CHINA-ARTIST/GERMANY Ai Weiwei signs the Golden Book at Berlin's Rotes Rathaus town hall

Record ID: 144102

  • Title: CHINA-ARTIST/GERMANY Ai Weiwei signs the Golden Book at Berlin's Rotes Rathaus town hall
  • Date: 13th August 2015
  • Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (AUGUST 13, 2015) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** EXTERIOR OF BERLIN'S ROTES RATHAUS CITY HALL BUILDING BERLIN FLAG CHINESE ARTIST AI WEIWEI POSING TOGETHER WITH BERLIN MAYOR MICHAEL MUELLER PHOTOGRAPHER AI WEIWEI FILMING VIDEO OF MEDIA PHOTOGRAPHERS AI WEIWEI SIGNING BERLIN GUEST BOOK CLOSE UP OF SIGNATURE AI WEIWEI POSING AI WEIWEI RECEIVING SHIRT OF BERLIN SOCCER TEAM HERTHA BERLIN FOR HIS SON FROM MUELLER MUELLER AND AI WEIWEI POSING WITH SHIRT AND LEAVING AI WEIWEI'S SIGNATURE IN BOOK
  • Embargoed: 28th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA9I4LZX2EWDMIR3PX5QPNWN3P4
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei was officially welcomed to Berlin on Thursday (August 13) where he signed the city's guestbook - the Golden Book - at the Rotes Rathaus city hall.
    The book, which includes signatures, dedications and comments by famous athletes, singers and actors, includes those of Marlene Dietrich, Sidney Poitier or John F. Kennedy.
    He was also presented with a shirt of German soccer club Hertha Berlin for his son by the city's mayor Michael Mueller.
    The controversial artist arrived in Germany in late July after Chinese authorities gave him back his passport, more than four years after it was confiscated following an 81-day secret detention.
    In 2011, Ai Weiwei was kept under investigation on suspicion of economic crimes after he was released on bail. He said previously that he had not received a formal notice to explain the "suspected economic crimes".
    Ai Weiwei has a post as a visiting lecturer at the Berlin University of the Arts, which he was awarded in 2011, but has not yet been able to take it up.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register