In China, we don’t have any contemporary art museums. Until a few years ago, we didn’t even have a gallery.
AI WEIWEIGrowing up, my family was an enemy of the state. I have experienced more disappointment than joy, much more sad stories or desperate conditions.
More Ai Weiwei Quotes
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I think you can give meaning to any condition; you can be poor or unsuccessful or be so-called successful. But I don’t think that it would give an individual human being a better condition.
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Chinese government is very clearly losing power in every aspect, but trying to fix up all the problems or potential problems.
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Creativity is the power to act.
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A clear understanding of such differences will help the rest of the world understand China and all that is happening to the nation.
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A lot of the time [in the U.S.], I was thinking about how spending time is always questionable or is always the biggest obstacle in my life.
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I never felt like a Chinese citizen because I was pushed away at a very young age. My father, a writer, was a national enemy of the Communist Party. He was forbidden to write for 20 years.
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The American experience influenced my understanding of individuality, basic human rights, freedom of expression and the rights and responsibilities of citizens.
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You don’t have to march on Tiananmen, but you do have to be clear-minded, to find your own means of expression.
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Nothing is clear-cut. Perhaps I’ll find my way – or get totally lost.
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There are no outdoor sports as graceful as throwing stones at a dictatorship.
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If you don’t act, the danger becomes stronger.
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If we all say the same thing, then I think the government has to listen. But because no one is saying it, I become singled out, even though what I’m saying is common sense.
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Just look at the statistics: Each university has tens of thousands of applications for students who want to be in art school, but they can only accept a few hundred.
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People have been longing for this moment, because it symbolises a turning point in China’s relationship with the outside world.
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Now I’ve come to such a mixed culture: America, Europe, South America, Africa. And the politics are changing everywhere all the time and becoming even more unpredictable.
AI WEIWEI