Mikala Tai, who has led the department of visual arts at Creative Australia for four years, resigned in support of the artist, who was dismissed just five days after being appointed as a representative for Australia at the 61st Venice Biennale. Also, program manager Tahmina Maskinyar is leaving, according to The Guardian.
I am deeply disappointed that the artist's views were not taken into account at any stage of the board's decision-making process, she says.
Philanthropist and banker Simon Mordant also reacted strongly and is now stepping down from his role as international ambassador for the 2026 event. He has also withdrawn a "significant financial pledge" to the project, in support of Sabsabi.
Creative Australia's motivation was to avoid a "divisive debate", after conservative senator Claire Chandler questioned in a Senate debate why they allowed "art that glorifies a terrorist leader" to represent Australia. She refers to a work where Sabsabi, who fled the civil war in Lebanon, depicted the leader of the Shia militia Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed last year.
The artist himself says in a statement that "art should not be censored because artists reflect the times they live in".
The head of the National Association for the Visual Arts, Penelope Benton, has called the decision to dismiss Sabsabi "deeply disturbing". She says about the artist that he "contextualizes contested histories and challenges dominant narratives".
