Yesterday, on 13 March, the following letter was delivered to the Hon. Tony Burke MP, Minister for the Arts.
The letter remains open for further signatures, supporting urgent action by Minister Burke to reinstate Khaled Sabsabi and Michael Dagostino, and to rebuild trust in Creative Australia, before a Federal Election is called. Please sign here.
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Letter to Minister for the Arts, Tony Burke MP: Reinstate Khaled and Rebuild Trust in Creative Australia
Hon. Tony Burke MP
Minister for the Arts
13 March 2025
Dear Minister,
As artists, curators, arts workers, and community members, we have been dismayed by Creative Australia’s rescindment of artist Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino from their selection to represent Australia at the 2026 Venice Biennale.
We are writing to express our collective outrage and breach of trust at the recent actions of Creative Australia’s CEO, Adrian Collette, and the Chair of the Board of Creative Australia, Robert Morgan, since 13 February 2025.
As a sector, we have lost all confidence in the ability of Mr Collette and Mr Morgan, to manage a crisis that they have caused, or lead Creative Australia in a way that prioritises advocating for, serving and supporting artists and freedom of artistic and cultural practice in Australia, which is the purpose of Creative Australia.
Alongside Collette, Morgan and the Board’s extremely poorly made snap decision on 13 February, influenced by the Murdoch press and one question in Parliament, it’s clear to us that they failed to brief you correctly. The limited consultation process with artist Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino in the time prior to Collette, Morgan and the Board’s decision being made public, as well as a failure to meet with the artistic team since, has led to the commencement of adversarial legal processes, as reported in The Sydney Morning Herald and elsewhere.
Minister, the sector is cognisant that you now have an opportunity to take action, before a Federal Election is called and caretaker provisions begin. This is your opportunity to rebuild trust and social licence with the Australian arts and cultural sector as constituents; to show your leadership and support for our sector that we have previously seen, when you promised us that you would end the political interference and culture wars directed at the arts and cultural sector under former governments.
We note that to take the action we request of you below, you are not intervening in an artistic decision. Quite the opposite, you would be defending a peer-based artistic decision and rejecting politicised and bureaucratic interference in Creative Australia.
We are writing to ask that you take the following urgent actions:
- The immediate reinstatement of the selected team, Khaled Sabsabi and Michael Dagostino, as representatives of Australia at Venice Biennale 2026.
- The immediate standdown of CEO of Creative Australia, Adrian Collette.
- The immediate standdown of Chair of the Australia Council Board overseeing Creative Australia, Robert Morgan, and appointment of a new Chair by you, before the Federal Election is called.
We also request:
- A formal apology from Creative Australia to Khaled Sabsabi and Michael Dagostino, acknowledging the lack of respect and care afforded to the artistic team and the distress and damage caused.
- The full and immediate payment of the artist’s and curator’s contracted fees ($100,000 and $50,000 respectively) to be paid to Khaled Sabsabi and Michael Dagostino, as per the signed contract agreement with Creative Australia.
- A formal commitment that no artists will undergo such appalling treatment in future.
- Improvement of artist representation on the Australia Council Board overseeing Creative Australia, with a commitment to at least 50% artist Board members in 2026.
We are concerned that an external review of the Venice selection process shifts blame away from the governance failures of the organisation, and undermines the knowledge and expertise of artists and industry panellists.
We call for:
- An overview of Creative Australia’s overall governance process and a recommitment to arm’s-length decision-making, free of the political and bureaucratic interference and pressure that led to this rescindment.
- Artist representatives to be involved in the slated external review of the Venice Biennale selection process, and transparency communicated to the arts community on the review process and findings.
Creative Australia’s appearance at Senate Estimates, on the evening of 25 February, revealed the deep shortcomings of the current CEO and Chair. Their willingness to buckle under political and media pressure, their lack of knowledge of the selected artistic team’s achievements and careers, their reluctance to answer for their actions, and their inability to articulate why artistic freedom should be upheld, all shows that they are unfit to continue in their roles.
Read: Australian Pavilion may be empty at Venice 2026; no resignations forthcoming
The poor consultation with Khaled Sabsabi and Michael Dagostino prior to a decision being made and announced by the Board demonstrates the sheer disrespect afforded the artistic team. The lack of legal advice sought by the CEO, Chair and Board at the time of making and announcing their decision is both reckless and unprofessional, highlighting an absence of due diligence to core governance practice at the highest level, and resulting in a lack of confidence and trust from their core constituency and voters, the arts community.
