Dark Mofo’s 2021 dates have dropped!
Dark Mofo has been one of the countries outstanding music and arts festivals since 2013. The captivating festival, celebrated in the lead up to the winter solstice, has developed a strong cult following with its confronting, disturbing, thought-provoking, and often simply strange performances and events which are not afraid to push boundaries and shock. (Featured image: shuttles)
For many years, Dark Mofo has been celebrated over two weeks. However, this year the festival has been shortened to five nights of debauchery and decadence, and will take place from June 16 to June 22. Now you know for when to book your flights or trip across Bass Strait on the Spirit of Tasmania.
In a press release, Mofo’s creative director Leigh Carmichael announced: ”We’re dropping all sponsorship activations, as we felt they were having a detrimental effect on the festival. While we’ve appreciated the support from many high profile brands, we want to be able to pursue our own cultural agenda free from restraint and with a renewed commitment to the art.”
In other words, Dark Mofo is foregoing financial gain (or support) in order to regain its freedom of expression and not be bound by outside entities. With the year we’ve had, that’s kind of wow and we’re impressed. We hope that this newfound freedom will deliver even more phenomenal events.
Furthermore, “the Hobart City Council have withdrawn financial support and this will impact the scope and scale of the Winter Feast” and the funding received from the Tasmanian State Government expires after this year. It’s hard to imagine that the festival will lose this funding going forward, but anything and everything is possible.
Nevertheless, Carmichael says that they’re confident there is enough ”gunpowder in the barrel to propel us into 2022.” We certainly hope so.
But if there isn’t, that means this year’s Dark Mofo Festival (without sponsors) may be the last.
Is that a risk you want to take?
The line-up for Dark Mofo 2021 is announced in April.