Talk Auditorium
An Evening with Ai Weiwei
On the evening before the exhibition Ai Weiwei: Making Sense opens to the public, join us for this special exhibition preview and talk. Design Museum Chief Curator Justin McGuirk will be in conversation with artist and activist Ai Weiwei to discuss how his new exhibition reflects thirty years of thinking and collecting.
Please note: Tickets are sold out.
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© Image courtesy Ai Weiwei Studio
Ai Weiwei, Glass Helmet, 2022. © Image courtesy Ai Weiwei Studio
Ai Weiwei, Marble Toilet Paper , 2020. © Image courtesy Ai Weiwei Studio
Untitled (LEGO Incident) . © Image courtesy Ai Weiwei Studio
What to expect
Ai Weiwei is one of the most significant and recognised artists working today. Known around the world for his powerful art and activism, Ai does not differentiate between disciplines: his practice glides across art, architecture, design, film, collecting and curating.
His major solo exhibition at the Design Museum will be the first to present his work as a commentary on design.
This special evening is the first chance to see the exhibition and also to hear directly from Ai who will be in conversation with chief curator Justin McGuirk. Ai will explore how his obsessive collecting of historical artefacts over the last thirty years has shaped his thinking about design, making and his homeland, China. Their discussion will encompass how design is a language that communicates across huge time periods, the ways objects are a form of evidence and the ethics of handmade things. Ai will reflect on what the works in the exhibition mean to him, and how they embody the tensions between past and present, precious and worthless, hand and machine.
The ticket to this discussion gives you access to the Ai Weiwei: Making Sense exhibition from 18:00 to 19:00 (before the conversation) and from 20:15 to 20:45 (following the conversation).
#MakingSense
Speakers
Ai Weiwei
Ai is a Chinese artist and activist, with a prolific practice that encompasses sculptural installation, filmmaking, ceramics and social media. He is an artist fascinated with traditional craftsmanship and his Chinese heritage, who moves freely between formal languages to reflect on the contemporary geo-political and socio-political condition. He has been openly critical of the Chinese Government's stance on democracy and human rights.
Justin McGuirk
McGuirk is a writer and curator based in London. He is the chief curator at the Design Museum and the director of Future Observatory, a new national programme supporting design research in achieving the UK’s environmental goals. In a diverse career, he has authored and edited books and magazines, been a newspaper critic, founded a digital publishing imprint and curated numerous high-profile exhibitions.
Book online
Booking information
Adult: £45
Concession/Student: £36
Members: £23
The ticket to the conversation includes access to the Ai Weiwei: Making Sense exhibition from 18:00 to 19:00 (before the conversation) and from 20:15 to 20:45 (following the conversation).
Tickets are non-refundable and non-exchangeable. Visit our terms & conditions page for further information.
Please note: Tickets are sold out.
Sign up to the newsletter or Become a member to be the first to know about future events.
The exhibition
Background image: © Ai Weiwei Studio