Artist and activist Ai Weiwei examines censorship and self-censorship, through the lens of his compelling personal history, offering readers profound insights into an important topic of current and perpetual relevance.Ai Weiwei is one of contemporary art's greatest practitioners. He has been a voice for artistic and personal freedom of expression for decades within his native China and around the world.This publication offers a compelling exploration of cen...

A chronicle of the Chinese contemporary artist's interactive piece on prisoners of conscience, human rights, and the power of art and letter writing.Internationally renowned artist Ai Weiwei works at the intersection of art and politics. In 2014, he created @Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz, an exhibition that engaged nearly 900,000 visitors in a conversation about human rights and freedom of expression. One of the artworks included was Yours Truly. T...

The “intimate and expansive” (Time) memoir of “one of the most important artists working in the world today” (Financial Times), telling a remarkable history of China over the last hundred years while also illuminating his artistic process“Poignant . . . An illuminating through-line emerges in the many parallels Ai traces between his life and his father’s.”—The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)ON...

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • In this beautifully illustrated and deeply philosophical graphic memoir, legendary artist Ai Weiwei explores the connection between artistic expression and intellectual freedom through the lens of the Chinese zodiac.ONE OF NPR’S BEST BOOKS OF THE YEARAs a child living in exile during the Cultural Revolution, Ai Weiwei often found himself with nothing to read but government-approved comic books. Although they were restr...

A timeless, visionary collection of poems from one of China’s most acclaimed poets—now available in English for the first time in a generation and featuring a foreword by his son, contemporary artist and activist Ai WeiweiOne of the most influential poets in Chinese history, Ai Qing is mostly unknown to American readers, but his work has shaped the nature of poetry in China for decades. Born between the fall of imperial Manchurian rule and the establishment of the ...

Ai Weiwei is one of the world’s most acclaimed artists and dissidents. This book presents him in conversation with theorists, critics, journalists, and curators about key moments in his life and career.These wide-ranging conversations flow between topics such as his relationship with China, the meaning of citizenship, moving his studio to Lesbos to be on the front lines of the migrant crisis, how to make art, and technology as a tool for freedom or oppression. Ai opens up about his...

A thought-provoking work by a singular voice, this short, sharp essay invites us to critically reconsider power, ideology and the boundaries of free speech

A powerful portrait of the greatest humanitarian emergency of our time, from the director of Human FlowIn the course of making Human Flow, his epic feature documentary about the global refugee crisis, the artist Ai Weiwei and his collaborators interviewed more than 600 refugees, aid workers, politicians, activists, doctors, and local authorities in twenty-three countries around the world. A handful of those interviews were include...

A Tower Built Downwards is the latest instalment of poetry from one of the most innovative and influential poets from China. Before and since his enforced exile from 1989, Yang Lian has been widely hailed in America and Europe as a highly individual voice in world literature, he has been translated into many languages.The different sections – short poems, sequences, and one long poem – form a single comprehensive statement of Yang’s recent explorations. It...

This collection of quotes demonstrates the elegant simplicity of Ai Weiwei's thoughts on key aspects of his art, politics, and life. A master at communicating powerful ideas in astonishingly few words, Ai Weiwei is known for his innovative use of social media to disseminate his views. The short quotations presented here have been carefully selected from articles, tweets, and interviews given by this acclaimed Chinese artist and activist. The book is organized into six categories: freedom o...

When no one’s listening, it takes more than shouting louder to be heard …Street Spirit is a celebration of some of the most remarkable protests from around the world that have used humour, courage and creativity to bring about change.Among the many instances of imaginative defiance within, you'll discover the surprising impact of Lego figures in Siberia, red-hatted dwarves in Poland and a donkey holding a press conference in Azerbaijan - not to men...

An urgent manifesto for global democracy from Joshua Wong, the 23-year-old phenomenon leading Hong Kong's protests - and Nobel Peace Prize nominee - with an introduction by Ai WeiweiWith global democracy under threat, we must act together to defend out rights: now.When he was 14, Joshua Wong made history. While the adults stayed silent, Joshua staged the first-ever student protest in Hong Kong to oppose National Education -- and won.Since then, Josh...