Panel that recommended Sabsabi for Venice Biennale ‘deeply concerned’ by Creative Australia pulling artist

The members of an independent panel who advised Creative Australia on the selection of Khaled Sabsabi for the 61st Venice Biennale say they are “deeply concerned” by the abrupt decision to rescind his appointment.

The panel has broken its silence amid mounting calls for an inquiry into the board’s decision to drop the Lebanese-Australian artist and the curator Michael Dagostino from the 2026 event after media and political criticism of two of Sabsabi’s historical artworks.

It follows Creative Australia’s announcement earlier today that it will commission an “immediate independent external” review into the “artistic selection process” that led to the artistic team being chosen to represent Australia.

In a letter written to Creative Australia’s chair, Robert Morgan, board and CEO, Adrian Collette, the five-member panel expressed support for the dumped artistic team and called on the board to explain why it ditched the duo.

“The Panel is deeply concerned by the decision to rescind the appointment, as well as the impact that is having on the Artistic Team, and the people otherwise connected with the selection process,” the group said.

“We urge Creative Australia and the Australia Council Board (together with the wider Australian and international artistic communities) to provide support to and stand with Khaled Sabsabi and Michael Dagostino at this difficult time.

“Any failure to do so would not reflect the expectation of integrity which is at the core of thriving artistic and democratic communities or demonstrate care for the people they engage.”

All five panel members called for transparency from the board “on the process and reasoning for its decision to rescind the selection” which they said “will go some way to mitigate the confusion, disappointment, and hurt” that is being felt by the artistic team and the broader arts community.

The panel members were: Anthony Gardner, a professor of contemporary art history at the University of Oxford, Dunja Rmandić, the director of the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, Dr Mariko Smith, the First Nations curator at the Australian Museum, Wassan Al-Khudhairi, a curator of contemporary art from the Arab world, and Elaine Chia, the executive director of the Naomi Milgrom Foundation.

The panel’s letter also sheds some light on the selection process, which involved panellists providing individual advice on the six shortlisted teams to the Creative Australia CEO in one-on-one meetings.

“Our task as an independent, peer review Panel was to advise Creative Australia and the Board in their selection of the Artistic Team. This role was a privilege and an honour,” the group said.

While the panel provided advice, Guardian Australia understands the final decision was made by Creative Australia’s CEO and its head of visual arts based on the panel’s expert advice.

Mikala Tai, who led Creative Australia’s visual arts department for more than four years, tendered her resignation on Friday after the board revoked the appointment.

The panel said it was informed of the final selection of the artistic team on the same date as the media, and only became aware of the decision to rescind that appointment when the news broke.

“While the Panel has sought clarification from Creative Australia following its decision to rescind the original appointment, no explanation beyond its public statements has been received at the time of issuing this statement,” the panel said.

“The Panel was not consulted or communicated with in respect to the decision to rescind the appointment, and is not involved in any process following that decision.”

The chief executive of Creative Australia, Adrian Collette, told a meeting with all staff on Monday that he had felt “blindsided” because, he said, he was not informed of the artist’s earlier controversial works.

Collette also spoke to staff of the “public outcry” that would have ensued if Sabsabi and Dagostino represented Australia, after the artist’s earlier works had become the topic of public debate.

Board member Wesley Enoch, who also faced staff at the meeting, said that there were no guarantees the board would not override future recommendations made by Creative Australia’s advisory panels.

According to one employee present at the meeting, the mood was one of anger and upset, with several staff members leaving in tears.

“The wellbeing and integrity of staff has not been considered in all of this, and there was no consultation before the decision was made,” they said.

“There’s a feeling of betrayal throughout the organisation, that the sector we serve has lost faith in us. People in positions of leadership are concerned about their future.”

It comes as almost 3,000 artists, curators, writers and academics signed a petition calling on Creative Australia to reinstate Sabsabi and Dagostino.

The petition, organised by weekly Melbourne-based art criticism journal Memo, said it would be an essential step in upholding the integrity of Creative Australia’s statutory functions and its commitment to artistic independence.

Some of Australia’s most highly awarded artists have signed, including Tony Albert, Hoda Afshar, Bronwyn Bancroft, brothers Abdul-Rahman Abdullah and Abdul Abdullah, and a number of artists who have represented Australia in Venice in past biennales, including Judy Watson, Fiona Hall, Susan Norrie and Callum Morton.

The petition said Creative Australia’s decision set a concerning precedent for artistic freedom and sectoral independence.

“If public pressure and political sensitivities of the day can determine – apparently within a matter of hours – Creative Australia’s support for artists after selection, what does this mean for future appointments, funding decisions, and the autonomy and credibility of Australian artists on the world stage?” the petition statement said.

It spelled out that, under the Creative Australia Act 2023, the Australian government’s principal arts investment and advisory body was required to support artistic excellence, uphold freedom of expression, and foster diversity in Australian arts practice.

“We do not see how Creative Australia’s justification for withdrawing Australia’s representation – concerns over ‘prolonged and divisive debate’ – fulfils its statutory functions under the Act,” the statement said.

Creative Australia declined to comment.

On Monday, Simon Mordant told Guardian Australia his reason for resigning as an ambassador to the 2026 Australian presentation at the Venice Biennale and withdrawing his financial pledge was “poor process by the Government’s arts body”.

“I had no involvement in the selection nor the rescinding of Khaled Sabsabi’s commission,” he said.