Articles
Ai Weiwei Behind The Scenes
A series of blogs telling the story of how our Ai Weiwei exhibition – the latest in our sequence of major single artist shows – is being put together across 10 months, by teams across three continents.

RA Exhibitions
> 5 years ago
Royal Academy welcomes Ai Weiwei visa decision
The artist has now been granted a full six-month UK visa by the Home Office.

RA Exhibitions
> 5 years ago
Ai Weiwei is refused a UK business visa
RA Artistic Director Tim Marlow comments on the news – which could affect the artist’s attendance at his upcoming exhibition.

RA Exhibitions
> 5 years ago
Ai Weiwei will travel to the UK for RA exhibition
After four years without travel, the artist has had his passport returned and will attend his landmark exhibition in our galleries.

RA Exhibitions
< 6 years ago
Introducing Ai Weiwei’s ‘Tree’
Curator Adrian Locke on the monumental installation that will be coming to the RA’s courtyard alongside our Ai Weiwei exhibition.

RA Exhibitions
< 6 years ago
Ai Weiwei at the RA: Sharing our vision for the show
Our collaboration with Ai Weiwei has extended to producing the exhibition’s poster image, catalogue and multimedia guide, explains curator Adrian Locke.

RA Exhibitions
6 years ago
In the neighbourhood: Ai Weiwei’s ‘village’ in Beijing
A vibrant arts quarter has grown up around Ai Weiwei’s home and studio in Beijing. Our curator Adrian Locke explores the area, and finds himself on a journey into the city’s past.

Inside the Academy
6 years ago
Cats and conversations: laying out the exhibition with Ai Weiwei
At a meeting in his Beijing studio, Ai Weiwei and curator Adrian Locke plan the gallery layout for the artist’s major RA show this year.

Inside the Academy
> 6 years ago
In the studio: a glimpse into Ai Weiwei’s world
Curator Adrian Locke gets to know artist Ai Weiwei and his studio team on a sunny day in Beijing.

RA Exhibitions
> 6 years ago
From Mayfair to Beijing: planning an exhibition with Ai Weiwei
How to put a major exhibition together when the artist in question can’t leave his home country? Ai Weiwei has a virtual tour of our galleries before curator Adrian Locke visits him (and his cats) in Beijing.