Invitation: Politics and the Arts

Saturday 2 August | 2:00pm

You are warmly invited to an afternoon of critical discussion at the Art and Politics panel, where we ask: what responsibilities do artists, institutions, and funding bodies carry in today’s highly politicised cultural terrain?

Moderated by award-winning journalist and author Ginger Gorman, this panel brings together artist and School of Art and Design ANU academic Raquel Ormella, Canberra Contemporary Director and NAVA Deputy Chair Sophia Cai, and Dr Bilquis Ghani, lecturer in Arts at the University of Canberra and founder of Hunar Symposia. Creative Australia have also been approached, TBC.

This discussion comes at a significant moment. Following public concern and an independent review, Creative Australia recently reinstated artists Khaled Sabsabi and Michael D’Agostino as Australia’s representatives at the 2026 Venice Biennale—an outcome widely regarded as a victory for artistic freedom. This panel will explore the implications of that decision, and consider how institutions, funding bodies, and artists can navigate the pressures of political expectation while upholding creative autonomy.

All are welcome — artists, students, curators, and those invested in the role of art in civic life.

PLS NOTE: The ABC Big Ideas Program will be recording the event though they do not guarantee it will be broadcast.