Dark Mofo is a brilliantly named winter festival which is debuting TODAY in and around Hobart in Tasmania, and running until June 23rd. It features concerts and performances; MONA’s first large-scale public art project and exhibition, ‘Beam In Thine Own Eye’; the Hobart City Council Dark Mofo ‘Winter Feast’; a family-friendly festivus to enliven the Hobart waterfront with food, fire and dance; a Dark Mofo Films program at the historic State Cinema; plus the Mona till Midnight opening of the new major exhibition, ‘The Red Queen’; along with the usual after-hours Mofo debauchery at Dark Faux Mo. To get you all excited about the weeks ahead, we have compiled our top 5 picks for the festival… and here we go!
5. ‘THE RED QUEEN’ OPENING – MONA TILL MIDNIGHT
MONA’s next major exhibition has the museum opening for the first time at night, and it’s free entry for everyone. There will be food and music, and ‘The Red Queen’ – an assemblage of major commissions, exciting art loans, and yet-unseen works from David Walsh’s collection. The idea behind the exhibition is “art that explores why art is made”. Is art necessary to human survival and evolution? Don’t worry about the answer – enjoy this new exhibition for which around 75 per cent of the museum has been re-hung.
WHEN: Opening night, Tuesday June 18, 6pm – midnight. Exhibition continues until April 21, 2014.
WHERE: Museum of Old and New Art (MONA).
ENTRY: Free for Tasmanians, $20 for interstate / overseas guests.”
GET THERE: Catch the MR-1 Fast Ferry $20 return, bookings 6223 6064 www.mona.net.au
4. YOU AM I
A world-first-of-its-kind, back-to-back nostalgic re-take of two You Am I albums: ‘Hourly Daily’ and ‘Hi Fi Way’, performed at MAC2.
WHEN: Wednesday 19 June, 8pm.
WHERE: Macquarie Wharf Shed No.2 (MAC2), Hunter St, Hobart.
ENTRY: Presale $45 | Door $55.
3. DARK FAUX MO
Festival nightclub: three nights of weird and mind-bending music and perplexing performance, surreal installations and ritualistic interventions that will leave party-goers questioning the veracity of their version of reality. Or at least, wondering what was in their drink. Enjoy a smattering of oddball artistry from My Disco, Zanzibar Chanel, Fascinator, Super Wild Horses, The DC3, Miles Brown, Zond, Andee Frost, Rainbow Connection DJs, Mixmasters, Gordon W + more.
WHEN: Wednesday 19, Thursday 20, Friday 21 June, 10pm – 3am.
WHERE: To be revealed. Download the free Dark Mofo app.
ENTRY: Three nights $75 | Door $30 per night.
2. SATANALIA
A whole day of darkness. Satanalia happens at the winter solstice, on the darkest night. Saturnus, the ancient Greco-Roman god of seed and sowing, was honored with the festival ‘Saturnalia’. In Cicero’s time, ‘Saturnalia’ lasted seven days. Augustus limited the holiday to three days. Caligula extended it to five days. Dark Mofo has distilled Satanalia to one. Immerse yourself in the darkness with Boris (JPN) (Pictured above), MONO (JPN), The Drones, Barbarion, The Stickmen, Clagg, Fourteen Nights at Sea, Harmonic 313, A Dead Forest Index, Kangaroo Skull, Angel Eyes, Stadium, Horror Mashup, Dameza + more.
WHEN: Saturday 22 June, 4pm – 2am.
WHERE: Macquarie Wharf Shed No.2 (MAC2), Hunter St, Hobart
ENTRY: Presale $69-$79 | Door $79-$89 | Under 12 free
1. WINTER FEAST
There’s a 16-metre BBQ, but it’s not all about food. The inaugural Hobart City Council Dark Mofo Winter Feast draws on age-old traditions of winter solstice celebrations from every corner of the globe and savours the core of these: family and community; feasting and produce; singing and music; subversion and masquerade; rebirth and renewal; fire and life. In a combined effort between MONA and Hobart City Council, the Winter Feast at Princes Wharf Shed No.1 (PW1) on Hobart’s waterfront will be a communal, bustling, warm, engaging, spicy, colourful and interactive three nights of feasting and roaming entertainment for the whole community – family-friendly festivus with an edge. Enjoy demonstrations by guest chefs Ben Milgate & Elvis Abrahanowicz (Porteño), Christine Manfield (Universal) and Frank Camorra (MoVida), along with more then 30 food and drink stallholders sourced from all over Tasmania. There’ll also be music pods, and don’t worry, you won’t miss Robin Fox’s White Beam – you can’t. We close each night with a DJ set – for those who need to be told twice to go to bed. Or to Dark Faux Mo.
WHEN: Thursday 20, Friday 21, Saturday 22 June.
WHERE: Princes Wharf Shed No.1 (PW1), Castray Esplanade, Salamanca.
ENTRY: Free.
All the details you need for the festival are here: http://www.darkmofo.net.au
