The visual artist Khaled Sabsabi has been awarded the Mordant Family and Creative Australia Affiliated Fellowship, granting him a two-month residency at the American Academy in Rome during the 2024–25 academic year.
Sabsabi's immersive installations and sound art have earned him acclaim, notably receiving a Creative Australia Award last year for his contributions to Australian visual arts. Sponsored by the Mordant Family and administered through Creative Australia, this affiliated fellowship offers accommodation and studio space in Rome and fosters a collaborative and supportive environment for artistic development with other international artists and scholars who make up the AAR community.
Sabsabi was born in Tripoli, Lebanon, and migrated to Australia with his family as a child in 1976, settling in Western Sydney, where he still lives and works. A return to Lebanon and the surrounding region in 2002 “became a significant moment in my creative career, forcing me to question, reflect, and redefine my philosophical perspective and contemporary visual arts practice,” he said. Sabsabi received a Master of Arts degree from the University of South Wales in 2005. He has exhibited in over ninety solo and group exhibitions in Australia and abroad, and is represented by Milani Gallery in Brisbane.
“For more than 30 years, my artistic process and practice has involved working across art mediums and with communities in the Australian and international context. I see art as an effective tool to communicate and converse with people, through a familiar language to create contemplative and engaging experiences,” said Sabsabi. “I wish to thank the Mordant Family and Creative Australia for this opportunity, which affords me the time and tension to further question, reflect and define ideas around processes, place and practice.”
“We are excited that Khaled Sabsabi has been appointed the next Australian Affiliated Fellow at the American Academy in Rome,” said Simon Mordant AO, a Trustee of the American Academy in Rome. “Khaled is a visionary artist whose work transcends boundaries and engages with critical social themes. Our family believes strongly in the transformative power of art, and we’re excited to see how Khaled’s time in Rome will enrich his practice.”
Administered since 2016, the Mordant Family and Creative Australia Affiliated Fellowship has supported artists like Lynne Roberts-Goodwin and Alex Seton, while enhancing international networks and creative practice.