Artist Reinstated After Backlash Shows Two Works in Venice

When Khaled Sabsabi was controversially axed as Australia's representative at the Venice Biennale last year, he kept working on his art anyway. Now, after being reinstated following public outcry, the Lebanese Australian artist will make history by exhibiting not one but two installations at the prestigious event.

"The aim was always to make the work," Sabsabi says. "As an artist, as a maker, that's what I do."

The journey to Venice started in February 2025 when Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino were announced as the creative team for the Australia Pavilion. But less than a week later, arts funding body Creative Australia retracted the invitation amid concerns about questions raised in Parliament about the artist's decades-old work.

Members of the arts community rushed to their defense, calling it censorship. In July 2025, an independent review led to their reinstatement.

The story took an unexpected turn when Koyo Kouoh, the late curator of the biennale's main exhibition, invited Sabsabi to present his work there as well. Now he'll be the first Australian artist ever to show in both the main exhibition and the Australia Pavilion at the same biennale.

"I don't know any artists that have done Venice twice," Sabsabi says. "You only get one go at this, so you've got to produce something that is appropriate to the moment."

With the support of a successful fundraising campaign and a $100,000 Creative Australia grant, Sabsabi created his installations across two continents. He worked in Thailand with award-winning Australian artist Abdul Abdullah, who built him a studio large enough for the massive pieces. He then returned to Western Sydney to complete another component with his local community.

The Ripple Effect

The installations stem from Sufism, the mystical dimension of Islam focused on connecting with something larger than ourselves. Both works explore this philosophy of detaching from ego to connect with universal humanity.

Sabsabi and Dagostino plan to bring both installations back to Australia after the biennale, exhibiting them at Adelaide's Samstag Museum of Art in March 2027. "We can't wait to bring the works back to Australia and have that opportunity for those that can't physically get to Venice," Sabsabi says.

After 35 years of working in art and community development, representing underrepresented voices on the world's biggest art stage feels especially meaningful. "This opportunity for underrepresented voices to be included in an international conversation is what we've been about and we'll continue to be about," Dagostino says.

Sometimes the greatest achievements emerge from the toughest challenges.