Latest news with #AustralianPavilion
The Guardian
25-02-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Kean hits back at ‘bullying' of climate body, Musk backlash grows, Eurovision pick revealed
Morning everyone. The Climate Change Authority boss, Matt Kean, says he will not be 'bullied' into silence after the Coalition accused the body of engaging in politics. A black Australian says he has been stopped 32 times at Sydney airport, and Donald Trump has been forced to defend 'first buddy' Elon Musk. Plus: could a cyclone ruin a months-long attempt to row across the Pacific, with success almost in sight? Go-Jo working | TikTok star Go-Jo will represent Australia at Eurovision in May, the 10th musical act to represent his country since it was allowed to join the competition a decade ago. 'I won't be bullied' | The chair of the Climate Change Authority, Matt Kean, has hit back over an opposition suggestion that his criticism of its nuclear energy proposal could lead to him being sacked if the Coalition wins government. Creative differences | The boss of Creative Australia has conceded the Australian Pavilion at next year's Venice Biennale may remain empty following its decision to rescind the contracts of the artist and curator it chose to represent the country. But Adrian Collette and the chair Robert Morgan told Senate estimates last night they would not resign over the fiasco. 'It has to stop' | An Australian citizen detained 32 times at Sydney airport – without allegation or charge – has told the federal circuit court he is stopped and searched almost every time he enters the country because he is black. Reality Check | Peter Dutton has floated at least three different ways in which he would use the billions of dollars in savings from his plans to cut thousands of public service jobs. Josh Butler endeavours to unpack the details. Musk backlash | Donald Trump has stepped in to defend Elon Musk from a mounting backlash in his own administration after some cabinet members told staff to ignore the Tesla tycoon's demand that they write an email justifying their work. More than 20 employees in Musk's new 'Doge' department resigned after refusing to use their expertise to 'dismantle critical public services', and there's disgust among Tesla drivers. Kremlin doubt | The Kremlin has appeared to reject Donald Trump's claim that Vladimir Putin is open to European peacekeeping troops in Ukraine, as the UK announces a big increase in defence spending. Peace threat | Israel is seeking to extend the first stage of the ceasefire agreement in the war with Hamas in Gaza and is prepared to resume fighting if there is no progress in crucial talks this week, according to reports. Hunting party | The acting federal government official overseeing the vast majority of the US's food supply is a Florida attorney who reportedly is a hunting friend of Donald Trump Jr, the president's eldest child and namesake. Papal intrigue | An Italian priest who has a close relationship with Pope Francis claims he has been a target of a sophisticated surveillance tool used by a government. Meanwhile, the pontiff remains in a critical condition in hospital despite a 'slight improvement'. The religious sect members who killed Elizabeth Struhs Fourteen sect members are due to be sentenced today for the killing of Elizabeth Struhs. Queensland state reporter Andrew Messenger tells Reged Ahmad about why insulin was withheld from the eight-year-old type 1 diabetic. Aurimas Mockus has battled solitude, a whirlpool and unfavourable winds on his epic journey in a rowing boat from San Diego to Australia. But now, as he nears Brisbane, Tropical Cyclone Alfred is forming near the Coral Sea and poses the most serious threat to his mission so far. It was 23 years ago that David Wenham delighted cinema audiences with his portrayal of Johnny 'Spit' Spitieri in the film Gettin' Square. The actor tells Jenny Valentish that while the first film was straight comedy, the sequel, Spit, is more layered. But still with laughs. 'It will hopefully have you leaving the cinema with a big smile on your face and some faith in humanity.' Cricket | Australia's Champions Trophy game against South Africa in Rawalpindi was washed out overnight without a ball being bowled, leaving both sides and the other two Group B teams – Afghanistan and England – still in with a chance of reaching the semi-finals. NRL | We have the second part of our predictions for the new season. Find out who Nick Tedeschi thinks will finish top. Premier League | Another round of matches kicks off this morning. Follow the action live. Sign up to Morning Mail Our Australian morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Anthony Albanese will pledge billions for western Melbourne today as he attempts to sandbag marginal seats in the area, the Australian Financial Review reports. Seven people have died on Tasmania's roads so far this year compared with two in the same period last year, the Hobart Mercury reports. The long-running trains dispute and the chauffeur scandal has hit NSW Labor's poll ratings, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. The hospitality billionaire Justin Hemmes has bought a car park in the centre of Melbourne to develop it as a nightlife venue, the Age claims. Education | Luke Sheehy, boss of Universities Australia, will address the National Press Club. Senate | Health, aged care and employment estimates in Canberra. Enjoying the Morning Mail? Then you'll love our Afternoon Update newsletter. Sign up here to finish your day with a three-minute snapshot of the day's main news, and complete your daily news roundup. And follow the latest in US politics by signing up for This Week in Trumpland. And finally, here are the Guardian's crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow. Quick crossword Cryptic crossword If you have a story tip or technical issue viewing this newsletter, please reply to this email. If you are a Guardian supporter and need assistance with regards to contributions and/or digital subscriptions, please email
The Guardian
25-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Venice Biennale pavilion could be empty, Creative Australia chief tells senators
Creative Australia has conceded the Australian Pavilion at next year's Venice Biennale may remain empty following its decision to rescind the contracts of the artist and curator it chose to represent the country at the prestigious event. 'We will be doing everything we can…to think about how we use what is a public pavilion to mount something of that is worthy in terms of its representation of Australia,' Creative Australia's chief executive, Adrian Collette, told a Senate estimates hearing on Tuesday night. 'But we have to draw breath and work out how we are going to approach this singular situation.' However, facing the late-night inquiry in Canberra, Collette and the chair of Creative Australia's board, Robert Morgan, refused to resign. During the questioning, they admitted that despite the board voting to withdraw artist Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino from Venice almost two weeks ago, it had only formally terminated their contracts hours before Tuesday's hearing. They also acknowledged it will be the public purse that picks up the cost of the board's controversial decision that has provoked widespread condemnation within the Australian arts sector. 'We absolutely acknowledge we have financial obligations to the artist and the curator, so the taxpayer has to fund it,' Collette told the hearing. 'The taxpayer funds everything we do.' Collette said the delay in terminating the biennale contract was due to Creative Australia needing to seek legal advice. 'Do you reckon maybe you should have got that advice before you sacked the guys?' Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young asked Collette. 'We didn't have time,' he responded. The concentrated timeline that led to Sabsabi and Dagostino's sacking was the focus of much of Tuesday's hearing, with Collette repeatedly stressing the urgency of the matter, for the sake of 'social cohesion'. 'It is not, in my view, about artistic intent,' he said. 'It is about the impact that [a Sasabi and Dagostino representation] would have on the broader public that was the concern. And the impact of art does not reside with an artist's intent. It resides in the way it is perceived by the public. 'We cannot be blind to the very real risk that the choices we make can also have the potential to trigger divisive narratives.' When grilled about the involvement of arts minister Tony Burke, represented by senator Tim Ayres at the hearing, Collette said a brief informing the minister of the selection of Sabsabi and Dagostino went to his office on 31 January, seven days before the selection was publicly announced. In between that brief being sent and the public announcement, Collette was alerted by a Creative Australia staffer to the existence of a work created by the artist some 17 years earlier called You. It was a video installation that featured images of Hassan Nasrallah, the former leader of Hezbollah, a group that was only fully proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the Australian government some 14 years after the work was created. The work You was not the tipping point however. It was another work, created a year earlier, that sealed the artist's fate. Collette admitted that neither he or the board were aware of the existence of a work called Thank You Very Much – a montage of the 9/11 attacks with President George W Bush speaking the title words in the 2006 video's conclusion – until Liberal senator Claire Chandler brought up the choice of Sabsabi for the Venice Biennale during question time on 13 February. By mid-afternoon that day Morgan was wrangling his board for an emergency meeting. Collette insists that by the time Burke called him, at about 3.30pm, a six o'clock board meeting had already been slated. 'I was shocked when I saw that it [Thank You Very Much] was there,' Ayres said, reading a statement from Burke at the hearing. 'And I rang Adrian…to find out what had happened. At that point, he had already determined that they were going to have a board meeting that night. And I went on to say, you know, whatever you decide, I will support you, and I will support Creative Australia.' 'You went into panic mode and you pushed the button,' Hanson-Young put to Collette. 'We anticipate always that the selection of the Venice artists will be controversial, it has been for time immemorial' Collette responded. 'Everyone has a view on the artist, on the art. We don't resile from any of those decisions. We haven't in the past, but what happened at that moment was a recognition by me and the board that this entire process was going to be mired in the worst kind of divisive debate.' Collette said he contacted Sabsabi and Dagostino to inform them of the impending meeting, and again to inform them of the meeting's outcome an hour and a half later. At no point were the pair given the opportunity to address the board themselves. When Collette tried calling Sabsabi several times later that evening to put the wording of the public statement of his withdrawn commission to him, the artist did not take his calls. 'You failed to do the due diligence, you failed to do the governance, and you failed to look after the artists,' Hanson-Young accused Collette. Collette admitted Creative Australia had a 'huge' amount of work to do to 'to restore [the public's] confidence in our ability to make independent, expert, informed, arms length decisions' but assured her all other grant making divisions of the organisation had not been weakened by the Venice controversy. Would he resign, she asked? 'That's not the way I work,' he said. 'I'm sorry if this decision is misunderstood by the sector, but I don't back away from this it's in someone else's gift to say, well, we think you should move on, so be it. But it certainly won't be something I do.' Would the chair resign then, the senator pursued? 'No,' Morgan replied.
