Artist Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino discuss their project, conference of one’s self for the Australia Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale and how contemporary art engages with experiences of spirituality and shared humanity.
Sabsabi reflects on his childhood during the Lebanese Civil War and migration to Western Sydney, situating his practice around memory, displacement and social justice. He explains how early experiences in his parents’ videostore shaped his understanding of sound, image and community – and how his return to Lebanon in 2002 was pivotal, reconnecting him with his tasawwuf (Sufi) lineage and spiritual teachings.
conference of one’s self draws on the twelfth-century poem The Conference of the Birds by Farīd al-Dīn ʿAṭṭār, an important text in tasawwuf thought. Sabsabi outlines the poem’s seven valleys – quest, love, knowledge, detachment, unity, wonderment and annihilation – then introduces his own eighth level: wholeness and completeness.
In a historic first for Australia, Sabsabi is presenting work in both the Australia Pavilion and in the Biennale’s International Art Exhibition, In Minor Keys by Koyo Kouoh. Developed in parallel, Sabsabi frames both projects as invitations for audiences to “pause, breathe, listen, acknowledge where they are, and find their journey through that space”. He concludes, “I do sincerely hope that people are able to bring their perspectives, their learning, their emotional being, and be engaged, and hopefully be moved in the work.”
This conversation was recorded on the unceded lands of the Dharug peoples at Parramatta Town Hall, Western Sydney, on 8 March 2026. It was presented by Commissioner Creative Australia and Education Partner UNSW Sydney as part of the public program ‘The Gathering’.
Exhibition Details
61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia Exhibition
Dates: 9 May–22 November 2026
Title: conference of one’s self
Commissioner: Creative Australia
Artist: Khaled Sabsabi
Curator: Michael Dagostino
