Ai Weiwei (b. 1957 Beijing, China) is one of the world's most prominent contemporary cultural figures and a vital force for social change. Last year, Weiwei was voted the most influential person in the art world in Art Review’s Power 100. Recent solo exhibitions include those at Jeu de Paume, Paris; Victoria & Albert Museum, London; Somerset House, London; Pulitzer Fountain, Grand Army Plaza at Central Park, New York; Fotomuseum Winterthur, Winterthur; Haus der Kunst, Munich; Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing-Lucerne, Lucerne, and The Unilever Series, Tate Modern, London. In June 2012, Weiwei will create the 2012 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in collaboration with Herzog & de Meuron, an occasion for which it is hoped that the artist may be able to travel from China to London.