Ideas are already bubbling for Dark Mofo's slated return to full capacity, as the winter festival puts the final touches on a reduced program.
Create a free account to read this article
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Organisers in August announced the smaller 2024 edition, which begins on June 13, would act as a "pause" so a more sustainable long-term model could be found.
Artistic director Chris Twite, at the helm of his first Dark Mofo, said he was already thinking about 2025.
"The brain is always percolating about what could be the next big thing for Dark Mofo," he said on Friday.
"The important part for 2024 was taking a fallow year so we could restructure the festival to make sure it could have another 10 years.
"That's the work we've been embarking on the last year. We're excited to bring that to fruition in the future."
Twite previously indicated rising costs played a part in the decision to hold a reduced offering.
The event's popular winter feast and drawcard nude solstice swim, which has a largest-ever 3000-person capacity, are still part of 2024.
Twite said ticket sales had been strong and there was still an encouraging number of interstate people making the trip south.
The state government has promised $7.5 million to Dark Mofo over three years and recently announced a $4 million two-year boost for broad winter tourism marketing.
Dark Mofo has often courted controversy, including in 2018 when inverted Christian crosses were installed along Hobart's waterfront.
It was forced in 2021 to pull the pin on work that called for the blood of Indigenous people after backlash, with the piece labelled disrespectful.
The chief executive of tourism body Destination Southern Tasmania, Alex Heroys, said winter in the industry had changed hugely since Dark Mofo's launch in 2013.
"We used to have a two-stage visitor economy which used to be summer-based and winter was just a period to survive," he said.
Australian Associated Press
