Museum Of Old And New Art

My visit to MONA started aboard the MR-​1 Ferry from Franklin Wharf. The 20 minute ferry ride gave spectacular views of Hobart and the surrounding areas as it headed to the infamous MONA, which looked like some sort of villians lair out of a James Bond movie.
Built into a rocky cliff side, MONA is one of the most intriguing, immersive, controversial and down right fun galleries I’ve been to. Owned by the eccentric David Walsh (who has his own private parking bay with the word «GOD» above it and «GOD’S MISTRESS» for his wife), the gallery’s architecture and design is just as amazing as the artworks and installations it contains.
I won’t go into details of the exhibits themselves as I believe this is a place where you want to discover and be surprised as you move through the gallery. But give yourself at least a half day or more to truly enjoy everything this place has to offer — from the art, to the winery and brewery (stay for lunch and a drink), stop in the cocktail bar on the ground floor, and go for a bounce on the trampoline outside with sweeping views of the river.
And make sure you stay for the James Turrell sunset sequence running each evening. It was my favourite installation and unbelievably mesmerizing.
All I can say is, if you’re in Hobart, this is a must-​see.

Wow. This place excels at every point. It’s like being in Las Vegas with all the eye candy that attracts your attention. The pieces amaze you, and can make you feel a little queasy too. It really is a remarkable place. Strongly recommend a visit to Hobart just to go here. From the ferry that takes you here to the entry way and the long trip to the start of the museum it really has been thought through to the last detail. Will be back.

How lucky we are to be able to experience the patron’s personal collection.
As an experience this is world-​class.
There is no reason to comment further — other than to say that you should set aside more than just a few hours. And maybe leave the kids at home.
Come with eyes and mind open!

This place is brilliant! Incredibly interesting and diverse exhibits, that constantly change, some of which may push your boundaries and concepts of art. Just go with it! Expect the unexpected, it’s not your usual gallery.
We took the MONA ferry and upgraded to the POSH Pit. Worth every cent: refilled champagne and drinks on board, with beautiful canapes served both on the arrival and return trips (savouries in the morning, sweets in the afternoon). We took time out from exploring the galleries to enjoy the gardens and live music up on the top level wine bar in the sun. Wine bar was great with reasonable prices. Would have loved to stay longer and splurge on the degustation menu.
Only downside to MONA is that it is in Hobart, and I’m in Perth. It makes weekend visits a bit hard. Lucky Tasmanians get all the fun!

Waste of time and money. This «museum» is set up to SHOCK you. But after a while, it’s just dumb. Unless you have extra time in Tasmania, this is a definite pass.

The grounds are beautiful. The art work was bizarre. I don’t get why someone would call this art. There was not a single one I would like to own. The food and coffee was great. I would say go to visit the outside but save your $ 20 entrance fee to the museum and drink the wine instead.

Well this is diffferent, great grounds with wine and beer at the café outside and really tasty food. The museum itself is very interesting and probably not something you would take the kids to, but love the technology to guide you around and map the visit, loved the Sidney Nolan, it is huge and amazing.

Even though we caught the first ferry to the opening night of Marina Abramović’s Private Archaeology we still had a long queue outside. We waited beside the brilliant white light of James Turrell’s Amarna and David Walsh passed us while drinking from a bottle of champagne.
Inside we shared a Moorilla sparkling riesling then entered Private Archaeology. I thought the initial rooms failed to capture the engagement and intensity of Marina’s performance art save for the videos of Rest Energy and The Scream. I much preferred the room of Transitory Objects with the glassy-​eyed re-​performers waiting to be noticed among the crowd of people trying to be present. Confronting my apprehension I also experienced Counting the Rice where we wore lab coats and headphones then counted grains of rice and lentils for 10 minutes.
Following the exhibition we wandered the collection and revisited favourites like Greg Taylor’s Cunts and Other Conversations, Brigita Ozolins’s Kryptos, Meghan Boody’s Poison and Candice Breitz’s Queen (A Portrait of Madonna).
We then met outside and drank Moo Brew Harvest Ale from plastic cups beside unattended fires before our ferry back to Hobart.

Awesome. Diverse and gob snacking, in your face and captivating.
Bit spooky for young kids, and some contributing art.

