ArtReview calls Chinese artist Ai Weiwei “the most powerful figure in contemporary art”, yet North American audiences have had little exposure to his work. Perhaps best known here for his Beijing National Stadium (the “Bird’s Nest”) for the 2008 Summer Olympic, Ai is a prolific artist working in photography, sculpture, installation art, audio and video. The Art Gallery of Ontario says of its current exhibition Ai Weiwei: According to What? that the exhibition “examines how the artist spotlights the complexities of a changing world and probes such issues as freedom of expression, individual and human rights, the power of digital communication and the range of creative practice that characterizes contemporary art today both in China and globally”.
On Saturday, October 19th the Department of Art & Art History, the Art & Art History Undergraduate Council (AAHUC), and the College of Arts, Sciences & Engineering will sponsor a bus trip to Toronto to see the exhibition, Ai Weiwei: According to What?http://www.ago.net/aiweiwei/. Open to the University community, the bus will leave at 6:30 am for the Art Gallery of Ontario from the back entrance of Rush Rhees Library. The UR group will have tickets for the exhibition with admission between 11:00 am and 12:00 noon. During the afternoon and early evening individuals will be free to explore Toronto and have an early dinner. At 8:00 pm the bus will depart from the Art Gallery of Ontario for the return trip to Rochester.
Tickets for the trip may be purchased at The Common Market in Wilson Commons for $20 (students) and $25 (non students) beginning October 1st. The cost covers transportation, general admission to the museum and a timed ticket for the Ai Weiwei exhibition. Tickets may be purchased at The Common Market using cash, flex or credit card (Master Card, VISA and Discover).
Please note that participants will need proper documentation for entering Canada and for returning to the United States. This includes passports for US and international student plus reentry documents and visas for some international students depending on country of origin. Participants must have proper documentation in order to board the bus. For questions, please contact Kim Kopatz at kkopatz@z.rochester.edu or at 585-275-7224.