Alexandra Munroe

While under house arrest in Beijing, Ai Weiwei transforms former island prison Alcatraz into socially engaged art that inspires thousands to empathise with prisoners.

Art world sensation Ai Weiwei credits him with launching his international career. Renowned pianist Lang Lang describes him as a mentor to Chinese artists. Chinese art curator Victoria Lu says his influence has been felt around the world. When Swiss businessman Uli Sigg first went to China, art was far from his mind. But once he began to seek out contemporary artists, it changed his life, theirs, and the international art scene for generations to come. Directed by art historian and scholar Michael Schindhelm (Bird’s Nest), THE CHINESE LIVES OF ULI SIGG is a history of China’s opening to the West through the eyes of Sigg and the dazzling array of contemporary Chinese artists he championed. Luminaries including Ai Weiwei, Cao Chong’en, Cao Fei, Gang Lijun, Feng Mengbo, Shao Fan, Wang Guangyi and Zeng Fanzhi are interviewed along with curators, diplomats, architects and business colleagues in this colorful documentary survey of contemporary Chinese art.