Launceston could soon be reaping the rewards of the ever-growing Mona brand, as founder David Walsh announces his intention to bring the iconic Mona Foma festival to the North.
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Government funding is yet to be secured for the summer festival’s location shift, but if approved, a free, pop-up event would be held in Launceston next year, as well as a Hobart festival.
Then if all goes well, the full festival could be hitting the North in 2019.
At a Tourism Industry Council Tasmania luncheon in Hobart on Thursday, Walsh also revealed his significant Mona expansion plans for a new 172-room, five-star hotel at Berriedale.
The vision for the new HOMO, HOtel MOna, will also include a spa treatment centre, public library, theatre, restaurant, bar, conference centre, and retail spaces, with plans still to be submitted to council.
But Mona’s expansion plans do not end there, it also hopes to construct an “anti-casino” called Monaco, marketed as a “private, members-only, high limits, poker machine-free facility for non-Tasmanians”.
The government has already expressed its excitement for the Mona Foma proposal, with Liberal MP Sarah Courtney saying the festival would be a “strong addition” to the Launceston scene as discussions between the parties continue.
Mona Foma curator Brian Ritchie said the festival’s original 10-year plan was to change the culture of Hobart, but that goal was achieved ahead of schedule.
“Mona Foma’s philosophy has always been to bring variety and depth of contemporary and traditional arts practices to the general public,” Ritchie said.
“We’d like to embark upon a new creative journey, to relocate to Launceston in search of new challenges, new collaborations, fresh partnerships.”
TICT chairman Daniel Leesong labelled the announcement a “transformational project”.
“This truly has the potential to not only put Tasmania on the map yet again, but also diversify some of the offerings through the Northern parts of the state,” he said.
As Walsh said at the lunch, “the heart of Mona is chance”.
“If Mona turns out OK it won’t be because a lot of people come here, it will be because … after I’ve meddled and done my stuff and got out of the way, there’ll be other generations that may decide to do something because they came here,” he said
“That’s what I call success.”
