People around the world will gather in front of Chinese embassies on Sunday at 1:00 to show their support for missing artist Ai Weiwei (BBC photo)
Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in New York
520 12th Ave. between 42nd & 43rd Sts.
Sunday, April 17, free, 1:00
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On April 3, fifty-three-year-old controversial Chinese artist and activist was arrested in Beijing for what the government later called “economic crimes.” Ai has been missing ever since, leading to an international outcry against China’s continued abuse of human rights. People around the world will be showing their support of Ai on Sunday, April 17, at 1:00 as they bring chairs and sit down in front of Chinese embassies, evoking Ai’s 2007 Documenta projects “Fairytale — 1,001 Qing Dynasty Wooden Chairs” and “Fairytale — 1,001 Chinese Visitors,” the former consisting of said number of chairs, the latter involving 1,001 Chinese citizens temporarily moving to Kassel, Germany, the hometown of the brothers Grimm. “The point is: how to make everybody feel that all this is made for him or her, for each individual, and to enable the participants to have a very detailed and carefully planned trip that is free?” Ai explained to ArtZine China in 2007. “I see what kind of hopes, what kind of worries, what kind of frustrations . . . and waiting, and anticipating . . . then the dream, then imagination, then . . . maybe surprise. This of course reflects a great number of social, political, and economic factors, because we often have to ask who we are, what do we get from an event like this.” In many ways, Ai could have been referring to Sunday’s event, when protest participants will share their hopes and dreams that the artist will be freed. “1,001 Chairs for Ai Weiwei” is being sponsored by the innovative nonprofit organization Creative Time and was specifically suggested by art curator Steven Holmes. As Creative Time lays out, “Artist and activist Ai Weiwei is an internationally regarded figure who has fought for artistic freedom and for freedom of speech throughout his distinguished career, envisioning and shaping a more just and equitable society through his work. . . . Referencing the spirit of his work, ‘1001 Chairs for Ai Weiwei’ calls for his immediate release, supporting the right of artists to speak and work freely in China and around the world.”