Ai’s passport returned

Friends, colleagues and admirers of Ai Wei Wei celebrated the return of the Chinese artist and activist’s passport Wednesday after he was without one for four years.

Cheryl Haines, executive director of the For-Site Foundation in San Francisco and curator of the recent exhibition “@ Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz,” said, “I think it’s a joyous occasion. ... It will be wonderful for him to be able to visit some of the exhibitions upcoming, including the project at the Royal Academy in London, which is opening in September.”

Franklin Sirmans, curator of the 2011-2012 exhibition “Ai Weiwei: Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads” at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, drew a parallel to the recent plight of Cuban artist Tania Bruguera. “Artists often become the points through which we can think about these things. Our relationships are evolving. ... So it’s not hard to imagine today’s news — in some ways we could see it as [evidence of] a changing/evolving world.”

Larry Warsh, a close associate of Ai’s and the founder of AW Asia, was with the artist when he received the passport. “Incredible moment ... long overdue. His receiving & holding the passport was a sense of obvious joy and calmness coupled with excitement,” Warsh wrote in an email. “But the reality did hit. Truly a historical moment! Hopefully life will be more stable and considerate to him. He won the battle. He is a real hero.”