Bold headline: Australia’s Khaled Sabsabi returns to Venice with two interconnected works, turning a turbulent year into a unifying artistic moment. But here’s where it gets controversial: the path to this double reveal has been a public, highly debated journey that reshaped Australia’s cultural voice on the world stage.
After a year of upheaval, Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino will present two major works at the Venice Biennale this May, each rooted in Sabsabi’s Sufi practice and exploring spirituality, migration, and the vastness of shared humanity. The duo were controversially removed and then reinstated as Australia’s representatives, a dispute that still resonates in the arts community.
In the Australia Pavilion, the official national presentation, they will unveil conference of one’s self, a multisensory installation described by Sabsabi as an inclusive invitation for everyone—regardless of faith, ethnicity, or background—to come together and reflect on our collective humanity.
In addition to the pavilion piece, they will stage a crowdfunded version of their original Venice proposal inside the Biennale’s main exhibition, curated by the late artistic director Koyo Kouoh. Kouoh invited Sabsabi and Dagostino to participate after Creative Australia rescinded their initial appointment, making this collaboration a historic first: an Australian artist presenting simultaneously in the Pavilion and the Biennale’s central show.
This marks a new milestone for Australia’s representation at Venice. The country’s most recent participant, Archie Moore, earned the Golden Lion in 2024 for his installation kith and kin, underscoring the nation’s continued impact at the festival.
Details about both works remain under wraps for now, but Sabsabi has indicated a close, thematic link between the pieces. They draw inspiration from The Conference of the Birds, a 12th‑century Tasawwuf allegorical poem about the quest for spiritual enlightenment.
For roughly the last 15 years, Sabsabi has been deeply influenced by Sufism (Tasawwuf), a mystical and pluralist strand of Islam that emphasizes personal, intimate connections with the divine. The two works together resonate with the Tasawwuf idea of an interconnected inner and outer self—the zahir and batin, the seen and unseen, the tangible and the imagined.
The pavilion piece will incorporate audio and visual elements, including moments where light plays a central role—shimmering, bouncing, and refracting within the space to reveal additional facets of the installation.
Creative Australia’s chief executive Adrian Collette, who faced criticism over the initial decision to withdraw the commission, expressed pride in presenting Sabsabi at Venice. In a statement accompanying the announcement, Collette described Sabsabi’s work as offering a timely opportunity to showcase an optimistic vision of Australian identity on the world stage.
The public details reveal comes more than a year after Creative Australia revoked the original commission following criticism in the Australian press and parliamentary debate about two earlier artworks. Senator Claire Chandler claimed those works promoted terrorism and antisemitism, fueling controversy that led to the sacking and a wave of resignations within Creative Australia and backlash from within the arts community.
Sabsabi spoke with the Guardian at the time about the toll the episode took on his health and the perceived dismantling of his career. In July, Creative Australia reinstated both Sabsabi and Dagostino after an independent review found missteps in the initial decision. The chair, Wesley Enoch, apologized for the hurt caused and acknowledged that Sabsabi’s work had been mischaracterised.
Asked whether the setback altered their Biennale plans, Dagostino replied that the original intent remained intact—only evolved naturally as the project grew.
Born in Tripoli and moving to western Sydney at age 12, Sabsabi’s experiences during Lebanon’s civil war and as a migrant and Muslim inform a 35-year artistic practice. His multimedia works confront the destruction of war, challenge stereotypes, and illuminate the experiences of Muslims living in Australia.
While the Venice works are rooted in his spiritual practice, Sabsabi emphasizes they are fundamentally about respect for all faiths and the recognition of common ground. He describes the Biennale pieces as an invitation for people everywhere to pause, reflect, and leave with a sense of curiosity about others.
Would you welcome a public arts initiative that deliberately foregrounds cross-faith dialogue and shared humanity, even if it invites controversy? How do you think dual presentations at a single international venue could influence perceptions of national identity and cultural dialogue? The Venice project invites that very conversation, inviting audiences to weigh unity against the sparks of disagreement in the public sphere.