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘No artist' will want to represent Australia at Venice Biennale after Sabsabi dumped, former museum head says
The Australian Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale is likely to remain dark next year for the first time, the former director of the Museum of Contemporary Art says. Elizabeth Ann Macgregor on Tuesday weighed into the fracas over Creative Australia's decision to rescind its Venice Biennale contract to Lebanese-born Australia artist Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino, just six days after announcing the pair would be Australia's representatives at the 2026 prestigious international art event. 'Did Creative Australia honestly think they could just ring up the next artist on the shortlist? Well, they've all already made it very clear that none of them will be accepting the offer,' Macgregor told Guardian Australia on Tuesday. 'No artists worth their soul will touch that pavilion now. They can't. It's totally tainted. And it's so tragic.'Creative Australia's executive director, Adrian Collette, told staff at an angry meeting on Monday that the public outcry would have been greater than the one he now finds himself embroiled in, if the Sabsabi exhibition had gone ahead. The fallout occurred after earlier works by the artist came to light that drew controversy from some politicians and media outlets for containing depictions of deceased Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. One of those works, You, a 2007 video installation that includes images of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, was given to the MCA by Sabsabi in 2009, during Macgregor's tenure, and remains in the museum's collection today. Related: Guardian Essential poll: Labor's policies appear unknown to voters as major parties neck and neck Macgregor said questions now needed to be asked about the future tenure of Collette as head of the Australian government's arts funding, development and advisory body, and the position of advertising executive Robert Morgan as the organisation's chair. Macgregor said arts minister Tony Burke had questions to answer. Burke confirmed on Monday he contacted Collette immediately after question time on Thursday, when Sabsabi's choice for the 2026 biennale was called into question by Liberal senator Claire Chandler. 'Normally I don't get involved in the decisions, but when something's due to be announced, I get sent up a brief with … what different issues that might be considered controversial,' Burke said. 'I rang Adrian to find out what had happened. At that point, he had already determined that they were going to have a board meeting that night. 'I was very clear. I made clear to Adrian Collette, who I have known for more than a decade, I said to him whatever you decide, I will support you and I will support Creative Australia.' Other than issuing a written statement last Friday, the artist and the curator have not spoken out since. Macgregor told the Guardian Australia's reputation on the international art scene had been damaged. 'I've had messages from around the world, people asking what on earth is going on in Australia?' she said. 'This not only reflects badly on arts leadership in this country, it reflects badly on our political system, with two major parties point scoring on the basis of an article sitting behind a firewall,' she said, referring to last week's The Australian column which accused Sabsabi of 'seemingly laud[ing] a terrorist leader in his past work'. She said the MCA work in question, You, had been the subject of many 'incredibly interesting conversations' the museum had had with the public and school groups during her time as head of the institution, which in 2019 was named the most visited museum of contemporary art in the world. 'In no way was that work a glorification [of Nasrallah]. Art is complex, you have to read it within context. Many people have given different interpretations of it. And surely we have to allow space for that, even in this day of instant social media.' Macgregor said You, and another Sabsabi work also singled out for criticism, called Thank You Very Much, featuring images of the 9/11 attacks and a clip of US president George Bush saying 'thank you very much', were created almost two decades ago, and in a very different context. 'Khaled is not an angry young man doing provocative work that's going to get everybody angry in the Venice pavilion, far from it,' she said. 'He's an experienced senior artist working with a very experienced curator who has managed many, many difficult projects. These are not people who are deliberately trying to provoke some sort of horrible backlash. That's just not what the proposal is about. On Creative Australia's own website it says the work will be about creating empathy from different positions, bringing people together, community engagement through art.' Macgregor said she was disappointed in the 'lack of arts leadership' at an organisational level and at the 'deafening silence' from large arts institutions over the past week. 'Have they been silenced because their boards are worried about their funding and are telling them to remain silent?' she asked. The horrific conflict in Gaza and the rise in antisemitic acts in Australia has created a tense community environment as the country heads into a federal election, Macgregor acknowledged. But that should not be a reason to disallow artists to engage with those events through their work. 'Should Creative Australia now issue an edict saying no one dealing with any subject of war can create work that is funded by the taxpayer? And are they going to go back through the social media accounts of any artist who gets a commission, to see what they've been doing or saying 15 or 20 years ago? 'This whole issue has set an extremely dangerous precedent.'
