Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei has set up a studio on the Greek island of Lesbos and will create projects to call attention to the refugee crisis.

Hundreds of thousands of refugees have stopped on Lesbos as they flee war-torn regions, including Syria, en route to Europe. Untold thousands have perished crossing the Aegean Sea.

The artist plans to visit the island often over the course of the year, he told reporters, and station some of his students there in his studio.

“As an artist, I have to relate to humanity’s struggles ... I never separate these situations from my art,” Ai Weiwei said. Adding, “The border is not in Lesbos, it really [is] in our minds and in our hearts."