Lebanese-born artist Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino return to the helm of the 2026 Venice Biennale in Australia The Australian Pavilion that made Australian creative Australia possible after the organization’s dramatic reversal.
The decision, reported earlier today Art newspaperafter independent review of their sudden removal and months of strong opposition, the move was widely condemned as a politically motivated act of censorship.
The trouble began in February, just a few days after Creative Australia announced the Sabsabi option. A column Australian Tagged the gazebo is a “racist creative approach”, youSabsabi’s 2007 video installation, which includes manipulated footage of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah speaking to the crowd after the 2006 Lebanon-Israel war.
In one scene, light emanates from Naslara’s face – the Australian Museum of Contemporary Art, which owns the work, is described as “hinting on divine lighting” and is intended to inspire reflection on how the media falls or demonizes the characters based on the context.
The article also accused Sabsabi and Dagostino of being “favored by Israel” referring to Sabsabi’s withdrawals on the Israeli government’s sponsorship at the 2022 Sydney Festival and suggested that neither of the men are suitable to “become a custodian of our nation’s reputation”
A few days after the article was published, the Australian Creative Council unanimously adopted the risk of a “long-term and separatist debate” and claimed that the move was necessary to maintain public trust in the arts. They made the announcement quietly – without mentioning it directly you Or controversy.
The consequences are quick. Australian senior creative staff Mikala Tai and Tahmina Maskinyar resigned. The former international ambassador of the Australian Pavilion and a leading cultural philanthropist, Simon Mordant also called the “collapse” as the “dark days for Australia and the art”.
Artists and institutions gather behind Sabsabi. Five shortlisted candidates from the museum sent an open letter asking him to restore his original state.
At the time, Palestinian artist Emily Jacir, a former Venetian Golden Lion winner, wrote on Instagram that “shame is in creative Australia”, while Iran-Australian artist Hoda Afshar called the decision “fascism” “fascism.” Even West Space is the Melbourne Gallery, which received funds from Creative Australia and also issued a condemnation warning of the “long-term negative impact” on Australia’s cultural status.
Meanwhile, Sabsabi and Dagostino remained provocative. “Art should not be censored because artists reflect their time of living,” they said in a joint statement in February. “We also believe that despite the decision, the Australian art world will not become dim or remain silent.”
Creative Australia initially doubled and even surfaced, which would leave the pavilion empty in 2026. But in May, board chairman Robert Morgan resigned. Indigenous playwright Wesley Enoch was appointed acting chairman. On July 2, after external review, Sabsabi and Dagostino were formally invited and accepted.
In the new statement, the duo called the reversal “a sense of solution” after “huge personal and collective hardship” and thanked the creative community for its “unwavering support” to make it possible.
What they will show in Venice remains to be seen. To be sure: the gazebo won’t be empty, and it conveys a message unless it is neutral.
