Creative Australia’s withdrawal of its selection of the artist Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino for the Venice Biennale is censorship.
PEN Sydney has joined more than 4000 from the arts community in signing an open letter calling on Creative Australia to reverse their decision and send Khaled Sabsabi and Michael Dagostino to the Venice Biennale.
This form of censorship of creative expression based on pressure from the media and possibly other forces is a direct threat to freedom of expression in Australia. As the ABC’s Laura Tingle writes, it ultimately weakens our institutions.