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AU Financial Review
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- AU Financial Review
Monash Uni backflips on Sabsabi show as Muslim campuses protest
Monash University's Museum Of Art will proceed with a show featuring controversial artist Khaled Sabsabi that it had postponed, with advocacy from students at its Indonesian and Malaysian campuses a factor in the decision. The Melbourne institution in March postponed Flat Earth, a show curated by Sydney-based publishing collective Stolon Press and including works by Sabsabi, the Sydney-based Muslim artist whose contract to represent Australia at 2026's Venice Biennale was rescinded by federal arts body Creative Australia, after the uncovering of early works depicting terrorism.
Sydney Morning Herald
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘A clear sign that truth still matters': Sacked artist welcomes university decision
'This is a deeply personal moment for me,' he said. 'I'm relieved that common sense has prevailed and we can move forward with the Flat Earth curatorial vision and exhibition at MUMA. It's a clear sign that truth still matters. 'This is also about more than one artist or one show, it's about how we as an industry respond to challenges, stand by each other, and uphold the integrity of artistic expression.' Sabsabi added: 'This outcome was not achieved in isolation; it was the result of a shared determination to protect freedom of expression and support artists at a time when it matters most.' He also refuted the insinuations that arose from Creative Australia's decision to sack him. 'Let me be absolutely clear: I reject all forms of racism and hate. My practice is built on existence/coexistence, respect, and the urgent need to connect across cultural and political divides,' he said. 'This [MUMA] decision affirms that my work is understood in that spirit.' Loading He thanked and acknowledged the commitment of Stolon Press, the participating artists in Flat Earth, and the team at MUMA. 'This moment is a reminder that our institutions are stronger when they hold space with artists and curators for complexity and conversations,' Sabsabi said. 'This is now an opportunity for Creative Australia to revisit its decision regarding Venice 2026. Michael and I remain committed to representing Australia on the world stage with integrity and purpose.' The findings of an independent review into the Venice selection process are to be released next month. Flat Earth is the inaugural exhibition by Sydney-based publisher Stolon Press, created with MUMA's Dr Rebecca Coates and Stephanie Berlangieri. It is part of MUMA's 50th anniversary celebrations and will run until July 12. Stolon Press was created by writer Tom Melick and artist Simryn Gill in 2019. The Venice decision was prompted by two of the artist's works, one featuring footage of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and another featuring the former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was assassinated last year. 'Creative Australia is an advocate for freedom of artistic expression and is not an adjudicator on the interpretation of art,' the board wrote in a statement. '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...' That flew in the face of what the Sabsabi had proposed for Venice, he said, as well as his overarching philosophy. 'The [proposed Biennale] work is about bringing all people of faith, ethnicity, gender together to reflect and contemplate these troubled times we live in,' Sabsabi said. He and D'Agostino have mounted a crowdfunding campaign to help them get to Venice, but hope this latest move by Monash University indicates that change is possible and there is room for Creative Australia to reconsider its decision. Speaking to this masthead last month, Sabsabi said the cancellation had been a fundamental misunderstanding that two of his historical works celebrated terrorism, which he called a 'ridiculous' accusation when both critiqued war and media representations of ideology. 'Anyone who knows me or my work understands what I stand for,' he said when asked if he had ever promoted terrorism through his work. 'I do not stand for terrorism, racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, xenophobia, or any form of hate. 'I believe every race, ethnicity, faith, gender has the right to exist and co-exist. I'm an artist, not a politician, and my work for over 35 years is about finding ways to converse through complexity. That accusation is ridiculous.'
