Creative Australia says it won’t reinstate artist Khaled Sabsabi for Venice Biennale at tense all-staff meeting

Khaled Sabsabi’s selection as Australia’s representative for the 2026 Venice Biennale caused controversy due to some of the artist’s previous works. Photograph: Bec Lorrimer/The Guardian

The artist Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino will not be reinstated as Australia’s representatives at the next Venice Biennale despite thousands of artists calling for the decision to be overturned.

The chair of Creative Australia, Robert Morgan, and the organisation’s executive director, Adrian Collette, told an all-staff meeting on Thursday that the decision to withdraw the Venice contract to avoid a potential public outcry would not be revised.