Khaled Sabsabi responds to Venice Biennale appointment being withdrawn by Creative Australia

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Artist Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino were selected to represent Australia at the 2026 Venice Biennale.
Government arts funding body Creative Australia has since rescinded the duo’s appointment.
It comes after it was publicised that Sabsabi’s early work includes images of Hassan Nasrallah and the 9/11 attacks.

A duo selected to represent Australia at the Venice Biennale say they are “extremely hurt” after being dumped by the federal government’s arts funding body.

Earlier this month, artist Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino were announced as the pair selected to show at the 2026 Biennale, regarded as contemporary art’s most prestigious event.

Following the announcement, The Australian newspaper revealed Sabsabi’s early work includes images of Hassan Nasrallah, who led Hezbollah , as well as images of aircraft hitting the Twin Towers in the 9/11 attacks.

The Creative Australia board had made a unanimous decision to rescind the pair’s appointment, the funding body said in an announcement made late on Thursday night.

A series of artworks displayed in a gallery.

Visual artist Khaled Sabsabi’s work displayed at a gallery in Sydney. Source: AAP / Creative Australia

“Creative Australia is an advocate for freedom of artistic expression and is not an adjudicator on the interpretation of art,” it said in a statement.

“However, the board believes a prolonged and divisive debate about the 2026 selection outcome poses an unacceptable risk to public support for Australia’s artistic community and could undermine our goal of bringing Australians together through art and creativity.”

Creative Australia also said it would review the selection process for the Venice Biennale.

Duo respond to Creative Australia decision

On Friday, Sabsabi and Dagostino said they were disappointed by Creative Australia’s decision.

“We intended to present a transformational work in Venice, an experience that would unite all audiences in an open and safe shared space,” the duo said in a statement shared on social media.

“Art should not be censored as artists reflect the times they live in,” they continued.

“We believe in the vision of artists for an inclusive future that can bring us together to communicate and progress our shared humanity. We also believe that, despite this decision, the Australian art world will not dim and or be silent.”

Shortlisted artists share support for Sabsabi and Dagostino

All five artist and curator teams shortlisted for the Australian Pavilion at the 2026 Biennale have since released a joint statement expressing support for Sabsabi and Dagostino.

In an open letter to Creative Australia’s board on Friday, the artists and curators said the duo had been selected “by industry-led experts through a rigorous and professionally independent open-call process”.

“We believe that revoking support for the current Australian artist and curator representative for Venice Biennale 2026 is antithetical to the goodwill and hard-fought artistic independence, freedom of speech and moral courage that is at the core of arts in Australia, which plays a crucial role in our thriving and democratic nation,” the group’s statement read.

They asked that Sabsabi and Dagostino’s appointment be reinstated in time for next year’s Venice Biennale.

Sabsabi was born in Lebanon and migrated to Australia in 1978 after civil war broke out in his home country. He is now based in western Sydney.

In 2023 he won a Creative Australia Award recognising his contribution to the nation’s visual arts, and in 2024 was awarded a sought-after Mordant Family and Creative Australia Affiliated Fellowship to Rome.

Sabsabi’s work is held in numerous collections including the Art Gallery of Western Australia, Campbelltown Arts Centre and Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art.

A Sabsabi video installation from 2007 in the museum’s collection features Nasrallah speaking as his image is altered by shards of light, and splinters into a mosaic.

Creative Australia’s announcement came after Liberal senator Claire Chandler questioned why the Albanese government was allowing Sabsabi “to represent Australia on the international stage”.