Ai Weiwei on Censorship
Published on 29. January 2026
Book
Hardback
88 pages
978-0-500-03082-0 (ISBN)
Description
A thought-provoking work by a singular voice, this short, sharp essay invites us to critically reconsider power, ideology and the boundaries of free speech.
Invisible, invasive and widely taken for granted, censorship is a globalized force as much driven by commercial interests as political agendas. Ai Weiwei - artist, activist and one of the world's most influential cultural figures - has first-hand experience of its power. In this urgent piece of writing, he makes a rallying cry for free speech in an age shaped by big data, mass surveillance and intrusive new technologies of control.
Ai Weiwei examines how censorship persists both in the overt propagandizing and redactions of authoritarian regimes, as well as subtly within democratic frameworks, exploring how international corporations, cultural institutions, social media and so-called ideologies of 'freedom' have provided fertile ground for new, more insidious, suppressions.
Invisible, invasive and widely taken for granted, censorship is a globalized force as much driven by commercial interests as political agendas. Ai Weiwei - artist, activist and one of the world's most influential cultural figures - has first-hand experience of its power. In this urgent piece of writing, he makes a rallying cry for free speech in an age shaped by big data, mass surveillance and intrusive new technologies of control.
Ai Weiwei examines how censorship persists both in the overt propagandizing and redactions of authoritarian regimes, as well as subtly within democratic frameworks, exploring how international corporations, cultural institutions, social media and so-called ideologies of 'freedom' have provided fertile ground for new, more insidious, suppressions.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Illustrations
10 Illustrations, color
Dimensions
Height: 182 mm
Width: 112 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
175 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-500-03082-0 (9780500030820)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Ai Weiwei is a Chinese contemporary artist, documentarian and activist. He is the recipient of the 2022 Praemium Imperiale for sculpture from the Japan Art Association in Tokyo, the 2015 Ambassador of Conscience Award from Amnesty International and the 2012 Vaclav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent from the Human Rights Foundation. His most recent book is 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows.