Revisiting Creative Australia’s decision to drop Khaled Sabsabi
Jan 18, 2026 •
The fallout from this year’s Adelaide Writers’ Week debacle has reignited fierce debate about political interference in the arts and about who gets to speak in Australia’s cultural spaces.
After the invitation to Palestinian-Australian author Randa Abdel-Fattah was withdrawn, 180 writers pulled out in protest.
The festival was eventually cancelled and Adelaide Festival has since apologised for excluding the author from Writers’ Week, admitting it had failed to uphold artistic freedom. The whole saga raises urgent questions about how decisions are being made – by governments, by boards, and by those in charge of our institutions.
Today, we’re bringing you a story from last year that exposed one of the initial fault lines in cultural administration.
It’s about artist Khaled Sabsabi, who was dropped from representing Australia at the Venice Biennale after political pressure. Then, as the backlash intensified, Sabsabi was reinstated.
It’s an episode that feels more relevant than ever. It features chief political correspondent for The Saturday Paper Karen Barlow, speaking with Ruby Jones.
This episode originally aired in February last year.
If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.
Revisiting Creative Australia’s decision to drop Khaled Sabsabi
1789 • Jan 18, 2026
Revisiting Creative Australia’s decision to drop Khaled Sabsabi
The fallout from this year’s Adelaide Writers’ Week debacle has reignited fierce debate about political interference in the arts and about who gets to speak in Australia’s cultural spaces.
After the invitation to Palestinian-Australian author Randa Abdel-Fattah was withdrawn, 180 writers pulled out in protest.
The festival was eventually cancelled and Adelaide Festival has since apologised for excluding the author from Writers’ Week, admitting it had failed to uphold artistic freedom. The whole saga raises urgent questions about how decisions are being made – by governments, by boards, and by those in charge of our institutions.
Today, we’re bringing you a story from last year that exposed one of the initial fault lines in cultural administration.
It’s about artist Khaled Sabsabi, who was dropped from representing Australia at the Venice Biennale after political pressure. Then, as the backlash intensified, Sabsabi was reinstated.
It’s an episode that feels more relevant than ever. It features chief political correspondent for The Saturday Paper Karen Barlow, speaking with Ruby Jones.
This episode originally aired in February last year.
If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.
Guest: Chief political correspondent for The Saturday Paper Karen Barlow
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7am is a daily show from Solstice Media.
It’s made by Atticus Bastow, Arielle Richards, Chris Dengate, Daniel James, Krystal Keller, Nicole Johnston, Sarah McVeigh, Travis Evans and Zoltan Fecso.
Ruby Jones is on secondment and will be back at the end of March.
This episode was produced by Cheyne Anderson.
Our theme music is by Ned Beckley and Josh Hogan of Envelope Audio.