Tasmania’s iconic Museum of Old and New Art’s summer event has joined a growing list of festival cancellations nationwide.
Museum owner and founder David Walsh announced on Friday that MONA FOMA had ‘unleashed its chaos’ for the last time after 16 years.
It comes after winter music festival Splendor in the Grass, held in Byron Bay in northern NSW, recently pulled the pin on its 2024 event.
The event at Tasmania’s famous Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) attracted major artists
Walsh said MONA FOMA, which has attracted artists including PJ Harvey, Peaches, David Byrne and Gotye, had been “magical” but the spell had worn off.
“Maybe the end started with COVID. Maybe it’s because the last festival was a poorly attended artistic triumph,” Walsh said in a statement.
“But those aren’t the reasons I killed him.”
Walsh indicated that the cost of MONA’s expansion in Hobart’s northern suburbs played a role in his decision.
“I know we live for experience, but I am increasingly looking for permanence, a symbolic immortality,” he said.
‘At MONA I’m building this big thing, hopefully it’s a good thing, but it’s a costly thing.
‘I am addicted to building and my addiction has gotten out of hand. Some things have to go before I’m too far away.’
More scenes from the festival – which has now been cancelled
Dark Mofo, MONA’s popular winter art, food and music festival, announced in September that it would be “taking a year off” due to rising costs.
It will run a severely reduced program in 2024, but still maintain its winter festival and nude solstice swimming.
More than 25 music festivals across the country have been canceled since 2022, according to the Australian Festival Association.
The organizers of Groovin the Moo canceled their event in February due to insufficient ticket sales.