MONA's David Walsh apologises for Dark Mofo flag controversy as calls grow for Carmichael to go

The multimillionaire behind the art festival slammed over its plan to use donated blood to soak a British flag for an art project has admitted he "approved it without much thought", as calls for a boycott of this year's festival grow. Key points: Aboriginal artists are being urged to boycott the Dark Mofo festival and MONA after the flag controversy Some have taken to social media calling for the festival's creative director Leigh Carmichael to resign Walsh has posted to his blog he initially thought it would appeal to the "usual leftie demographic" David Walsh, the Tasmanian founder of MONA, which runs the annual Dark Mofo winter festival, has confessed he "didn't see the deeper consequences of this proposition", after festival creative director Leigh Carmichael announced he had "made a mistake" in commissioning Union Flag. "Dark Mofo, and particularly Leigh Carmichael, have made a really grave error of judgement around how this would resonate, particularly with First Nations people, not just in Tasmania but around the world," she said. "I think the near-mutiny that Dark Mofo has experienced internally from its own staff over the last couple of days is not just around this artwork, it's around that festival is operating and what the benefit is to local First Nations artists and local storytelling," she said. Michael Mansell from the Tasmanian Aboriginal Land Council said Dark Mofo should continue with the show "to ensure that the free flow of ideas prevails over short-sighted censorship".