Creative Australia ditches 2026 Venice Biennale artist duo

Last week, Sydney-based multimedia artist Khaled Sabsabi was announced by Creative Australia as the artist to represent Australia at the Venice Biennale in 2026. Sabsabi’s long-term supporter and colleague Michael Dagostino, director of Sydney University’s Chau Chak Wing Museum, was announced as the curator who would work alongside the artist for Venice.

However, in a late-night crisis meeting on Thursday night, Creative Australia, the federal arts body, sensationally ditched the recently announced team, capitulating to political pressure over the artist’s previous depictions of terrorism.

Creative Australia had called the crisis meeting after its selection of Khaled Sabsabi, a Lebanese-born Muslim artist from western Sydney, became a topic in federal Question Time on Thursday afternoon 13th February due to works such as a 2007 video depiction of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, and a 2006 video rendering of the 9/11 attacks called ‘Thank You Very Much’.

Federal Arts Minister Tony Burke had earlier welcomed a review into Sabsabi’s selection for the Venice Biennale, saying he was shocked to see some of the works which are online this afternoon.

An article published in The Australian on 12th February, detailed Sabsabi’s “questionable and ambiguous usage of Hassan Nasrallah, the dead Hezbollah leader” in one of his works.

A day after the The Australian’s article, Liberal senator Claire Chandler, in Question Time called attention to the 2006 work by Sabsabi, ‘Thank You Very Much’ - a video montage which depicts the planes hitting the Twin Towers in New York on September 11, 2001.

Chandler asked the Senate “with such appalling antisemitism in our country, why is the Albanese government allowing the person who highlights a terrorist leader in his artwork to represent Australia on the international stage?”

Creative Australia said last week that the Venice Biennale 2026 artistic team was selected by a panel of independent industry advisors, including local and international visual arts experts. The panel consisted of Anthony Gardner, Dunja Rmandić, Elaine Chia, Mariko Smith and Wassan Al-Khudhairi.

However, in an announcement late on Thursday night, Creative Australia said its board had made a unanimous decision not to proceed with the artistic team.

Creative Australia noted “The Board of Creative Australia has made the unanimous decision not to proceed with the artistic team chosen for the Venice Biennale 2026.

“Creative Australia is an advocate for freedom of artistic expression and is not an adjudicator on the interpretation of art. 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 will be reviewing the selection process for the Venice Biennale 2026.”

Image. Khaled Sabsabi (left) with Michael Dagostino