An issue of the New Statesman has been nominated for Cross-Media Project Of The Year at the British Media Awards.
The 22 October issue, guest-edited by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, is up for the award. The issue was themed around China and its future, and was published simultaneously in Chinese (digitally) and in English. Unusually, we urged people to share and download the magazine for free so as to spread Ai’s words as widely as possible.
Ai Weiwei is an internationally renowned artist and a free speech advocate. He was detained by the government for 81 days last year on charges of tax evasion, is still prevented from leaving the country and is currently appealing a fine imposed by the Beijing Local Taxation Bureau for $1.85m.
The issue featured, among other things, an interview with blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng, a conversation with one of China’s “paid trolls”, a photo essay curated by Ai himself and a leader in which the Chinese artist addressed the lack of freedom and the oppression in his country.
The New Statesman is nominated alongside The Times, Metro, Racing Post, PwC, Paperhat, Nature and Rivergroup.
Cover portrait by Gao Yuan for Ai Weiwei Studio.