The organisers of the Dark Mofo festival believe Hobart's Lord Mayor has a reasonable point about runaway growth, but are urging the city not to be "scared of tourists".

Lord Mayor Ron Christie has copped a backlash after criticising the tone of the festival, which created controversy this year with several 20-metre-tall inverted crosses.

Creative director Leigh Carmichael said organisers were grappling with the festival's rapid growth, which he believed had now reached its limits.

The Lord Mayor was condemned for his comments about the annual two-week festival, and for saying the council would review its funding.

He then earnt the ire of the business and tourism sectors after saying growth in visitors numbers could "kill" the city.

On Tuesday, Alderman Christie said hundreds of people had phoned and emailed their support for his stand and he would not bow to pressure to resign.

The inverted crosses prompted a petition with 18,000 signatures. ( Supplied: Aaron Horsley )

Alderman Christie said his wife had been affected by the furore.

"It has been a very difficult time for her, receiving late night calls and texts, and in particular the scathing comments on social media," he said.

Mr Carmichael said personal attacks were never warranted.

He said the Mayor raised important points on Hobart's growth, but that Alderman Christie needed to clarify whether he was speaking as mayor or as an individual.

"It seems these days we can't just have a conversation or a discussion around an issue and we have to get personal and start attacking each other, that's the bit I don't like," Mr Carmichael told ABC Hobart.

"Right now is a brilliant time to talk about the future of Hobart.

"I hope what that means is that we become a place that is more tolerant, that is open minded, we welcome our visitors. [We are] brave, not fearful — not be scared of the darkness, not be scared of tourists."

The 'burial' of artist Mike Parr under a main road for three days created strong public debate. ( ABC News: Carla Howarth )

Mr Carmichael said the Hobart City Council was important to the festival in terms of approvals and permits, but that it did not relying on its $150,000 funding.

"The contribution from the Hobart City Council is important, but would not make a huge impact on the overall festival," he said.

"The Council support to us is incredibly important and we rely on a partnership with them to be able to put the festival on.

"We won't be restricted from an artistic point of view by any funding or sponsor. I am not a big fan of censorship."

Better not necessarily bigger

Mr Carmichael said the festival had probably grown as big as it could be, and the aim in future would be to make it different every year.

Final figures for this year's festival are still being collated, but box office figures have suggested the growth has been huge.

The festival relies on the council for permits and approvals for events like the Winter Feast. ( Facebook: Tasmania )

This year, 80,000 tickets were sold for the two-week event, 60 per cent to interstate patrons, creating a box office turnover in the millions of dollars.

Interstate ticket sales for the winter festival increased 73 per cent this year, to 15,000.

"We achieved a box office this year of $3.3 million, up from $2.4 million from last year, so that is a pretty incredible increase. And that is up from $1.2 [million] three years ago," he said.

"[A] pretty incredible increase. The rise of the festival is outstanding, extraordinary, and we don't fully understand it ourselves," he said.

Avante-garde artist and composer Laurie Anderson was one of the headline acts. ( Supplied: Dark Mofo/Moorilla Gallery )

Mr Carmichael said $7.5 million was directly spent on the festival, with the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) outlaying $1.5 million for its exhibition ZERO.

More than 98,000 patrons went through Dark Park over seven nights, and the winter feast had 87,000 through the door.

But he said did not want the festival to get too big, saying it had reached its limit but he would like to see more fringe events pop up around the city.

"We may have reached the limit of what our venues can cope with," he said.

"I would like to be just different each year, that's kind of where we focus our energy, but for whatever reason we continue to grow."

Aim for arts precinct

One of the main events this year, Night Mass, was attended by thousands of people over several nights.

The street party was staged around the Odeon Theatre in the city centre.

The Odeon Theatre in the CBD has become a central focus of Dark Mofo. ( Supplied: Dark Mofo/Lusy Productions )

Dark Mofo is pressing ahead with plans for the Liverpool Street site to be an arts precinct, with the Odeon as a hub.

"We are working very closely with developers who own the Odeon and almost that entire city block on plans for a cultural precinct," Mr Carmichael said.

"We are working on the vision for the whole city block, it's pretty exciting."

Mr Carmichael also holds a desire to see a light tower in the city centre, an idea first floated in 2015.

But with no financial backing from MONA owner David Walsh, he admits it remains "just a dream".

The idea for the 117 metre art tower was first proposed in 2015. ( Supplied: Detached Cultural Organisation )

"I have a vision for a 200-metre-high art tower with the top half of that being a cultural space, whether that is a gallery or something you climb," he said.

"David Walsh is not a big fan, I can still dream, I am allowed to dream.

"I would love to see more life, culture and art in the CBD."

The Tasmanian Government is working on legislation to enshrine the masterplan for Hobart's Macquarie Point based on MONA's proposal for a reconciliation parks.

Mr Carmichael said his organisation was not involved in Macquarie Point, apart from using it for Dark Park, but he was keeping in touch with developments.

"We are very strong supporters. Dark Park is an incredibly important part of the festival," he said.

"Our role was to put the vision forward and now I think it is important that MONA and DarkLab sit back and let the community decide where that goes, and let the Macquarie Point Development Corporation come up with a plan with how to progress."