Photo: Jindřich Nosek (NoJin) / CC BY-SA 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Ai Weiwei is, to me, that rare figure who weighs artistry and courage on the same scale. Born in Beijing in 1957 and shaped by the hardship of his father's exile, then sharpened in New York, he folds sculpture, architecture, design and activism into a single practice. Works like Sunflower Seeds, vast accumulations of small things, reframe how we see scale and the individual within a system. His honors, the Ambassador of Conscience Award, the Václav Havel Prize, reward a way of living more than any object. Artists who refuse to be silenced by power are vanishingly rare, and I find his stubbornness genuinely magnificent.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Ai Weiwei
- Name (Japanese)
- 艾未未
- Reading
- 不明
- Born
- August 28, 1957 (age 68)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Virgo / Rooster
- Origin
- Beijing, People's Republic of China
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- designer / social activist / architect / sculptor / painter
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- University of Pennsylvania
Awards & achievements
- 2015 Ambassador of Conscience Award
- 2016 LennonOno Grant for Peace
- 2010 The Glass of Reason
- 2012 Václav Havel Prize
- 2021 Joan B. Cendrós International Award
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | Sunflower Seeds | — |
6. Links
- Official sitehttp://www.aiweiwei.com
- Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/aiww/
- Xhttps://x.com/aiww
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%89%BE%E6%9C%AA%E6%9C%AA
Frequently asked questions
When was Ai Weiwei born?
Born August 28, 1957 (age 68).
Where is Ai Weiwei from?
Ai Weiwei is from Beijing, People's Republic of China.
What does Ai Weiwei do?
Ai Weiwei works as designer, social activist, architect, sculptor, painter.
What is Ai Weiwei known for?
Notable works include Sunflower Seeds.
Designer — see all → · More people from People's Republic of China →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-17
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.