The famous, and provocative, Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has been commissioned to build one of his largest public works ever—100 fences and installations that will be placed around New York City. Entitled “Good Fences Make Good Neighbors,” the project was commissioned by the Public Art Fund in celebration of its 40th anniversary. In total, there will be about ten major fence-themed installations, as well as a slew of smaller works, spread around Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn. More specifically, planned sites include Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, the Cooper Union building in Manhattan, and Doris C. Freedman Plaza at the southeast corner of Central Park.

The work is a reaction to “a retreat from the essential attitude of openness” that Mr. Ai says he perceives in contemporary American politics. “When the Berlin Wall fell, there were 11 countries with border fences and walls,” Mr. Ai told the New York Times. “By 2016, that number had increased to 70. We are witnessing a rise in nationalism, an increase in the closure of borders, and an exclusionary attitude towards migrants and refugees, the victims of war and the casualties of globalization.”