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UNBELIEVABLE: Khaled sabsabi - The Untold Story

'No time for grudges': artist duo's eyes set on Venice

Two artists dumped then brought back as Australia's representatives for the prestigious Venice Biennale want attention on their work, not an earlier fracas.

AAP

Showcase reveals artworks stretched to the outer limits

A snapshot of contemporary art shows how artists push their materials to the limit, reflecting the forces which shape individuals and society.

AAP

After a turbulent year, Australia’s Khaled Sabsabi will present two works at the Venice Biennale

The artist, who was controversially revoked and then reinstated by his government, is planning a ‘nurturing experience’ to bring people together

The Guardian - AU

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As authors abandon Adelaide Writers’ Week after cancelling of Randa Abdel-Fattah, is free speech in tatters?

The decision by the Adelaide Festival Board to exclude Palestinian Australian author and academic Randa Abdel-Fattah from Adelaide Writers’ Week on the grounds of “cultural sensitivity” is based on a dangerously broad and vague criterion for suppressing free speech.

The Conversation

Creative Australia awards Khaled Sabsabi $100,000 grant months after dumping from Venice Biennale

Funding is a silver lining in a tumultuous year for the Lebanese-Australian artist from western Sydney

The Guardian - AU

The ABC and Creative Australia panicked in the face of controversy. These vital institutions must not be so timid

In the Lattouf and Sabsabi cases, the apparently unmanageable sensitivity was discussion of Israel and Palestine

The Guardian - AU

Creative Australia chief executive facing mounting pressure to resign after Khaled Sabsabi controversy

Senior arts figure says board and CEO ‘didn’t seem to understand or at least trust the power and complexity of the visual arts’

The Guardian - AU

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Little trust in Creative Australia after Venice snafu

Trust in Creative Australia is at an all-time low due to the Venice Biennale controversy, but the decision to reinstate the artistic team may bring healing.

AAP

Creative Australia will face pressure to make ‘safe’ artistic choices after Sabsabi controversy, industry figures warn

Critics warn a corporate-style risk framework could stifle creativity and call for a renewed commitment to artistic independence

The Guardian - AU

Afternoon Update: dozens missing after ferry sinks off Bali; Creative Australia chair apologises to Sabsabi; and rise of robot narrators

At least four people have died after a ferry travelling from Java sank, Indonesia police say

The Guardian - AU

The takeaway from the Venice Biennale saga: the art world faces deep and troubling structural inequality

Creative Australia’s decision earlier this year to rescind the selection of artist Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino as Australia’s 2026 representatives at the Venice Biennale sent shockwaves through the arts sector.

The Conversation

Creative Australia apologises to Khaled Sabsabi for ‘hurt and pain’ after Venice Biennale reinstatement

Wesley Enoch tells ABC RN the artist’s work was not about glorification of terrorism and says Sabsabi is ‘incredibly peace-loving’

The Guardian - AU

Creative Australia’s backflip on Venice Biennale representatives exposes deep governance failures

The reinstatement of artist Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino as Australia’s representatives for the 2026 Venice Biennale closes a bruising recent cultural episode and exposes the fragility of the systems meant to protect artistic freedom in Australia.

The Conversation

Apology for hurt and pain as Venice arts duo reinstated

The federal arts funding body has apologised to an artist and curator axed from representing Australia at the Venice Biennale, but who have now been reinstated.

AAP

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AAP

Axed duo back in Biennale after 'avoidable' arts crisis

After a backflip, artist Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino have been reinstated as Australia's representatives at an international exhibition.

The Guardian - AU

Khaled Sabsabi reinstated as Venice Biennale representative after independent review into dumping

Artist says Creative Australia’s decision renews his confidence in integrity of body’s selection process

AAP

Long-awaited probe into dumped Biennale artists lands

After Australia's Venice Biennale picks were controversially dropped, Creative Australia promised a review. Four months later, it's complete.

The Guardian - AU

Abdul Abdullah: ‘People made assumptions about who I was and what I stand for because of my name’

The Archibald packing room prize-winning artist on belonging, outrage and feeling ‘too boxing gym for art school’

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The Guardian - AU

‘A moral crisis’: how the Sydney writers’ festival grappled with the Israel-Gaza war

The tragedy in Gaza has loomed over the festival, with chair Robert Watkins promising ‘a plurality of voices’

The Conversation

A First Nations writer’s fellowship was withdrawn by Queensland’s government. What’s going on?

This week, Martu writer Karen Wyld had her A$15,000 blackwrite fellowship withdrawn – just hours before the (cancelled) ceremony at State Library of Queensland, where she was to receive it for a fiction manuscript on the Stolen Generations. The Queensland arts minister, John-Paul Langbroek, and premier David Crisafulli had directly…

The Guardian - AU

Creative Australia chair to retire following Khaled Sabsabi biennale controversy

Robert Morgan is expected to be replaced by the First Nations playwright and creative director Wesley Enoch

The Guardian - AU

Khaled Sabsabi says ‘common sense has prevailed’ after Monash University allows exhibition to go ahead

Flat Earth: Stolon Press, which was called off after Sabsabi was dumped as Australia’s representative at the Venice Biennale, will now open on 29 May

The Guardian - AU

‘A lot of pride and joy’: the First Nations team representing Australia at the Venice Biennale of Architecture

These seven architects hope to show First Nations design and connection to Country at the world’s most prestigious architecture exhibition

The Guardian - AU

Coalition to cut 10% of Creative Australia funding to divert to Melbourne Jewish Arts Quarter

Costings announcement follows the high-profile withdrawal of artist Khaled Sabsabi’s appointment as Australia’s Venice Biennale representative

The Guardian - AU

Muslim Australians are crying out to be heard. Will the major parties listen to us?

Groups such as Muslim Votes Matter and The Muslim Vote are hoping to gain support from those who feel left out of the major parties and disenchanted by the status quo

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