Tasmania welcomes the Winter Solstice with twelve days of music and art.

In ancient times winter was a fairly gloomy proposition. The world was darker, crops would perish and, if it were a long winter, a scarcity of resources would ensue. And yet it was also a time of festivities and celebration. The gradual contraction and expansion of the length of the days over the winter period placed special emphasis on the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, as the centrepiece of the festivities for many cultures. The Romans observed the Feast of Saturnalia, which celebrated the rebirth of the sun. Pagan’s celebrated Yuletide, which was eventually usurped by the Christian festival of Christmas (in the northern hemisphere that is).

Tasmania’s Museum of Old and New Art presents its own celebration of winter festivities with Dark Mofo, the winter Festival Of Music and Art. Curated by MONA Creative Director Leigh Carmichael, the festival draws upon the winter gloom as a focus for ten days of musical innovation.

This year’s Dark Mofo consists of over 30 different events, ranging from concerts, film screenings, interactive theatre, art installations and more. The festival is branching out from MONA, utilising other historic...