Mona Foma
previous Project
Mona Foma is Mona’s summer festival of music and art. It launched in 2009, before Mona was even built, and changed Hobart’s cultural landscape overnight. And by ‘changed’ we mean it became acceptable to put birds and hair-trigger shotguns in a giant cage and play doom metal in the background.
From the start, Mona Foma’s mission has been pretty simple—to
be a festival of the unexpected; a cornucopia of music and art from
around the globe that provokes and surprises. Mona Foma seeks
to occasionally please its audience, and sometimes (or more than
sometimes) confront them. And with curator Brian Ritchie at the
helm (of Violent Femmes fame) the festival has continued to grow
in both size and notoriety.
In 2019, Mona Foma relocated from the safety of Hobart (in the
south) to an abandoned railway yard in Launceston (in the north).
Needless to say, we used the scene-change as an excuse to push
the creative boundaries once again. We’re still looking to create
the most talked-about festival in the world, just in a new location
and with an unsuspecting audience.
Photo credits: MONA/Jesse Hunniford.
Images are courtesy of the artist and MONA Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
Performance History
- 2020
- 2019
- 2018
- 2017
- 2016
- 2015
- 2013
- 2012
- 2011
- 2009
Australia
Launceston
Australia
Hobart
Australia
Launceston
Australia
Hobart
Australia
Hobart
Australia
Hobart
Australia
Hobart
Australia
Hobart
Australia
Hobart
Australia
Inaugural festival and opening of MONA – Hobart
Australia
Media
“Mona Foma is easily one of the country’s finest festivals; it’s inclusive and welcoming, extremely well thought out and considered, and it’s the finer details that bring it all together in one pretty excellent package.”
“The event has been a success on every level – from the much talked about Air Mofo experience through to the incredible performances, installations and even Parer Studio’s inflatable “Man” at the Gorge – bringing a new audience to the city (I wasn’t the only one visiting for the first time because of the event), and ensuring positive word of mouth will only grow these visitors year on year.”
“So, are Mona Foma and Launceston a good match? As Kevin Costner once said, build it and they will come.”