In a non-​descript suburb of Hobart lies, quite possibly, the best museum in Australia. A lot has already been said about the art in some of the other reviews, but one of the things I really enjoyed was watching how other people interact with the art. Watching people watch a machine poop — I mean, where else in the world can you do this?

A must see if you are in Hobart and like modern art. Gorgeous building at a stunning site on the Derwent River. One can take a ferry to get here from Hobart. We were here on a cold and rainy day, so decided to drive. My favorite exhibit was done by a Korean artist. I think it was called Hand of God. It was a movie projected on the floor showing the artist directing traffic at a busy intersection, perhaps in Seoul, which was clever, humorous, and fun to watch.

This is probably the most interesting museum I’ve been to… I’ll caveat with I know nothing about modern art. But I loved how interactive all the exhibits were. Entrance fee is AUD $ 20. You get an iphone guide that uses GPS to tell you the nearby pieces of art… loved the David Walsh comments.
Taking the ferry from Hobart just adds to the great experience.
Def a must see when in Hobart!

One of the best museums I have ever been to. Absolutely worth a visit (or a return visit!). You’ll need the full day, so get there early, and make sure to arrive by boat.
(All of the above being said, this place definitely isn’t for everyone so make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into before you arrive!)
Tip: the cafeteria may run low on food options later in the day, so if you’re particularly hungry then fuel up a bit earlier in the afternoon.

Museum of Old & New Art is one of my favorite new contemporary museums in the world right now.
Visited in Sept. 2013 and met David Walsh who is quite interesting.
We took MONA’s boat from Hobart and I highly recommend this. It’s like a James Bond experience being on this cool boat with good coffee and art inside the boat. You go for 20 minutes on the Derwent River and then before you know it you are at the entrance of MONA.
The first installation we saw was Christian Boltanski’s piece. Don’t want to give it away but there is an interesting back story behind this. Then you encounter a fully functioning tennis court on top of the hill where the main entrance is.
Without divulging too much, you are supposed to experience art at Mona in an altered state of consciousness. It’s no surprise that the elevator takes you first to the bar all the way down. Do yourself a favor and buy yourself a drink and then explore. Mona’s theme is sex and death and there is a wide variety of work to see and experience. You will be given an «O» (basically an ipod) that will guide you through if you want to know more about the work.
Won’t color your experience with my favorites but we started out on the first boat in the morning and we could have used an additional hour to really explore the grounds which are equally a site to discover. On our visit we saw the newly added gazebo (future destination weddings) and the clever little hidden art pieces throughout. This museum is not for the traditional visitor. Be prepared to take a trip and allow yourself to take it in. Eat the food, drink the wine and immerse yourself. I wish we could have stayed in one of the villas but we understand a James Turrell designed hotel is in the making.
Like most museums, some pieces stood out and truly impressed me and others were not as great but overall this is a bucket list MUST if you can try and visit. Tasmania alone is worth the trip with it’s beautiful nature, animals, food, wine, design and naturally this excellent addition that is MONA.
Highly recommend and would love to return.

Wow– there’s not much to say about this place except for you’ve got to see it to really understand what everyone is taking about.
MONA is full of private collection art so don’t expect masterpieces, and you definitely won’t find many simple paintings here. What you will find is art that pushes the boundaries and a lot of pieces that really get you thinking. A «fattened» Porsche? A machine that emulates the human digestion system? A room with 30 people singing madonna songs?
What I liked about this museum the most is that they give you an iPod that has information about the art on it. When you find a piece that you want more information on you can read up on it and the artist, and if you put in your email address you can get a virtual tour record at the end!
The grounds of mona are so pretty as well– tons of places to hang out in the sun and enjoy the company of others. When we went there was a live band playing outside of the café, so museum goers could easily have spent another couple of hours soaking up the rays.
Definitely not your typical museum– or even your typical contemporary art museum– but worth a couple of hours of browsing. Not kid friendly at all though!!!

The Museum of Old and New Art is one of the best art museums I have ever experienced. I visited here in early 2012. Located on a promontory, the museum is most notable because it beckons you downward. There are also special discounts if you are a Tasmanian (lucky you!). Regardless, it’s well worth the admission price and I have already told my art fanatic friends they must go here.
I took so many pictures! The art is just bloody eclectic. I suppose it makes sense being ¼ of the owner’s personal collection. And this guy is crazy from what I’ve read. Kudos on your gambling earnings. Anyway, I loved the pop art, the interesting sculptures using religious paraphernalia, the tanned pigs with Disney characters, and more. I could have done without the cloaca device. Ugggh.
Good stuff. Go there. I’d go again next time I’m in Hobart.

