Ai Weiwei's mask fund-raiser art project for COVID-19

Chambers Fine Arts, a gallery representing the artist Ai Weiwei, has just released the official images and links to purchase these artist-designed masks, in support of COVID 19 Humanitarian Causes. More information on the project below and click on the images to purchase via eBay!

"Artist and activist Ai Weiwei is calling for a citizen-led response to humanitarian issues caused by COVID-19. 100% of the proceeds from the sale of Ai Weiwei MASK will benefit the COVID-19 humanitarian and human rights emergency efforts led by Human Rights Watch, Refugees International, and Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

Beginning May 28 and running through June 27, Ai Weiwei MASK artworks will be sold for USD $50 for single works, USD $300 for a series of four works, and $1500 for a collection set of twenty. Ai Weiwei is using an object synonymous with our times – the face covering – as a canvas, and turning to his familiar medium, the Internet, to provoke wide public engagement."

The images for Ai Weiwei's MASK artworks are silk-screened by hand on non-surgical cloth face masks. The works are being made in the artist’s studio in Berlin. Ai donated the artworks to be sold exclusively through eBay for Charity and 100% of the proceeds from these sales will equally benefit the COVID-19 emergency humanitarian and human rights efforts led by these non-governmental organizations (NGOs). In the COVID-19 emergency, all three NGOs are working to promote and defend the rights and the well-being of displaced communities around the world. 

In his statement on the Ai Weiwei MASK project, Ai comments, “The COVID-19 pandemic is a humanitarian crisis. It challenges our understanding of the 21st century and warns of dangers ahead. It requires each individual to act, both alone and collectively”. 

Ai Weiwei MASK is curated an indepdendent project by Alexandra Munroe, Senior Curator, Asian Art and Senior Advisor, Global Arts, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, who has collaborated with Ai on previous projects. She remarks, "Ai Weiwei MASK are artworks symbolic of life in the time of COVID-19. To have one is an ethical and creative act to overcome our tired isolation and participate in a collective enterprise of real compassion."

Below, Ai Weiwei and Alexandra Munroe announcing the project on their Instagram accounts:

Ai Weiwei said: “Our small individual acts become powerful when they are part of the social response. An individual wearing a mask makes a gesture; a society wearing masks combats a deadly virus. And a society that wears masks because of the choices of individuals, rather than because of the directive of authorities, can defy and withstand any force. No will is too small, and no act is too helpless”. 

Kenneth Roth (Executive Director, Human Rights Watch), said: “This is a powerful example of art and activism coming together for good. We are honored to partner with Ai Weiwei and eBay for Charity to raise funds for our work on the COVID crisis. With their support, we are able to fight for those most affected by the pandemic – vulnerable children, refugees, and people who live in poverty”.  

Information and text courtesy of Chambers Fine Art gallery.