After a year of total darkness (literally and figuratively), the festival of lights, music, arts, and everything in between is back to warm up these cold, cold winter nights of Hobart! 

COVID  may have been successful in wiping out this annual event last year, but Dark MOFO is back in full swing with an exciting line-up! 2021’s theme is anchored on the festival’s hiatus: “rebirth or coming to the light”–signifying the strength and hope everyone showed in getting out of the global pandemic.

Leigh Carmichael, Dark MOFO’s Creative Director, believes that despite the restrictions on local and international borders, the event will still be as successful as ever. “It’s always firstly and foremost been a festival for Tasmanian people to celebrate winter, and the longest night of the year in Australia,” he said.

Kicked off on the 16th of June, this dark and mysterious festival lasts for a week until the 22nd of the same month. The line-up events diversely feature works from artists around the world “including Brazil, France, Germany, Japan, Kuwait, Russia, Sri Lanka, and the UK, along with a series of world premieres and Australian exclusives.”

Take it from the Team here at 4one4 Property Co., we can definitely attest that this year’s (and every year’s) celebration is a bloody hell bomb! Talk around the proverbial Water Cooler this week has all been about the excitement of everyone’s weekend exploring Dark MOFO-Here are some of the highlights and favorites of our team that shouldn’t be missed!

Extraordinary Affairs

With over 40 scheduled events available, you almost had to find  yourself putting together a personal schedule (just because you wanna try them all). Among all of the events and exhibitions, one of our team’s favorites was the “Dark Downtown”. If you’re curious how the streets of Hobart look after the dark, then you taking a stroll on it through this area was not to be missed. You would have found so many people taking in the sights of this place- giving the locals a new perspective on Liverpool, Bathurst, and Melville Street in the CBD. 

Under this Dark Downtown were  a series of other events sprawling the city precinct.. Patrick Berry, Director of 4one4 Property Co., shared that his favorite is the “great chamber of light and deep, body-shaking vibrations” in the old K&D Building called “3.2”. “The way the lights worked reminded me of a horror film where the person is in a long hallway and each light keeps turning off one by one, making the room completely dark,” he explained. “It was crazy to be in a space that had seemed so familiar in the past; repurposed into this massive art installation.”

A Feast for a Night

We can attest, food,  most definitely, is life!!!! Yum Yum Yum! ( and especially when you’ve been exploring the events at the festival in Dark Downtown- it makes for some grumbly tummies). Whatever taste your taste buds are looking for, Dark MOFO 2021 has something to offer. Sebastian Kitchener, Media Guru at 4one4 Property Co., agreed that one of the highlights of this year’s festival includes some of the best food and drinks he has ‘EVER’ Tasted. 

Similarly, Patrick mentioned how he was fascinated by the “Winter Feast” this year, which is a gothic banquet that offers a huge variety of cuisines and world-class food and drinks. It has almost 80 stalls, including 30 new, first-time stallholders, offering a range of quality, ethically-sourced Tasmanian food and drinks. Though it requires an entrance fee depending on the date, the experience was worth every penny..  4one4 Property Co Marketing Manager, Aaron Horne, took his son for his first ever Winter Feast (and hopefully not last- but we will get into that a bit later) and said that it was ‘amazing to see so many people out and about in the cold of winter… families and young couples, people of all ages were tasting the best that Tasmania had to offer.’ He then went on to say,

‘My son probably wore more of the Woodfired Mac & Cheese than he ate; but, hey, with this festival, if he wants to wear his food, it won’t be the weirdest thing people see over the event!!!”

Art to Heart 

Fellow 4one4 Property Co. Team member and a Sales Assistant, Aaron Murray, shared how the “festival’s big performances were as visually and experientially exhilarating as the music itself.” “The part I appreciate the most is that you don’t have to visit a museum to see all the art, It was everywhere marked by the Neon red crosses. Both confronting and beautiful expeditions,” he mentioned. 

Just like Aaron, Sebastian also found the artworks fun and unique which he even described as “weird” and “quirky”. One event that speaks of weird and quirky artistry is the “Pope Alice close Encounters” where according to Sebastian, “The Hanging Garden held a special DJ set up which felt like being at “Falls”, the  popular end of year Music Festival held at Marion Bay… The atmosphere was electric! I had the best time tearing it up in the hanging garden”

A Chance to Socialise

Just like any other event, this festival brings people together, but with a twist because of its extraordinary sound and visuals. John McGregor, 4one4 Property Co. Sales Agent, noticed how this annual event gathers large crowds. 

“The sheer volume of people having a good time enjoying all the venues throughout the city was something I have never seen in Hobart before. After experiencing the different events, it’s easy to say that Dark Mofo truly is a world class event,” he concluded. 

Signature Events

Dark Mofo is known for its “weird and wonderful” events, and just like everybody else, our team at 4one4 were also looking forward to these exclusive events held annually. This included the “Ogoh-Ogoh” where you purge your fears in a paper and commit them to a gigantic green-lined beetle statue called “ogoh-ogoh” which leads through a communal ritual down to burning the beetle as people reflect on those fears sacrificed to the fire.

Perhaps the most famous annual event that  Dark Mofo boasts is the “Nude Solstice Swim” which, just like the past events, concludes this year’s festival. From its name, after the longest night, people whip off their clothes and “swim into the light”. None of our team were brave enough to jump in the wintery waters of Long Beach, Sandy Bay this year; but hopefully, the event will return in 2022 for some of us to give it a go. (Jumping in that water in the nude would surely make your heart race, so you probably wouldn’t need a morning coffee on that day.)

Dark Mofo started to become an annual festival in 2013. Due to the global pandemic, domestic and international border restrictions were implemented. In figures, interstate tourists typically make up 65% of all ticket sales where 80% are coming from Melbourne where its border was also restricted for the event. With this, Dark Mofo’s creative director Carmichael said that the event has “perhaps run its course”. But, whether the festival will still be pushed through next year and the following years, will solely depend on its performance this year.

From what we have witnessed in this week-long winter festival, The Tasmanian public have been out in force and our team at 4one4 Property Co is strongly hoping to meet everyone next year once again.