Ai Weiwei Reflects on Life in Beijing

The Guardian and the Tate have joined forces to launch a brand new series in which artists reflect on the cities nearest and dearest to them. Given his often strained relationship with his homeland, controversial Chinese artist Ai Weiwei makes the perfect subject to kick off the Artist Cities endeavor. Here, Ai reflects on life in the metropolis — he and his family were exiled far from the capital for more than 18 years, only to return following Chairman Mao’s death — and offers unique insights into the artists’ community he helped build in Caochangdi while revealing his own methods of carving out a space for himself in “a city that doesn’t really belong to its residents.”