Khaled Sabsabi Reinstated as Australia's Representative at 2026 Venice Biennale

Renowned Lebanese Australian artist Khaled Sabsabi has been reinstated as Australia's representative at the 2026 Venice Biennale, almost six months after he was dumped by the board of Australia's arts funding body, Creative Australia.

In February, Sabsabi's commission for the prestigious art event was announced but, less than a week later, he — and curator Michael Dagostino — had their invitation rescinded, with Creative Australia's board citing fears of a 'prolonged and divisive debate'.

After months of outcry and several prominent resignations from Creative Australia, the decision has now been reversed, as the arts funding body releases an external report into the governance, decision-making and risk-management process behind the selection.

'This decision has renewed our confidence in Creative Australia and in the integrity of its selection process,' Sabsabi and Dagostino said in a statement on Wednesday.

The external review found 'no single or predominant failure of process, governance or decision making that resulted, ultimately, in the decision to rescind the selection of the artistic team', but instead 'a series of missteps, assumptions and missed opportunities'.

Wesley Enoch, who became acting chair of the Creative Australia board last month, following the resignation of Robert Morgan, said, 'A complex series of events created a unique set of circumstances which the board had to address.'

In a statement, Creative Australia CEO Adrian Collette apologised for the impact of the board's decision on Sabsabi, Dagostino and the wider arts community.

Speaking on ABC TV's Afternoon Briefing, Arts Minister Tony Burke said he had confidence in Creative Australia in the wake of the reversal, but that the funding body failed to carry out due diligence by failing to brief him about Sabsabi's 'controversial' past work.

Major donor Simon Mordant — one of the people who resigned from Creative Australia — today announced he would return to the Biennale in 2026, as global ambassador and advocate for Australia.

Sabsabi — who was selected for the Biennale on the recommendation of an expert panel — was dropped after questions were raised in Question Time in February.

The board said in its statement that a public debate provoked by the choice of Sabsabi for the Venice Biennale '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 Creative Australia board faced fierce criticism from the Australian arts community, who called into question Creative Australia's stated principles of arms-length funding.

Resignations quickly followed, including Mordant, board member Lindy Lee and staff in the visual arts department at Creative Australia.

At Senate Estimates later that month, Collette defended the funding body's decision, describing Sabsabi's selection as an 'untenable risk to the organisation'.

But the artist and curator declared they still intended to present the work in Venice in 2026, 'ensuring the voices and ideas behind it are not silenced'.

According to the source: Australian Broadcasting Corporation.