When winter festival Dark Mofo was put on ice, artistic director Chris Twite was understandably nervous about what people would think.
But ticket sales for the revived 2025 edition, which kicks off in Hobart on Thursday, appear on track to surpass records.
Dark Mofo ran at reduced capacity last year so organisers could take stock financially in an environment in which many events were struggling or pulling the pin.
"It was a really hard decision ... but ultimately it was the right one to make. It is going pay to dividends for the next decade," Twite said.
"We were really worried that people would rightly miss the festival or be upset.
"But by and large the reaction has been really great from people because they understood we were trying to build a foundation."
The most recent full-bore Dark Mofo in 2023 cost about 55 per cent more than the similarly sized 2019 iteration, Twite said.
There was a lot of "boring" work to get the books in better shape, while continued state government funding of $21.6 million to 2027 played its part.
Twite said Dark Mofo will never run at a profit, noting the owner of the MONA gallery David Walsh had contributed some $30 million over a decade.
The festival has proven a massive boost for tourism in Tasmania's off-season since launching in 2013, and has often courted controversy.
Upside-down Christian crosses have featured on Hobart's waterfront, while in 2021 it was forced to pull the pin on a piece after criticism over a lack of consultation.
Spain's Santiago Sierra had planned to immerse a Union Jack flag in the donated blood of Indigenous people as a statement against colonialism.
The festival apologised and pledged to work more closely with Indigenous artists.
Twite, who took over from inaugural artistic director Leigh Carmichael in 2023, said Dark Mofo would continue to push the envelope but was cognisant of its responsibilities.
He pointed to work by Indigenous Alaskan artist Nicholas Galanin, who has created a space for people to "scream as long as they want" about whatever they want.
"At the heart of the festival is presenting confrontational work that challenges ideas," Twite said.
"I don't think we've changed ever from that. I think the way we do that changes year in, year out."
The decision to still hold the winter feast and popular nude solstice swim in 2024 was important so Dark Mofo didn't disappear off the radar entirely, Twite said.
Ticket sales were on track to match or beat the 100,000 mark set in 2023, he said.
