After a difficult year for many Tasmanian events, Mona Foma has been given the green light for 2021.
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Mona's Festival of Music and Art will be held statewide, held over two weekends in Launceston from January 16-17 and Hobart from January 23-24.
Making the announcement on Saturday, Premier Peter Gutwein said it would be the first large festival held in the state since COVID-19.
"Tasmanians more broadly, and especially those here in Launceston, can look forward to Mona Foma again next year," he said.
"Mona Foma showcases Tasmania's fine creative industries, contributes to our state's cultural fabric and provides a massive economic boost into the local economy."
Mr Gutwein said it had been a difficult year for many events. He said the choice to spread the festival across two cities using smaller venues would help ensure safety while delivering economic benefits across the state.
"It also ensures Tasmanian musicians, performers and artists can showcase their talents to audiences in both Launceston and Hobart who are eagerly awaiting their return to live crowds," he said.
Mona Foma curator Brian Ritchie said the festival thrived on reinvention and had always been adaptable.
"There will be a lot of unique things in each city, but some artists, especially the performing musicians may appear in both cities," he said.
"The art projects are probably be more concentrated in one or the other but Launceston is going to have incredible stuff."
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Mr Ritchie said some performances would run multiple times so that smaller groups could experience it, rather than having everyone experience it all at once.
"We'll be having almost all Tasmanian artists," he said. "There's so much talent in the state that we know its going to be very entertaining."
Destination Southern Tasmania chief executive Alex Heroys said the scheduling was another example of Mona's innovation and community reach.
"Staging Mona Foma over two weekends in Launceston and Hobart is a fantastic idea," he said.
Visit Northern Tasmania chief executive Chris Griffin said with so many events cancelled or rescheduled, to see Mona committing to the festival was great news.
"We are confident that the dual programs they'll run between Launceston and Hobart will have Tasmanians enthusiastically travelling back and forth between our two great cities," he said.
Mr Griffin's sentiments were echoed by City of Launceston mayor Albert van Zetten who said it was fantastic the city would get an event like this. "We know Mona Foma puts on absolutely amazing events so to have that happening is fantastic. We are looking forward to it," he said.
Mona Foma has been running in Tasmania since 2009 and has been based in Launceston since 2019.
Of the 2020 Mona Foma artists, 61 per cent came from Tasmania, including organisations such as Terrapin, Tasdance, Stompin and the TSO, along with many independent arts and performance groups.