Though his art has been warmly welcomed in Canada before, provocative and influential Ai Weiwei — once named the world's most powerful artist — has travelled to Toronto to accept an honour acknowledging his activism. Soleil Levant, a work by Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei made from over 3,500 lifejackets discarded by migrants on the Greek island of Lesbos, is seen in Copenhagen in June. Law of the Journey, an Ai Weiwei installation displayed at the National Gallery in Prague in March, comprised a 70m-long inflatable boat with life-size figures of 258 refugees. Ai Weiwei is seen with his eight-year-old son Ai Lao and his wife Lu Qing at the Venice Film Festival premiere of Human Flow earlier this month. (Domenico Stinellis/Associated Press)Watch more of Mesley's interview with Ai Weiwei on The National Wednesday at 9pm ET on CBC News Network and 10pm ET on CBC-TV.

Source: CBC News September 27, 2017 20:48 UTC