Ai Weiwei faced vote about his Royal Academy of Arts, London membership after Gaza tweet

On 10 February 2026, The Art Newspaper reported that Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei faced a vote at London’s Royal Academy of Arts over whether to revoke his status as an international Royal Academician following a controversial social-media post about the Israel–Hamas war. Ai posted and later deleted a tweet in late 2023 that drew accusations of antisemitism, and Lisson Gallery subsequently postponed a planned exhibition of his work. The Royal Academy said its Council and General Assembly discussed the matter and decided to take no further action, retaining Ai’s membership. The Academy also stated that a planned contribution from Ai for the spring 2026 issue of RA Magazine was not published because the book review section was reduced for space.

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