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Venice Biennale Drops Lebanese Artist, Sparking Criticism

  • Publish date: Friday، 14 February 2025
Venice Biennale Drops Lebanese Artist, Sparking Criticism

Artist duo Michael Dagostino and Khaled Sabsabi have been barred from presenting their artwork at the Australian pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale. 

Creative Australia announced their decision on Thursday, Feb. 13 after it received criticism from local media and parliamentarians over a previous video installation by Sabsabi.

The 2007 artwork, created for Australia’s Museum of Contemporary Art, showed the former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. 

Also, the Lebanese-born artist Sabsabi joined the 2022 boycott of the Sydney Festival because of its sponsorship deal with the Israeli embassy. 

The artist duo stated in 'The Guardian Australia', "Art should not be censored as artists reflect the times they live in".

They also said, "Despite this decision, the Australian art world will not dim and or be silent...The artistic team is still committed to presenting this work on a global platform and will seek community support to make this happen."

Several famous Australian artists who are also shortlisted to showcase their work issued a joint public letter to the board of Creative Australia, criticizing the organization's move. The group included Hayley Millar Baker, James Nguyen, and Tina Baum.

This article was previously published on qatarmoments. To see the original article, click here

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