Ai Weiwei

Ai Weiwei poses on the red carpet during opening ceremony of the 67th Berlinale International Film Festival at Grand Hyatt Hotel in Berlin, Germany on February 9, 2017. Denis Makarenko/bigstock.com

Place of Birth: Beijing, China

Date of Birth: August 28, 1957

Ethnicity: Han Chinese

Ai Weiwei is a Chinese contemporary artist, documentarian, and activist. His documentary films include Human Flow (2017) and Coronation (2020).

Weiwei is the son of Gao Ying and Ai Qing (born Jiang Zhenghan), a poet, who was from Fantianjiang village, Jinhua county, Zhejiang province. His father was denounced during the Anti-Rightist Movement. The family was sent to a labour camp in Beidahuang, Heilongjiang in 1958. Upon the end of the Cultural Revolution, they returned to Beijing in 1976.

He is married to modern and contemporary artist Lu Qing. He has a son with Wang Fen.