Ai Weiwei: Yours Truly 

Thanks to Arkin-Tilt Architects for underwriting this screening!

PROGRAM

Cheryl Haines, AI WEI WEI: YOURS TRULY (Documentary, 77:00)

Following Ai Weiwei’s detention at the hands of the Chinese authorities, the outspoken artist and activist transformed the former island penitentiary of Alcatraz into an artistic platform. The resulting exhibition engaged over 900,000 visitors in a conversation about the plight of prisoners of conscience around the world. One of the eight new artworks depicted the faces and names of 176 individuals who were incarcerated or exiled due to their beliefs, affiliations, and nonviolent expressions of dissent. The work’s companion piece, “Yours Truly,” invited visitors to compose messages of hope to some of these prisoners. By the time the exhibition ended, over 90,000 postcards had been sent. Then something even more astonishing began to happen: prisoners and their families began writing back.