Freaking my beans. My beans are freaked out. Now I accept that my beans went through a short interlude of being emotionally unstable and quote ‘freaked out’ and have come to accept them as my own small companion of freaky le beans.
This my friends summarises the MONA experience.
The grounds are beautifully maintained, the staff a pleasure at all times and exhibitions. Generally a pretty awesome place to go see. Now don’t rush around. Block off a good chunk of your day and really enjoy the experience. In all honesty I didn’t get a lot of the pieces but personally enjoyed what was on offer.
Also make sure you take the time to enjoy a glass of wine downstairs and read all the little signs, giving helpful directions.

I’ll start by saying that if you are looking for a traditional museum, you should go somewhere else. MONA is provocative, beautiful, and challenging. Are you going to see some things that will offend you? Possibly. Probably. Is art only supposed to make you comfortable? Probably not.
MONA fits rule #1 of great museums for me: it doesn’t take forever to get through it. It’s a solid day, for sure — half day if you’re quick. Great technology (iPod touches that you can take throughout the museum) and really great pieces.
It doesn’t hurt that it’s in a beautiful setting. It’s $ 20 if you’re not from Tasmania. Definitely worth it.
I took the boat here from the harbourfront in Hobart ($ 20 return) and spent an hour doing wine tasting so I feel like I got a ton of enjoyment out of my time here.

I first saw MONA in mid-​2011, when I came to Tasmania on holiday and drove a campervan all over the state. In those ten days, my friend and I went to MONA not once, but twice. We drove all over Tasmania and we only had ten days and we dedicated two of them to MONA.
That sounds a bit dramatic, and it’s only slightly exaggerated. I’m not the kind of person who has an art gallery attention span. As much as I desperately want to be one of those people, I can’t do it. But when we were planning our trip, I told my friend we had to go to MONA, because that’s what everyone in my social circles was saying. «Are you going to Hobart? Go to MONA.» My friend almost didn’t come in with me. We were both enthralled and completely entranced, but we only had a couple of hours to see all we could before it was closing time for the day. So, when the opportunity came on the last day of our trip, a free day before flying home the next morning, we opted to drive back to Hobart and finish what we’d started at MONA. Take our time. Slowly and steadily work our way from top to bottom. NO REGRETS.
Since moving to Hobart a couple of months ago, I’ve only been back inside MONA once. I’ve been out to the MONA grounds three times, but once was for a concert and once was for MoMa (MONA market, every Saturday in summer from 11am until 4pm). I think I’ve only been inside MONA again just the once because I’m already taking it for granted now that I live so close. I don’t know. I suppose I don’t want to spoil it. I don’t want to overdose on it and find myself sick of it, because when I went to MONA again just the other day, I spent four hours exploring.
In the same way I don’t want to spoil it for myself, I also don’t want to spoil it for you, so I’ll simply say this: are you going to Hobart? Are you creative, passionate, crude, sexual, curious, wistful, and/​or thoughtful? Make sure you set aside a whole day, and leave no stone unturned. Go to MONA.

Want to test your tolerance for the rude, crude, violent and ugly? A visit to MONA is a great way to do it and will challenge you and evoke all sorts of feelings. Exactly what art is supposed to do, right?
David Walsh is a private art collector and has done the incredible thing of sharing his collection with the world, not (as far as I can tell) for outrageous profit but purely for the pleasure of sharing it. A day at MONA will set you back $ 20 (or nothing if you identify yourself as a Tasmanian). Throw in an extra $ 15 and you can catch the MONA ferry there and back — it’s a 30 minute trip down the beautiful Derwent river and is itself a wonderful experience. Approaching the museum from the water is breathtaking and immediately lets you know what you’re in for — awe and wonder.
Some of the art is interactive, a lot is unsuitable for children and most will have you thinking and feeling diverse things in quick succession. Set to be one of Australia’s best draw cards, this is an intense experience and one that shouldn’t be rushed.