the art world faces deep and troubling structural inequality

Creative Australia’s decision earlier this year to rescind the selection of artist Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino as Australia’s 2026 representatives at the Venice Biennale sent shockwaves through the arts sector.

For many artists and arts workers, it reinforced concerns around participation and access for those from culturally and racially diverse backgrounds.

This week’s reinstatement of the artistic team offers some comfort. However, the entire incident has reinforced that, while diversity in the arts is celebrated, inclusion at the highest level can’t be taken for granted.

Some worrying stats

Our 2024 survey of more than 900 visual and craft artists, and visual arts workers (who we define as workers who support the visual arts sector), revealed several concerning findings in relation to opportunity and inclusion for culturally and racially diverse creatives.

The first key finding was more than 67% of artists and 78% of arts workers felt there were cultural and/or access-related barriers to them participating in the sector.

The second was culturally diverse workers in the sector tended to identify as “early career” rather than “established”. This points to challenges for career progression and, in turn, to systemic and structural barriers to career development.

Of all the people we surveyed, 17% of visual artists and 20% of visual arts workers reported being of a culturally diverse background. Of these, only 15% of artists and 14% of arts workers reported being at an “established” career stage.

By contrast, among the general population of artists (including those without a diverse background), 30% of the artists reported being “established” in their careers, along with 26% of arts workers.

Art shouldn’t be at the behest of politics

Issues around political censorship and cultural bias in the sector were not a focus of our survey, which was conducted nine months after the war in Gaza began, and before Creative Australia’s selection (and swift cancellation) of the 2026 Venice Biennale team.

Nonetheless, respondents were concerned their political views, and/or their cultural or racial background, could impact their likelihood of advancing a career in the sector.

Some respondents explained if they were no longer working as an artist or arts worker in five years’ time, it would most likely be due to “systemic discrimination” and “increasing censorship prevalent in this industry”.

According to an independent review into the Sabsabi decision (and its reversal):

While no formal assessment was undertaken, it is clear that there was a general awareness within Creative Australia, among those with knowledge of the selected Artistic Team, that the decision had the potential to be controversial. The Panel heard that, at the time, the decision was described as ‘bold’ or ‘courageous’. The source of potential controversy was seen to lie in the fact of selecting any artist with heritage connected to the Middle East at a time when conflict in that region was so emotive and polarising, rather than because of the proposed nature of the work to be undertaken at the 2026 Venice Biennale.

Entrenched harmful biases

Sadly, the negative response from politicians to the initial selection of Khaled Sabsabi and Michael Dagostino gave credibility to our respondents’ concerns.

One participant told us “being called Ahmed* is a bit of a disadvantage given the international situation”.

Another said “only certain cultures and political plights are given support”.

Financial security is also potentially at risk. As one respondent explained, the main barrier to their personal financial security were political values. “My work is at risk when governments change,” they said.

Artists and arts workers from culturally and racially diverse backgrounds also reported more significant impacts from the cost-of-living crisis, along with poorer mental health and work-life balance.

Importantly, our findings don’t stand in isolation. Similar issues have been identified by Diversity Arts Australia, who in 2022 reported on the significant negative impacts of the pandemic on First Nations artists and artists of colour.

Also, in 2021, Creative Australia reported on problems around inclusion and access for culturally diverse communities in the arts and cultural sector.

What might progress look like?

Our research involved making a number of policy recommendations to tackle these issues.

For one thing, there is a clear need for organisational change. On this front, arts organisations and employers should invest in cultural competency training for all staff and board members. They should also prioritise professional development and career growth for culturally and racially diverse staff.

To drive meaningful change, funding incentives should be introduced to support diverse leadership. This should include higher pay for culturally and/or racially diverse leaders whose backgrounds lead them to having added responsibility in the workplace.

The sector also needs greater transparency around cultural and racial representation in staffing and leadership roles, including board roles. This will promote accountability and help drive cultural change.

Finally, success for artists from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds requires the Australian art world to engage with multiple world views – and understand not all art will be immediately accessible to all audiences.

The controversy surrounding Creative Australia’s biennale backflip offers an opportunity for the visual arts sector to reckon with deep and troubling issues of structural inequity, along with broader questions of free expression – especially in a fraught political climate.

These issues are wider than the art world. But what better place to start?

*Name changed to protect identity.