ARTNET NEWS


Apr. 18, 2011

DEMONSTRATIONS DEMAND AI WEIWEI FREEDOM
Demonstrators around the world gathered peacefully in front of Chinese consulates and embassies to demand the release of Chinese activist artist Ai Weiwei, 53, has been held incommunicado by Chinese government authorities since his arrest on trumped-up charges on Apr. 3, 2011. Adding a new wrinkle to the notion of a “sit-down protest,” many participants brought chairs in imitation of the artist’s 2007 performance at Documenta 12, which placed 1,001 antique Chinese chairs around the German city. The idea for the protest was suggested on Facebook by curator Steven Holmes.

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