The two-weekend, two-city arts extravaganza is set to take over Tassie this February.
Tasmania’s favourite summer arts festival is set for a triumphant return. This year’s Mona Foma Fest will take place in Launceston from February 17 to 19 as well as in Hobart from February 24 to 26. Both destinations will be dazzlingly unique, with live music, interactive performances, and plenty of artsy happenings peppered throughout the two cities.
Mona Foma 2023
- The ten-day arts festival will take place in Tasmania during the last two weeks of February
- The program includes 370 local and international musicians, DJs, performers, artists and filmmakers
- Fans can register for free events, buy tickets, and read the whole program on the Mona Foma website
Keep up with the latest music news, festivals, interviews and reviews here.
Launceston, February 17 to 19
In Launceston, the free Old Tafe Sessions will be the centrepiece of the event. Taking place in the reUNIÓN district, the city’s newly established community hub, there will be performances from indie-pop star Soccer Mommy and hip hop poet Kat Tempest alongside many others. The location will also host a queer woodchopping session, a choir of complaints, and punk in a bunker.
Across the city, find dance, theatre, video, and pretty much everything else under the summer sun. Take a swim at the Basin Pool as underwater electronic music reverberates through the space, catch a theatrical performance created by a funeral director, and play table tennis against a robot. The world is your oyster!
Here are some of the arts-happenings that fans can look forward to:
Body Body Commodity – Arranged by contemporary dance artist, performer and choreographer Jenni Large, five female dancers animate and interact with a mass of pastel foam objects.
Floors of Heaven – UK artist Leon Vynehall will bump electronic beats while fans take a dip in the Basin Pool, one of Australia’s most stunning swimming pools at Cataract Gorge.
Van Diemen’s Band + Ensemble Kaboul – This performance will be a unique fusion of Afghani music and baroque, featuring the rubab, drumming, and boisterous vocals.
Out Loud – Jonathas de Andrade has collaborated with the homeless population of the Brazilian city of Recife to create this moving video work.
Breakfast in Bed – Half social experiment and half absurdist theater, US artist Kenneth Tam has formed a pretend men’s social club with seven guys he found on Craigslist.
The Director – Ex-funeral director Scott Turnbull teams up with artist Lara Thomas to demystify the death industry, teetering on the line between macabre, playful and tragic.
Song of the Sea Witch – Punk musician Marnie Weber’s seaside bliss is disturbed by birds in this blend of fantasy, reality, and a filmed trip to the beach.
Border Farce – Made in collaboration with Kurdish-Iranian heavy metal guitarist Kazem Kazemi who spent six years detained on Manus Island, Safdar Ahmed’s video work explores how music can be medicine.
Anthem Anthem Revolution – If you beat a robot at table tennis, you’ll be able to hear a new national anthem, made from the hopes and dreams of the children of our country and developed by hip hop artist DENNI, composer Thomas Rimes, TSO, and Dylan Sheridan.
CHANT – Willoh S Weiland collaborated with the Tasmanian women’s sporting clubs to perform protest chants.
Hyperbolic Psychedelic Mind Melting Tunnel of Light – Robin Fox hands over the controls—light, sound and motion—to one person at a time.
Christmas Birrimbirr – Made by Miyarrka Media, this performative documentary is made to affirm and share the Yolngu people’s take on Christmas.
Interbeing – Shot entirely on thermal cameras, Martina Hoogland Ivanow’s film shows the slightly eerie heat maps of human bodies as they interact.
Prayer – Participants prostrate themselves as they listen to James Webb’s recordings of prayer, song, and vocal worship gathered from across the state.
Lost in Place – I Hold the Lion Paw comes together with Yumi Umiumare and Takashi Takiguchi to mix ambient electronic jazz and live dance in the fluid, slow-moving butoh tradition.
A Dread of Voids – Performed late at night in an old church, five musicians will play intimate psychoacoustic works by Anthony Pateras.
Evening Hymn – US composer and pianist Nico Muhly pairs with the singular talents of local countertenor Nicholas Tolputt for a free concert at St John’s Anglican Church.
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nipaluna / Hobart, February 24 to 26
Next, the party heads to Hobart for another unforgettable weekend. The Mona Sessions will feature performances from internationally acclaimed acts such as Bikini Kill, Peaches, Angel Olson, Pavement, Jockstrap and Vieux Farka Touré with a host of talented local support. Bon Iver is set to play a stand-alone show on February 21.
Here are some of the other performances scheduled to happen throughout the big weekend:
Songs for Freedom – Guided by Ngarluma and Yinjibarndi Elders, songwriters from the Pilbara town of Roebourne will sing for freedom on the 40th anniversary year of John Pat’s passing in custody.
Baby Girl – In Mona’s Nolan Gallery, Amber McCartney and Tasdance will present the world premiere of their captivating dance performance.
A Life Sentence with Nico Muhly – Mona Foma’s 2023 artist in residence, composer, pianist and curator Nico Muhly, joins forces with TSO Chorus for an interactive voice work.
The TSO plays Nico Muhly – The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra plays selections from Nico Muhly’s diverse range of works.
Primordial – IHOS Amsterdam presents a marriage of science and sound to be performed on a time machine that looks suspiciously like a piano.
A Deep Black Sheep – This film noir opera about a composer in an authoritarian state will also presented by IHOS Amsterdam.
Climate Notes – Taking place in Rosny Park, see five new works for violin and percussion inspired by handwritten letters from scientists describing how they feel about climate change.
Tomas’ Garden – By Cici (Xiyue) Zhang, this immersive and magical landscape of monsters and spirits encouraged viewers to touch the art.
Dumb Function – Emma Rutherford, Genevieve Griffiths, Jake Walker, Kim Jaeger and Andy Hutson put the ‘fun’ in dysfunction at Good Grief.
Pneu – A gallery space is transformed by seaweed-derived products, from the minds of Shimroth Thomas, Rachel Vosila, Joshua Castle and Conor Castles-Lynch.
Morning Meditations – Taking place in both Launceston and Hobart, this crowd-favorite event will start the day off right. Chloe Kim will perform 100 hours of public drumming over 10 days in the two cities.
The Party – The after-hours event will take place in the Old Mercury Print Hall. Partygoers can expect art installations, karaoke, DJs and live performances.
Mona Foma is truly an experience like no other. The event will take place from February 17 to 19 in Launceston and from February 24 to 26 in Hobart. To read the whole program and pick up your tickets now, head here.
