The New Yorker Festival: Ai Weiwei Talks with Evan Osnos SOLD OUT

Ai Weiwei is a Chinese artist and activist. His works, ranging from architecture to installations to documentaries, often comment on political and social issues. In 2011, he was detained by military police for eighty-one days; his passport was taken and not returned until 2015. His numerous awards include a lifetime-achievement award from the Chinese Contemporary Art Awards, in 2008, and he was named an Honorary Academician at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, in 2011. In October, he will début his largest public art installation to date, “Good Fences Make Good Neighbors,” in boroughs across New York City.

Evan Osnos joined The New Yorker as a staff writer in 2008. He covers politics and foreign affairs, and his piece “How Trump Could Get Fired” appeared in the May 8, 2017, issue of the magazine. His 2014 book, “Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China,” won the National Book Award for nonfiction, and was a finalist for the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction. He is a recipient of the Osborn Elliott Prize and the Livingston Award.