The latest arts controversy has raged around Creative Australia’s decision to dump Khaled Sabsabi as Australia’s representative at the 2026 Venice Biennale – just a week after announcing his selection.

A short statement released by the Board on 13 February, said, “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.”

The decision was triggered by questions in parliament about two of Sabsabi’s works – a 2007 video installation featuring the late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and an 18-second video montage of the September 11 New York attacks from 2006 called Thank You Very Much – following a story in The Australian newspaper.

Curator Michael Dagostino and artist Khaled Sabsabi. Photo © Anna Kucera

The decision has led to a storm of protest. Twenty-three distinguished visual artists, including Shaun Gladwell and Tracey Moffatt, published an open letter protesting the “unacceptable” treatment of Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino. Elizabeth...