Ai Weiwei is an artist of undoubted renown, but he’s arguably just as well known as a cultural and social activist — someone who takes action through art. His work, which is often provocative and subversive, reflects his staunch political views — something that hasn’t exactly endeared him to the authorities of his homeland, China. But Ai is nothing if not a person of principle. As he told “The Guardian” in 2020, “An artist must also be an activist — aesthetically, morally, or philosophically … Without that kind of consciousness — to be blind to human struggle — one cannot even be called an artist.”