Event to inject some life into post COVID-19 Tasmania

Organisers of Mona’s high summer festival have revealed a sneak peek at two acts from its 2021 program to give entertainment-starved Tasmanians something to look forward to. DETAILS >>

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CATARACT Gorge will light up with lasers and a well-known Hobart hardware site will be transformed into an art gallery as Mona Foma 2021 forges ahead in January.

Organisers of Mona Foma — Mona’s high summer festival — have provided a sneak peek at two acts from its 2021 program to give entertainment-starved Tasmanians something to look forward to.

The world premiere of Aqua Luma, by internationally acclaimed artist Robin Fox, has been created especially for the incredible landscape of Launceston’s Cataract Gorge.

Twelve metre-high water jets will fill the First Basin and erupt in time with subharmonic frequencies, while an electronic composition is beamed directly to your smartphone.

Overhead, high powered lasers will trace geometrical patterns in the mist to envelop audiences in a canopy of light and sound.

Man at Cataract Gorge Launceston. Picture: Jesse Hunniford/MONA

Exclusive to Launceston, Aqua Luma will be a free, family-friendly experience. It will start at 9.30pm and run on a 20-minute cycle.

The following weekend in Hobart, landmark hardware store K&D Warehouse — which is now owned by the University of Tasmania — will undergo a makeover to house a series of artworks selected by Mona curator Emma Pike.

No Place Like Home will span the entire warehouse and feature video installations, art and sculpture by local and international artists including Tony Albert, Zanny Begg, Andy Hutson, Rachel Maclean, Nell, Ryan Presley and Phebe Schmidt.

“We’re excited to share a snippet of the Mona Foma 2021 program: installations in two of the state’s most dramatically different but equally beloved locations,” Mona Foma curator Brian Ritchie said.

“Robin Fox has been involved in every festival program since Mona Foma’s inception, so it’s appropriate that he has created a new work to address a year like no other.”

Mona Foma will run from January 15 through to January 24 with music and art taking place over two weekends in Launceston (January 15-17) and Hobart (January 22-24).

The full 2021 program will be announced on December 7 with all tickets on sale from 10am on December 8.

Mona Foma is supported by the Tasmanian Government through Events Tasmania. Aqua Luma is supported by the City of Launceston.