Likewise, the admission that the contract signed between Creative Australia, Khaled Sabsabi and Michael Dagostino was only dissolved in the hours prior to Senate Estimates shows a governance team scrambling to contain an issue entirely of their own making.
Finally, Creative Australia’s decision was made in the context of widespread anti-Arab racism, the institutional silencing of pro-Palestinian voices, and the structural suppression, racist stereotyping and targeting of individual Muslim and Arab artists.
That Creative Australia – the Australian Government’s principal arts investment and advisory body – is unable to support, without reservation, the important work that artists like Khaled Sabsabi do, is a disturbing indictment on the institution of Creative Australia and its failure to support artists and the role of art and culture in fostering democratic, social and cultural dialogue and change.
As the Minister in charge of Creative Australia and charged with leading and advocating the Australian Government’s commitment to cultural policy in this country, we urge you to act. We note your action will be seen around the world, where many are following this debacle.
We implore the Australian Government to listen to the arts and culture sector, to take accountability for the failings of Creative Australia’s CEO and Chair, and to make genuine moves towards the reparations outlined in the demands above, including the immediate reinstatement of the selected team, Khaled Sabsabi and Michael Dagostino, as representatives of Australia at Venice Biennale 2026.
Sincerely
Therese Keogh
Eugenia Lim
Tiyan Baker
Kate Blackmore
Lisa Radford
carolyn mckenzie craig
Tess Healy
Isabelle Rudolph
raafat ishak
Kate Just
Madeleine Collie
Geoff Robinson
Sophie Penkethman-Young
Matthew Prest
Fiona Waters
Tian Zhang
George Criddle
Abdul-Rahman Abdullah
Emma Valente
sophie hyde
Megan Cope
Tony Albert
Ana Tiquia
Audrey Newton
Holly Macdonald
Naomi Segal
Emma Roberts
Görkem Acaroğlu
James Nguyen
Bianca Hester
Kuba Dorabialski
Laura Carthew
Bronwyn Bailey-Charteris
Andrew Robertson
Mel O’Callaghan
Richard Bell
Amelia Wallin
Tamsin Hong
Emma Hamilton
Emma Webb
Jacina Leong
Jacqui Shelton
Jacob Boehme
Katie Sfetkidis
Susie Quillinan
Georgie Davill
jennifer mills
Lana Nguyen
Zoe Scoglio
Gabrielle Brady
Audax M Gawler
Jennifer Greer Holmes
Yasmin Gurreeboo
Anna Schwann
Laura McLean
Justin Balmain
Paul Gazzola
Helen Hughes
Christopher Kohn
Amrita Hepi
Josh Milani
Matteo Lucchetti
Kate Larsen
Althea Kuzman
Dalisa Pigram
Hoda Afshar
Miranda Aguilar
Rachael Swain
Joanna Kitto
Justin O’Connor
Joel Bray
Omar Sakr
Jess Lewis
Lara Thoms
Alexandra Pedley
Liz Grandmaison
Kon Gouriotis
Nur Shkembi
Kathryn Sproul
Danielle Rizk
Phillip George
Ali Tahayori
Kenzee Patterson
Saffaa Hassanein
Jo Higgins
Azza Zein
Alana Hunt
Ashley Ronning
Hellen Sky
Sarah Rodigari
Jacky Cheng
Bianca Winataputri
Andrew Sutherland
Helen Grace
Dennis Grauel
Karleng Lim
Amala Groom
Miriam La Rosa
Zenobia Ahmed
Rosie Isaac
Alison Evans
Hoang Tran Nguyen
Angelita Biscotti
kelli mccluskey
Tiffany Lee-Shoy
Sarah E. Truman
Michaela Coventry
Petrit Abazi
Gary Deirmendjian
Zoë Slee
Maeve Mhairi MacGregor
