Overview
Dark Mofo, the Museum of Old and New Art's Hobart winter arts festival, has done what everyone thought impossible — it's managed to lure people to one of the coldest places in Australia in the most freezing months of the year. (Which is no easy feat — that place is cold.) And as a big pat on the back for both bringing in a heap of extra cash to the Tassie economy (and just being downright incredible), the Tasmanian Government yesterday announced a new five-year funding agreement to support Mona and the festival.
Dark Mofo will receive a whopping $10.5 million over five years to continue to grow and throw the festival until 2021. This cash splash doesn't come without some caveats though. As part of the funding, Dark Mofo will have to deliver a regional program each year and invest at least $250,000 of that money to support Tasmanian arts-based organisations. Plus, they obviously want them to increase the number of visitors to Tasmania over winter, grow festival attendance and up the media exposure too.
Seems like a no-brainer for the Tassie Government. Because while it seems arts funding is sadly getting cut left, right and centre around the country, we can see why they want to invest in this program. Last year's Dark Mofo returned an estimated $46 million to the economy and created about 400 new permanent and short-term jobs.
On top of the funding news, Dark Mofo also announced their 2017 dates: June 8-21. The festival, which started in 2013, is centred around celebrating the winter solstice — or the longest night of the year.
Image: Rosie Hastie, courtesy Mona Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.