The Ultimate Dark Mofo Itinerary
For nigh on two weeks every June, an extraordinary line-up of unconventional art installations, exclusive musical acts, fabulous food and a glut of fire pits lures Tasmanians and visitors alike out of their winter hibernation and into Hobart’s most mysterious spaces. It’s Dark MOFO season, baby.
Here’s the (non-exhaustive - you’ll have to consult the official website for that) guide to doing it well, minus the ticketed bits that are already sold out at the time of publication. It’s MOFO, not FOMO, after all.
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Dark Mofo: The Burning (image: Adam Gibson)
KEY LOGISTICS
The What: The brain child of Hobart’s world-class Museum of Old and New Art (Mona), Dark MOFO is an annual mid-winter arts and culture festival, celebrating the darker aspects of the southern winter solstice.
The Where: You’ll find most of the action in and around Nipaluna/Hobart’s CBD, though Launceston (Thelma Plum and Methyl Ethel) and Ulverstone (XYZZY) get a look-in on the 2025 schedule, too.
The When: This year’s festival runs from Thursday 5 June to Sunday 15 June, plus a bonus swan song on Saturday 21 June with the iconic Nude Solstice Swim. Most of the action is packed into the Thursday - Sunday periods each week, but the in-between doesn’t snooze.
The Why: No Dark MOFO? No fun. That’s why.
Winter Feast (image: Adam Gibson)
YOUR ITINERARY
Thursday 5 June
Dark MOFO’s Winter Feast (5-8 and 12-15 June, 4-11pm) kicks off on Hobart’s waterfront at Princes Wharf 1. Expect weird, wild and always delicious food and beverages from more than 70 local stallholders, including slow-cooked possum bao from South Hobart wine bar South, gluten-free sourdough-slathered kranskys from Dark Dogs, and cult favourite Portuguese tarts alongside cool-climate wines all the way from Tassie’s North West. Don’t miss international guest Chef Niyati Rao, who’s teaming up with Launceston’s Stillwater Restaurant to sling gochujang-glazed wallaby wings, flambéd pandan milk pudding and more to the masses.
While you’re in the neighbourhood, head a few blocks over to Dark Park (5-8 and 12-15 June, 4-10pm) to check out plenty of free and usually interactive activations, including the soaring lights of SORA, La Danse Macabre’s confronting take on capitalism, and - naturally - coffin rides.
Friday 6 June
An unassuming inner-city edifice repurposed: the basement in the old Coogan’s building plays host to Trawlwoolway artist Nathan Maynard’s installation, We threw them down the rocks where they had thrown the sheep (5-8 and 12-15 June, 6-10pm). An exploration of remains and reclamations, the work makes for confronting but important viewing.
Also on tonight, Rival Consoles takes to the Odeon Theatre stage (6:30-8pm) with his unique brand of ambient electronic music.
Post-show, grab a late sitting at nearby European “fun-dining” restaurant Fico (Thursday-Saturday, dinner from 6pm; Sunday, lunch from midday), and linger over some of Hobart’s finest food and wine.
Saturday 7 June
Take a short road trip out of Hobart to New Norfolk for lunch at Gourmet Traveller’s Restaurant of the Year The Agrarian Kitchen (Friday-Sunday, lunch from 11am). The ever-evolving menu is a treasure trove of local produce, up to 90% of which is sourced from the enterprise’s own on-site garden.
Back in the big smoke, make it to the Regatta Grounds in time for Crash Body (6-8pm). Don’t forget to breathe as you witness a two-hour drag race, culminating in a (planned) head-on collision. Not around on Saturday? You can view the aftermath until Sunday 15th.
Spend the early evening with Jessica Pratt’s spin on freak folk at the Odeon Theatre (6:30pm), or huddled around the Winter Feast fire pits with a sippable warmer. Go non-alc with Currawong Products’ hot elderberry kombucha, or commit to something comparatively harder: a Hot Pĩna Clada from Tasmanian Juice Press will fit the bill.
Save the late night for Cold Cave’s serving of synth-pop and strobes at the Odeon (9:30-10:45pm).
Sunday 8 June
Repeat offend at the Feast - no judgement here. Hot tip: La Sardina Loca’s patatas bravas and Soufra & Co.’s baked-to-order soufra make encore appearances on Winter Feast menus for a reason.
Catch American heavy metal band Baroness (6:30-8pm) at the Odeon, then stick around for rap artist Tierra Whack (9:30-10:30pm).
Monday 9 June
Roll in to Hamlet (Monday-Friday, 7:30am-2:30pm) for a late breakfast or early lunch. The all-day menu at this social enterprise café changes seasonally, but always favours hearty fare befitting a hard few days’ festival-going.
Take the ferry out to the Dark MOFO mothership. Mona (Friday-Monday, 10am-5pm) takes this time of year seriously, with a number of MOFO-exclusive exhibitions and music gigs scheduled at the northern suburbs museum.
