In Solidarity with Khaled Sabsabi & Michael Dagostino

To the Board of Directors, Creative Australia.

Regarding the removal of Khaled Sabsabi as the Australian representative to the 2026 Venice Biennale.

The Creative Australia Board has issued the below statement:

The Board of Creative Australia has made the unanimous decision not to proceed with the artistic team chosen for the Venice Biennale 2026.

Creative Australia is an advocate for freedom of artistic expression and is not an adjudicator on the interpretation of art. However, the Board believes a prolonged and divisive debate about the 2026 selection outcome 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.

Creative Australia will be reviewing the selection process for the Venice Biennale 2026.

The Board, Artistic Directors and Staff of Blindside are publishing the below statement in response:

We, the Board, Artistic Directors and staff of Blindside wish to stand in support of the artist, and our community of creative workers. We publicly disagree with Creative Australia’s decision to withdraw representation of artist Khaled Sabsabi from the 2026 Venice Biennale. We believe that this decision goes against Creative Australia’s commitment to advocate for freedom of artistic expression and sets a precedent within our cultural sector for discrimination against / the silencing of artists.

This statement is an appeal to Creative Australia and the wider sector at large to consider the implications of this decision, to show transparency in regards to how this decision was made, and to consider the reinstatement of Sabsabi as Australia’s 2026 representation.

As a recipient of Creative Australia funding, we are aware of the power of the organisation’s support and want to ensure the integrity and freedom from political interference of the funding frameworks we are reliant on as organisations and artists.

We call for the Creative Australia board to publish a statement outlining how this decision was made and to publish the meeting minutes that led to this decision. We believe that a healthy national arts ecology rides on transparency at all levels and that this transparency will ensure that all levels of the sector are working to ensure we maintain a healthy arts ecosystem.

We recognise the important work of artists to respond to and question current socio-political and concerns, and the potentially transformative power of engaging with such work at all levels. We call on Creative Australia to outline how they intend to advocate for and protect artistic freedom following this decision.

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The BLINDSIDE Board of Directors & Artistic Directors