The Age
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
‘A clear sign that truth still matters': Sacked artist welcomes university decision
'This is a deeply personal moment for me,' he said. 'I'm relieved that common sense has prevailed and we can move forward with the Flat Earth curatorial vision and exhibition at MUMA. It's a clear sign that truth still matters. 'This is also about more than one artist or one show, it's about how we as an industry respond to challenges, stand by each other, and uphold the integrity of artistic expression.' Sabsabi added: 'This outcome was not achieved in isolation; it was the result of a shared determination to protect freedom of expression and support artists at a time when it matters most.' He also refuted the insinuations that arose from Creative Australia's decision to sack him. 'Let me be absolutely clear: I reject all forms of racism and hate. My practice is built on existence/coexistence, respect, and the urgent need to connect across cultural and political divides,' he said. 'This [MUMA] decision affirms that my work is understood in that spirit.' Loading He thanked and acknowledged the commitment of Stolon Press, the participating artists in Flat Earth, and the team at MUMA. 'This moment is a reminder that our institutions are stronger when they hold space with artists and curators for complexity and conversations,' Sabsabi said. 'This is now an opportunity for Creative Australia to revisit its decision regarding Venice 2026. Michael and I remain committed to representing Australia on the world stage with integrity and purpose.' The findings of an independent review into the Venice selection process are to be released next month. Flat Earth is the inaugural exhibition by Sydney-based publisher Stolon Press, created with MUMA's Dr Rebecca Coates and Stephanie Berlangieri. It is part of MUMA's 50th anniversary celebrations and will run until July 12. Stolon Press was created by writer Tom Melick and artist Simryn Gill in 2019. The Venice decision was prompted by two of the artist's works, one featuring footage of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and another featuring the former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was assassinated last year. 'Creative Australia is an advocate for freedom of artistic expression and is not an adjudicator on the interpretation of art,' the board wrote in a statement. '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...' That flew in the face of what the Sabsabi had proposed for Venice, he said, as well as his overarching philosophy. 'The [proposed Biennale] work is about bringing all people of faith, ethnicity, gender together to reflect and contemplate these troubled times we live in,' Sabsabi said. He and D'Agostino have mounted a crowdfunding campaign to help them get to Venice, but hope this latest move by Monash University indicates that change is possible and there is room for Creative Australia to reconsider its decision. Speaking to this masthead last month, Sabsabi said the cancellation had been a fundamental misunderstanding that two of his historical works celebrated terrorism, which he called a 'ridiculous' accusation when both critiqued war and media representations of ideology. 'Anyone who knows me or my work understands what I stand for,' he said when asked if he had ever promoted terrorism through his work. 'I do not stand for terrorism, racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, xenophobia, or any form of hate. 'I believe every race, ethnicity, faith, gender has the right to exist and co-exist. I'm an artist, not a politician, and my work for over 35 years is about finding ways to converse through complexity. That accusation is ridiculous.'
The Guardian
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Khaled Sabsabi show to go ahead after Monash University finishes ‘consultations'
An exhibition featuring works by Lebanese Australian artist Khaled Sabsabi that was called off by Monash University in March will open to the public next week, with the university announcing it had reversed its decision. Monash University 'postponed' Stolon Press: Flat Earth at Monash University Museum of Art (Muma) in Melbourne in the wake of Sabsabi being dumped as Australia's representative at the 2026 Venice Biennale. It was the first time a show had been pulled in Muma's 50-year history. The exhibition, originally scheduled to open on 8 May, includes large 'spiritual' calligraphic paintings by Sabsabi that he has made with Lebanese coffee and draw on his 'personal memories of his childhood in Lebanon during the civil war'. At the time of the postponement, a spokesperson for Monash claimed 'consultation with our communities' had revealed that Muma needed 'to deepen its collaboration and engagement on this exhibition. Postponing the event will allow this important work to be undertaken.' Sources told Guardian Australia they feared the timing indicated the decision had been influenced by federal arts body Creative Australia's cancellation of Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino's contract to represent Australia at the 2026 Venice Biennale. That decision followed days of pressure from the Australian newspaper and Liberal politicians over Sabsabi's use of footage of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in old works. Sabsabi's participation in a mass boycott of the 2022 Sydney festival over the sponsorship of an event by the Israeli embassy was also singled out by the Australian, amid a wider increased scrutiny of public figures who criticised Israel's conduct in Gaza or spoke in support of Palestine after the start of the Israel-Gaza war. Sabsabi has always fiercely rejected any claim that his work promotes antisemitism or terrorism, calling the suggestion 'disgusting'. Thousands of artists and art experts have called on Creative Australia to reverse its decision. On Tuesday, Monash University confirmed Stolon Press: Flat Earth will open at Muma on 29 May, saying it was 'postponed by Monash University while the university conducted consultations with Monash students and community.' Monash has so far not detailed the reasons why it needed to conduct consultations or why that required the postponement of an exhibition 18-months in the making. The exhibition is curated by Stolon Press, a Sydney-based art and publishing collective run by Simryn Gill and Tom Melick, and also features works by writer and anthropologist Elisa Taber. Days after Flat Earth was cancelled, Sabsabi told Guardian Australia Creative Australia's decision was 'dismantling' his career and impacting his wellbeing. 'Nobody should have to go through this torture,' he said. 'It's unfair and it's put on by Creative Australia and those people that made that decision … essentially gave the go-ahead to define me as somebody who I am not.' Creative Australia said it sacked Sabsabi and Dagostino to avoid a 'prolonged and divisive debate' – but the decision provoked a storm of backlash in the art world, as well as a broader conversation about the pillorying of public figures who not only voiced criticism of Israel, but even those who spoke in support of Palestinians.
