Swans, Amanda Palmer, Neil Gaiman On Epic MOFO 2015 Line-Up

Tasmania’s annual Museum of Old and New Art Festival of Music and Art – MONA FOMA, or MOFO for ultra-short – has unveiled the line-up for its seventh iteration, to be held in January 2015.

And, as with years past, the organisers have inarguably outdone themselves this time around, with drawcards such as New York post-punk rockers Swans, renowned musician/activist/author/rad human Amanda Palmer (with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra) and celebrated author/dark clothing enthusiast Neil Gaiman among an esteemed and eclectic mix of some of the world’s finest concerns from the realms of music and art.

Being held from January 15-18 at Princes Wharf 1 and surrounding venues such as The Odeon, Theatre Royal, Federation Concert Hall, Hobart Town Hall, Salamanca Arts Centre, MONA itself (duh) and more,  this year’s MOFO event is curated by Brian Ritchie (Violent Femmes, The Break), who has gone to great lengths to amass an epic roster of identities for the four-day festivities, demonstrated by the presence of inclusions such as iconic J-pop riot grrrls Shonen Knife, legendary Kiwi post-punks The Clean, Alvin Curran performing afloat on the Derwent River, Paul Kelly performing his Merri Soul Sessions program with Dan Sultan, Clairy Browne, Kira Puru and Vika and Linda Bull, Midnight Oil’s Jim Moginie and his electric-guitar orchestra, indie-pop outfit Zammuto (with special guest Gotye), and Swedish black-metallers Marduk.

Not content to stop there, punters will also see Architects Of Air’s giant, inflatable Exxopolis work, the experimental Senyawa with Lucas Abela, from Jogjakarta, creating a gamelan pinball machine, Baltimore dance beats courtesy of Dan Deacon, the smashing of 250 hammers at the hands of Chinese performance artist Li Binyuan, Australian-Icelandic post-classical composer Ben Frost, the Young Wagilak Group with the Australian Art Orchestra, and a participatory smartphone orchestra with Atticus J Bastow.

Those attractions are all in addition to the previously announced New Year’s Day party featuring the Violent Femmes, Augie March and Ben Salter, which is really the icing on the MOFO cake, in which 28,000 people partook this year, 45 per cent of which (or thereabouts) from interstate or overseas.

“We are thrilled that the audience for MOFO has developed to the point where we can present this dazzling array of creativity and know the people are rady, willing and able to come along for the ride,” Ritchie said of the festival in a statement. “It’s a party with brains, heart and soul.”

Concurrent with MOFO, MONA will be hosting the exhibition River Of Fundament, by US artist Matthew Barney, as well as the Biennale of Moving Images, so if you’re in for a more “traditional” (well, as traditional as MONA gets) artistic experience, you’re not left out in the cold just because everyone else is getting freaky in the streets.

For more information about next year’s MONA FOMA, head to our dedicated event page.

The Lineup

Alvin Curran [Ita]: Maritime Rites
Allan Halyk And Adam Wojcinski [Aus]
Amanda Palmer & The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra [USA/Aus]
Amir Farid [Aus]: Amir Farid Performs Works Of Javad Ma’roufi
Anna Von Hausswolff [Swe]
Architects Of Air [UK]: Exxopolis
Ava Mendoza [USA]
Atticus J. Bastow [Aus]: Swarm And Murmuration
Ben Frost [Aus/Icl]
Brendan Walls [Aus]: Elements Of Refusal
Chordwainers [Aus]
Dan Deacon [USA]
David Francey Trio [Can]
Debashish Bhattacharya [Ind]
Emma Dean And The Hungry Truth [Aus]
Faux Mo
Francesca De Valence [Aus]
Gabriella Smart [Aus]: Inner Cities
Genevieve Lacey [Aus]: Fade
Jim Moginie [Aus]: Jim Moginie’s Electric Guitar Orchestra Perform ‘The Colour Wheel’
Johannes S. Sistermanns [Ger]: I N T U I T I O N Room
Li Binyuan [Chn]: Deathless Love, The Enemy
Marduk [Swd]
Martine Corompt And Philip Brophy [Aus]: Torrent
Melisandre [Electrotrad] [Can]
Michael Kieran Harvey [Aus]: Patanjali
Mofo Eastern Sho
Moma (Mona Market)
Neil Gaiman [UK]
Omar Souleyman [Syr]
Paul Kelly Presents The Merri Soul Sessions – Featuring Dan Sultan, Clairy Browne, Kira Puru & Vika And Linda Bull [Aus]
Phillip Johnston [Aus]: The Adventures Of Prince Achmed
Rektango
Robyn Hitchcock [UK]: I Often Dream Of Trains
Ruth Roshan And Tango Noir [Aus]
Senyawa & Lucas Abela [Idn/Aus]: Gamelan Wizard
Shonen Knife [Jpn]
Speak Percussion [Aus]: Transducer
Swans [USA]
The Clean [NZ]
Tim Hecker [Can]
Xylouris White [Grc/Aus]
Young Wagilak Group & Australian Art Orchestra [Aus]: Crossing Roper Bar
Zammuto [USA]