Sacked artist to be reinstated as Australia’s Venice representative

In a stunning about-face, the artistic team of Khaled Sabsabi and Michael Dagostino is to be reinstated to represent Australia at the Venice Biennale.

The duo’s reappointment comes as the board of the federal government’s peak arts agency, Creative Australia, released the findings of a review by Blackhall & Pearl into the pair’s abrupt termination on February 13.

Contracts between the agency and artistic team were signed Wednesday in an act aimed at healing the deep fractures between the agency and Australia’s artistic community and drawing a line under the public relations disaster.

Artist Khaled Sabsabi, who had his invitation to participate in the Venice Biennale revoked by Creative Australia, with his work at Barangaroo Metro Station in Sydney.Credit: Janie Barrett

“This decision has renewed our confidence in Creative Australia and in the integrity of its selection process,” Sabsabi and Dagostino said in a statement thanking their supporters for their solidarity.

“It offers a sense of resolution and allows us to move forward with optimism and hope after a period of significant personal and collective hardship.

“We acknowledge that this challenging journey has impacted not only us, but also our families, friends, the staff at Creative Australia, and many others across the broader artistic community here and abroad.”

The Venice Biennale is the biggest and most prestigious art show in the world, and Sabsabi and Dagostino had been appointed on February 7 as Australia’s 2026 representatives with hopes high following Archie Moore’s Golden Lion win in 2024.

They were stripped of the honour six days later following questions raised in parliament about two of Sabsabi’s historic works, and after an emergency meeting of the board of Creative Australia.

The treatment of Sabsabi and Dagostino galvanised artists in a way not seen since 2015 when the federal Coalition set up the Catalyst fund, giving the arts ministry direct control over $100 million in arts funding.

It triggered uproar in the arts sector, resignations and embarrassment on the international stage with admissions that the Australian Pavilion may be left dark for Venice in the face of artists’ boycott.

Twenty-three of the country’s distinguished visual artists who exhibited under the Australian flag at Venice – the so-called Olympics of the art world – came together to protest the “unacceptable” disregard and treatment of Sabsabi and Dagostino.

Sabsabi has continued to work on his project in Bangkok, recently posting a thank you to supporters who had rallied to protest his sacking and helped crowdfund the artwork for a private show, while outlining his hopes for reinstatement.

Consultants Blackhall & Pearl identified a series of missteps, assumptions and missed opportunities in the governance of Australia’s participation at the 2026 Venice Biennale.

They had been exacerbated by a lack of clarity around roles and accountabilities, and by unresolved tensions within Creative Australia on the organisation’s roles and stakeholders and how best to balance them if in competition.

“There is an unfortunate irony in that many of the flaws in the Biennale selection process stemmed from a strong desire within Creative Australia to keep decisions on artistic merit free from non-artistic considerations,” the report said.

“This has been seen as critical to protect freedom of expression and the creative community. In fact, the lack of appropriate preparedness for such a major decision as Australian representation at the Venice Biennale has led to a considerably worse outcome for all involved than if prudent, carefully considered risk assessment and crisis management had been put in place.”

The report concluded selection of an artistic team for a Venice Biennale was a decision of a different kind and magnitude to the bulk of Creative Australia’s decision-making, requiring more rigour in the decision-making process than warranted for the making of a grant.

Among the review’s nine recommendations is that a full risk assessment be carried out for all future selected Biennale projects, recognising the decisions could be polarising and divisive and have a material impact on the ability of Creative Australia to discharge effectively its statutory functions.

Creative Australia had a “considerable task” to rebuild trust with at least some parts of the creative community and with some of its own employees.

Acting Creative Australia board chair Wesley Enoch said: “The Blackhall & Pearl review is emphatic. There was no single reason, cause, person or act that created the circumstances in which the board felt compelled to decide as it did in February. Rather, it was a complex series of events that created a unique set of circumstances which the board had to address.

“The board has considered and reflected deeply on all relevant issues to find a path forward. The board is now of the view that proceeding with the artistic team [of] Khaled Sabsabi and Michael Dagostino represents the preferred outcome.”

The board’s initial backflip occurred within hours of questions being raised in parliament by Coalition’s Claire Chandler in February about historic works by Sabsabi showing Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, and a video depicting images of 9/11 along with former US president George W. Bush saying the words ‘thank you very much’.

Sabsabi has long maintained his dumping was triggered by a fundamental misunderstanding that conflated works critiquing war and media representations of ideology with support for terrorism.

Philanthropist Simon Mordant, who resigned from his role as global ambassador, has also agreed to return.

“I am confident that the work presented will reflect the highest artistic standards and align with the values I have always upheld – integrity, inclusion, and respect.

“I would like to think this can be a watershed moment for the Australian arts community whereby we can work towards eliminating any form of racism, including antisemitism, across the arts industries. I know Khaled shares this ambition.”

The Greens’ Sarah Hanson Young urged a clean out of Creative Australia to rebuild trust within the artistic community and the Australian public.

“This is a victory for the artistic and wider community that had the courage to stand up to the cowardly lobbying of sections of the right-wing media, conservative politicians and others whose prejudice sought to tear down a great Australian artist,” she said.

“This is the right end to a very sorry saga but it’s a terrible day for the board and CEO of Creative Australia who have disgraced themselves throughout this ordeal.”

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