Monash University’s decision to indefinitely postpone the exhibition Stolon Press: Flat Earth, one featuring works by Khaled Sabsabi – the artist recently withdrawn from exhibition at the Australian Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale by Creative Australia – has been condemned as one that “undermines artistic and academic freedom”.

Khaled Sabsabi. Photo © Anna Kucera

In a statement released by The National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA) and the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU), Penelope Benton, NAVA’s Executive Director, said: “This is a devastating blow to artistic and academic freedom and the integrity of our public institutions. Khaled Sabsabi is a highly respected, award-winning artist whose decades-long practice is grounded in spirituality, peace and community. The works Sabsabi was to present at MUMA are quiet, meditative and deeply human – there is nothing inflammatory about them.”

“This decision appears to be based not on the work itself, but on assumptions made about the artist in the wake of Creative Australia’s withdrawal of his Venice commission, following media and political misrepresentation. When institutions allow such pressure to influence their decisions, it undermines trust and harms the very people they are...