The Museum of Old and New Art (Mona) has today announced that the February 2024 edition of its annual Mona Foma festival was the last.

The festival, which has been presented for 16 years, curated by Violent Femmes bassist Brian Ritche, has hosted high profile acts including David Byrne, Phillip Glass, Nico Muhly, Sun Ra and Peaches.

Mona Foma 2019. Photo © MONA/Jesse Hunniford

The 2024 festival, which spanned from 15–25 February in Hobart, hosted artists such as Queens of the Stone Age and Mogwai.

“Mona Foma took us around the world. But it ends here,” said Mona owner and founder, David Walsh in a statement on the Mona blog. “Maybe the end started at COVID. Maybe it’s because the last festival was a poorly-attended artistic triumph. But those aren’t the reasons I killed it.”

“I know that we live for experience but, more and more, I seek permanence, a symbolic immortality. At Mona, I’m building this big thing, hopefully it’ll be a good thing, but it’s a costly thing. I’m addicted to building, and my addiction got out of hand. Some things have to go before I’m too far gone.

Mona Foma is one of those things. It’s been magical, but the spell has worn off. Only these words, from Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle, remain: ‘Live by the Foma that makes you brave and kind and healthy and happy’.”

Dark Mofo. Photo supplied

The closure follows the cancellation of a slew of Australian music festivals. The festival’s winter counterpart, Dark Mofo, announced in September that it was suspending its 2024 operations as a result of “changing conditions and rising costs”, with popular music festivals Groovin’ the Moo, Falls Festival and Splendour In The Grass following suit.

“Gratitude to all of you that came,” said Walsh. “And to those who didn’t, a silver lining: you’ll no longer suffer from FOMO for FOMA. And anyway, repetition is regimentation. And regimentation is ridiculous.”

“Greatest gratitude to those who helped put it together. I hope it was as good for you as it was for me.”

David Walsh’s full statement can be found here.