Beginning at 11AM on Thursday, May 23rd, members of the San Diego arts community staged a 24-hour sit in at the downtown location of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD) in protest of the detainment of Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. Through the evening and into Friday morning, a total of 48 volunteer participants sat side-by-side in two traditionally styled Chinese chairs for one-hour periods.
MCASD's Director, Hugh M. Davies, hopes the silent protest will further express the museum's support of the artist, whose Beijing studio Museum supporters visited just months before the artist was detained by security agents on April 3rd. Some of the same members of that group had voted to acquire two of Ai Weiwei's marble chairs for the institution's permanent collection just a week before the sit-in.
Two Chinese style wooden chairs, reminiscent of Ai Weiwei's sculpted chairs, were used for the protest. The chairs will remain available in the coming months for museum visitors to occupy as a continued call for the artist's release. Ai Weiwei's sculpted marble chairs are also on view at MCASD as part of the exhibition "Prospect 2011."
Above: Two chairs from detained Chinese artist Ai Weiwei's "Marble Chair" series, photo courtesy the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art
During the 24 hour protest, photos of the participants were taken, and many also made short statements describing their sentiments and motivations. Please share this blog and slideshow, which features 36 participants and their statements, with your friends all over the world. Help shine a light on the unjust detention of one of China's most prominent artists, Ai Weiwei.
Author's Note, 5/24/2011: Art info.com reports that the Chinese government is now asking MCASD to return the Ai Weiwei marble chairs.
