David Walsh s MONA celebrates a decade of turning art on its head and tourism around
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MONA is widely credited as having a huge cultural and artistic impact on Tasmania.
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Alice Chugg has been working in hospitality in Hobart for 15 years. For her, there was a clear turning point for the industry.
Key points:
The gallery was established in 2011 by art collector and professional gambler David Walsh
A 2018 report found MONA contributed $134.5m to the Tasmanian economy that year For the five years pre-MONA it was fun, but it was not like it is now, she said.
Festivals are back: Mona Foma gets underway with a huge night of live music Luca Brasi
Pics by Bandanna Photography
We went along to the first night of Mona Foma and this is what went down.
The first major cultural event for the year, and indeed for quite awhile, Tasmania’s Mona Foma has been willfully reigniting live arts and music throughout January. In 2021, the festival sprawls both Launceston and Hobart, across two weekends, bringing Violent Femmes’ bassist and festival director Brian Ritchie’s next ingenuities to the fore.
On Friday January 15, Mona Foma commenced with
Mofo Sessions – the first of three concerts that took place on Launceston’s beautiful River Tamar. A delightfully-satirical and more-than-a-little-naughty performance by the
Sarah Courtney,Minister for Small Business, Hospitality and Events
Tasmania is recognised nationally and internationally for delivering a range of vibrant and bespoke events, reinforcing our strong brand and providing significant economic and social benefits to our State.
As we work to respond to COVID-19 and recover, getting our home-grown events back up and running is a key priority in safely rebuilding visitation as part of the Government’s T21 Visitor Economy Action Plan.
The 13th Mona Foma Festival has been given approval to go ahead under the Tasmanian Government’s Safe Events and Activities Framework, with the first events scheduled to occur this weekend in Launceston.
Last modified on Wed 30 Dec 2020 23.18 EST
As the old saying goes, or perhaps it was Belinda Carlisle, âHoney, leave a light on for me.â
During Hobartâs lockdown, the Museum of Old and New Art (Mona) did just that with âspectraâ â Ryoji Ikedaâs 15km tower of white light. A semi-regular fixture at the museum, now it loyally pierced the sky every Saturday night. Hobartians could see it from their windows, the weekly transmission of a message that might be pitched somewhere between âwe come in peaceâ and that of the âhang on in thereâ kitten.
Writing in the Mercury newspaper in April â after a Covid outbreak in Tasmania that forced 5,000 people into 14-day quarantine â Mona owner David Walsh explained âhope needs a beaconâ.
Homesick farm workers from Kiribati lift morale by singing in Tasmanian vegetable fields
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Kiribati farm workers in northern Tasmania have formed an accidental choir after they started singing in the fields to keep their spirits high.
The workers from the small Pacific nation are based in the rolling green hills of Forth, on a vegetable farm, where they are bringing a little of their culture to the paddocks.
The unofficial leader of the choir is Romme Tabwere, also known as Jerry, and he usually leads the group of workers into song while they are in the field.