Nigeria, Feb. 23 -- Cowardice is the milk that runs in the veins of many event organisers, especially when it comes to those occasions that might provoke the unmanaged unexpected. The same organisers will claim to be open minded, accommodating to stirring debate, and open to what is trendily termed in artistic lingo as "provocations".

The dropping by Creative Australia of Lebanese-born artist Khaled Sabsabi as Australia's representative for the 2026 Venice Biennale, along with the curator of the pavilion's artistic team, Michael Dagostino, shows that true artistic subversion is not the game, and uncontroversial subservience the form. If an arts body fears that the milch cow will be starved, if not killed altogether, they will slight, bli...