Becci Love
Ping Flynn
Joanne Saad
Benjamin Graetz
Anna Parlane
Fatima Mawas
Claire Bridge
George Akl
Cher Tan
Bilquis Ghani
Belinda Wilson
Phương Ngo
Haneen Mahmood Martin
Jason Sweeney
Angela De Palma
Lee Wilson
Deborah Kelly
Jason Maling
Angela Goddard
Seán Cubitt
Christian Bishop
Kim Munro
Valerie Berry
Jeremy Eaton
Jon Cattapan
Hen Vaughan
Sam Whiting
Catherine Strong
Kim Roberts
Tina Stefanou
David Pledger
Elyse Goldfinch
Elizabeth Ann Macgregor
Matthias Schack-Arnott
Danni Zuvela
Isobel Knowles
Ivan Muñiz Reed
Fiona Sprott
Maxine Beneba Clarke
Ian Milliss
Janet Laurence
Louisa King
Mouna Zaylah
Georgina Pollard
Terry Smith
Chelle Destefano
Brook Andrew
Paschal Daantos Berry
nicholas mangan
Cherie Schweitzer
Paschal Daantos Berry
Linda Michael
Bhenji Ra
Jenna Pippett
Jessica Neath
Jade Hadfield
Gabrielle Bates
Fiona Winning
Michael Gentle
Red Rey
Aira Firdaus
Judy Annear
Danny Frommer
Charles Esche
Shay Downer
Angela Conquet
Fiona Kelly McGregor
Sukhdeep Singh
Alexandra Harrison
Timmah Ball
Andrew Varano
Kameron Locke
nicholas tsoutas
Pierluigi Musarò
Nikos Pantazopoulos
Wulan Dirgantoro
Van Sowerwine
Max Delany
Emma Pham
Susan Norrie
Scott McQuire
Anne-Marie May
Aleks Danko
Judith Walton
Roslyn Oades
Callum Morton
narelle jubelin
Fadia Abboud
Tracey Moffatt
Adrian Martin
Helen Ennis
Eddie Abd
Ludwig El Haddad
Janet Burchill
Jennifer McCamley
Anita Archer
Matthew van Roden
Robyn Stacey
Joel Stern
Sally Chessell
Kirri Büchler
Zara Sullivan
Maria Gough
Fayen d’Evie
Spiros Panigirakis
Yasemin Sabuncu
Jon Perring
Ann Stephen
Anthony Gardner
Pam Brown
Latai Taumoepeau
Zanny Begg
Diane Mantzaris
Feras Shaheen
Lyndal Jones
Shyamla Eswaran
Elizabeth Gertsakis
Julie Rrap
Geoff Kleem
Caroline Farmer
Gary Paramanathan
Andrew McNamara
Ripley Kavara
Grace Dlabik
Iakovos Amperidis
Aleks Danko
megan evans
Jasmin Sheppard
Derek Kreckler
Sarah Miller AM
Toby Fitch
David Cross
Catherine Bell
Justin Clemens
Sal Cooper
Tim Bass
Jake Goetz
Nikos Papastergiadis
Marnie Badham
Deborah Ely
Mirabelle Wouters
Louisa Bufardeci
Emma Beech
Frances Barrett
Britt Guy
Drew Pettifer
Shelley Watters
David Harley
Ricardo Felipe
Debra Phillips
Nola Farman
Joanna Savill
Annie Talve
Louana Sainsbury
Julie Donaldson
Andy Jackson
Ceridwen Ahern
Melissa DeLaney
Luke Roberts
Susan Wrigley
Bernadette Foley
Joseph Norster
Barry Keldoulis
John Petrie
r e a
Gail Kelly
Niki Koutouzi
Walter J. Kenyon
Jaime Powell
Dana Marjan
Faid Mazin Ahmad
Carollyn Kavanagh
Elesi Atsu
Adam Porter
Louise Neri
Fiona MacDonald
Ellie Hannon
Peter Parslow
Nicole Monks
Natalie Smith
Rebecca Jensen
Marlene Houston
Christo Crocker
Gillian Kayrooz
Tess Rendoth
Tim Humphrey
Anna Nalpantidis
Nisha Madhan
Bron Belcher
Dan Koop
Marcus McKenzie
Lucy Pitt
Amos Gebhardt
Sinead lewis
Priya Namana
Sarah Aiken
Leyla Stevens
Grace McQuilten
Sally Gray
Angela Stretch
Tarik Ahlip
The signatures published here are those included at the time this letter was sent to Minister Burke. More signatures can be viewed and added to the open letter here.
This article was updated after publication at 12:42pm on Saturday 15 March, in order to seperate two seperate dot points that had accidentally been conflated.
