The artist and thinker Ai Weiwei (China) trained at the Beijing Film Academy and later, on moving to New York, continued his studies at the Parsons School of Design. His solo exhibitions have been seen in the world's leading contemporary art museums. Among the numerous awards and accolades he has received are a recognition at the Chinese Contemporary Art Awards in 2008 and his appointment as honorary academician of the Royal Academy of Arts in London in 2011. His human rights work has been recognised with the Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent in 2012 and Amnesty International’s Ambassador of Conscience Award in 2015. Ai Weiwei is considered one of the leading cultural figures of his generation and serves as an example for freedom of expression both in China and internationally. He will talk to the journalist and writer Mariana H.