Go to the Brooklyn Museum from now until Nov. 29 and you’re going to see a brand new, white BMW parked there, tucked unobtrusively under the overhang to the right of the main entrance.
See it?
Now, go over there and look inside.
That’s what hundreds of Legos look like, dumped through a three-inch crack in the car’s sunroof by anonymous strangers who donated their old toy blocks to Ai Weiwei.
The Chinese artist and activist is collecting as many Legos as he can to complete a new, large-scale piece in Melbourne, Australia, after the Lego Company refused to fulfill a bulk order of the blocks from Weiwei, he said.
On Thursday, he and the Brooklyn Museum announced the Eastern Parkway institution would serve as a drop-off point for donated Legos, one of several around the country.
“Donate your LEGOs to support Ai Weiwei and freedom of expression,” reads the sign outside the BMW at the museum, complete with the campaign’s hashtag: #legosforweiwei.
On the first day of the donation effort, Weiwei received enough Legos to cover the car’s front two seats, floor and center console, with a few spilling into the back.
Staff said the car’s sunroof will be open for Lego donations during museum hours, which are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesdays, Fridays and weekends and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Thursdays.
