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Birthday
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Beijing Film Academy
Ai enrolled in the Beijing Film Academy and studied animation -
to 1993, Ai lved in the United States
Lived mostly in New York -
to 1986 Art Students League of New York
Ai later on dropped out and made money by drawing street portraits and working odd jobs. -
to 1993, living in the East Village
Ai carried a camera with him all the time and would take pictures of his surroundings wherever he was. The photos were later selected as the "New York Photographs" -
1993, Ai returned to China
Ai returned to China because his father became ill, helped establish the experimental artists' Beijing East Village and co-published three books about this new generation of artists -
Start blogging by Sina Weibo
Sina Weibo (internet platform in China)
The blog was later shut down by Sina on 28 May 2009 due to its popularity and Ai Weiwei's criticism on the Chinese government -
Remembering
backpacks on the facade of the Haus der Kunst.
Ai Weiwei created an art peice that consisted of backpacks that read out a message that one of the parents had told him after their child died. Many students died after many schools collapsed due to poorly structured schools and bad weather. -
Pull up a chair
(artwork) -
Sun flower seeds
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Arrest at Beijing Capital International Airport
Ai was held for 81 days without any official charges against him. -
Passport taken
Ai Weiwei has his passport taken after he was detained for 81 days -
With Flowers
Ai began placing flowers in a basket on a bike to protest the taking of his passport. -
Ai is given his passport back