’s Sichuan province in 2008. This work has been installed in advance of the exhibition Ai Weiwei: According to What?.
Say Their Names, Remember
The AGO invites you to honour and remember the children who passed away in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake by taking part in a special performance.