Tuesday 10 June
Though much of Dark MOFO’s weirdest and wackiest comes out after dark, there’s plenty to catch by daylight. Head to the State Library and Archives of Tasmania to read otherwise banned books in the ‘Silenced Reading’ library, and check out Brigita Ozolins’ Revolution & Silence (5-8 and 10-15 June, varying times) installation - a response to George Orwell’s 1984 in the context of contemporary communications.
The Winter Feast rests, but your appetite needn’t. Evening walk-ins are welcome for Tachinomi at Hobart restaurant and wine bar Scholé (Tuesday-Saturday, from 4pm for the duration of Dark Mofo). The very new product of Tasmanian chef royalty (he’d hate that moniker) Luke Burgess, the Tachinomi service tips its hat to the Japanese tradition of standing at the bar for a drink and a bite, with a casual menu of snacks, sake and wine.
Wednesday 11 June
Resist the urge to join the Winter Feast masses for a subsequent night, and take a seat at nearby Restaurant MARIA (Tuesday-Saturday, from 5:30pm). Rest assured, you’ll still enjoy some of the state’s very best eats, drinks and hospitality at this new-ish addition to the Tasmanian food scene, which takes its inspiration from the Mediterranean, and - appropriately - overlooks the water from Brooke Street Pier.
Metal fans, rejoice. International heavyweights Imperial Triumphant, HULDER, Spectral Wound and Slimelord come together for close to four hours of head-banging debauchery at Hymns To The Dead (7-10:45pm).
Thursday 12 June
The Winter Feast returns. Honour your inner wholefood warrior with a vibrant falafel bowl from newcomer Elle’s Pantry … or don’t, and wrap your jaw around Stábla’s smoked venison cheeseburger.
An 1870s church becomes Basilica for the duration of Dark MOFO, and tonight’s a particularly good time to go worship. Karina Utomo’s live performance (6-6.30pm) forms the basis of Mortal Voice’s (5-8 and 12-15 June, 4-10pm) enduring exploration of extreme metal voicing and gesture - not something that will make sense until you see and hear it for yourself.
Don’t miss (you won’t) Travis Ficarra’s Chocolate Goblin while you’re there.
At the Odeon, rock is on the menu: for the indie persuasion, catch Brooklyn-based DIIV (6:30-8pm), or for something a little more punk, hold out for The Horrors (9:30-10:45pm).
Friday 13 June
Take in some of Hobart’s best water views and some of its best food at Aløft Restaurant (Tuesday-Saturday, from 5:30pm), where MasterChef Australia 2024 winner Nat Thaipun is popping up (13 and 14 June) for an unforgettable two nights of spicy vibes.
For a 47-piece ensemble at the bottom of the world, the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra punches well above its weight. In To The Silent Earth, I Flow (13 and 14 June, 8-9pm), the internationally-acclaimed orchestra joins its mighty forces with London Contemporary Orchestra’s Robert Ames to curate an auditory journey through water.
Meanwhile, art-punk and hardcore get their respective moments on the Odeon stage, in Australian exclusives from Crime & The City Solution (6:30-8pm) and Show Me The Body (9:30-10:30pm).
Did we mention chips and truffle gravy (and excellent beer, of course) from Burnie brewers Communion Brewing Co. down at the Winter Feast?
Saturday 14 June
Harry Houdini, eat your heart out. Watch (wince?) on as artist Carlos Martiel is slowly subjected to the weight of rising sand in the confines of a man-sized hourglass. Custody (7:30-9:30pm) comes with obvious content warnings.
If you haven’t already, tonight is your last chance to commit your fears to the ogoh-ogoh (5-8 and 12-14 June, 4-10pm) at Dark Park. Tomorrow, they burn.
Live music does its best work on Saturday nights. Find Alabaster Deplume’s sax and poetry (6:30-7:45pm) and Machine Girl’s electro-punk (9:30-10:55pm) at the Odeon, or make your sacrifice at Altar Bar: Divide and Dissolve (9:30-11:30pm) serves doom metal until late.
Sunday 15 June
Treat weary heads with edible elixirs at Farm Gate Market’s (Bathurst Street, 8:30am-1pm) Grub Hub laneway. For peak health, start the day with a bowl of congee and a bracing shot of Fire Tiger (IYKYK) from fermentation king Rough Rice.
Join the thousands-strong crowd as the ogoh-ogoh proceeds from Parliament Lawns to Dark Park (5-5:30pm), then watch it - and your fears, if you participated in the purging - go up in flames (6-7pm).
Entry to the final night of the Winter Feast is free. If you haven’t already done Lilly Trewartha’s katsu sando, do it tonight, or risk a year of waiting.
The festival’s suite of music acts goes out with an electro-pop bang. Get together with all of your new friends and Boy Harsher to bid a revelrous farewell to Dark MOFO 2025.
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