The MONA effect is heading to Launceston.
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Hobart-based Museum of New Art founder David Walsh announced at a luncheon on Thursday that he would move his summer Mona Foma festival to Launceston. The proposal, while still in its infancy, will see Mona work with the state government through Events Tasmania to secure funding for the Northern event.
“The festival’s original 10-year plan – to change the culture in Hobart – has come to fruition ahead of schedule. We’d like to embark upon a new creative journey - to relocate to Launceston in search of new challenges, new collaborations, fresh partnerships and novel creative models,” Walsh told luncheon guests.
It is an exciting period for the North, which will also host its first Big Bash League fixture on December 30, the Red Hot Summer Tour in January and the ever-popular Festivale in February. It also complements Launceston’s spring Junction Arts Festival, making Launceston a premier regional destination for sport, food and wine, entertainment and culture.
Northern Tasmania is holding its own when it comes to development and tourism.
According to the Tasmanian Visitor Survey, the state welcomed 250,300 international visitors during the year ending March 2017, up 16 per cent from the previous year. On the East Coast this equated to a 12 per cent increase, while Norther visitors increased by 11 per cent.
Holiday visitors overall to the state increased by 15 per cent while visitors coming to visit friends or family increased by 10 per cent. Total visitor spending in the state grew by 11 per cent to $2.23 billion.
On Thursday, The Examiner announced plans for a 78-room hotel to be built opposite the Albert Hall in Tamar Street. Developers hope to begin construction in January, with the hotel opening in late 2018. Singaporean consortium Fragrance Group has also earmarked plans to develop the Clarion Hotel site, while works continue on Errol Stewart’s Silo Hotel project and JAC Group’s $40 million plan for the TRC Hotel site.
It is not the first time Mona has tried to transition to the North and share around the state’s increasing tourism growth. In 2014, Launceston’s version of Dark Mofo was cancelled due to a clash with AFL on the same weekend. It is hoped organisers have learnt from past challenges and will make Mona Foma a Northern event to remember.
