Ai Weiwei Free School

Inspired by the exhibition Ai Weiwei: Unbroken (external link) , this creative partnership examined the works in Unbroken as a pedagogical framework in which artists, facilitators and writers have drawn upon the themes famously associated with Ai Weiwei (external link) himself. The aim of the Free School was to transform the exhibition into a site for social action and illuminate the transformative power of art.
Sessions offered through the Freel School included: writing intimate and embodied narratives (external link) ; documenting dissent, democracy, and student activism (external link) ; fake news - writing in the post-truth culture (external link) ; and extreme music therapy (external link) , which recalled the heavy metal single that Ai Weiwei released after his house arrest in 2011. The Free School concluded with an evening event (external link) that coincided with the 30th anniversary of student protest at Tiananmen Square.
Partners
- $8,000 from the Gardiner Museum (external link)
- $4,000 from the Office of the Provost and Vice-President, Academic
- $2,000 from the Jack Layton Chair
- $2,000 from the Office of Social Innovation
The Jack Layton Chair, under the Faculty of Arts and Faculty of Community Services