MONA (Museum of Old and New Art)

MONA (Museum of Old and New Art)
Name	Museum of Old and New Art
Established	2011
Location	Battery Point, Hobart, Tasmania
Type	Art museum
Founder	David Walsh

MONA (Museum of Old and New Art) MONA is a private art museum in Battery Point, Hobart, Tasmania, founded in 2011 by collector and gambler David Walsh. The institution has become a focal point for contemporary museology, tourism, and cultural debate, attracting international attention through ambitious exhibitions, provocative acquisitions, and a distinctive site and building.

History and founding

The museum was initiated by collector David Walsh, whose activities intersect with figures and institutions such as Marina Abramović, Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, Anish Kapoor, and Yayoi Kusama through collecting and commissioning. Its establishment involved collaboration with Tasmanian entities including the Tasmanian Government, City of Hobart, University of Tasmania, and local developers influenced by precedents set by institutions like the Tate Modern, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Museum of Modern Art, and Centre Pompidou. Funding and cultural positioning generated responses from organizations such as Australia Council for the Arts, National Gallery of Australia, and private collectors networked with galleries like Gagosian Gallery, White Cube, Saatchi Gallery, and auction houses including Sotheby's and Christie's. Early programming drew on loans and dialogues with museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Louvre, British Museum, National Gallery, and biennales such as the Venice Biennale, Sydney Biennale, Documenta, and Shanghai Biennale. The founding invoked debates tied to personalities and institutions including Tony Abbott, Julia Gillard, Gina Rinehart, Bob Brown, and media outlets like the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, The Age, The Australian, and Financial Times.

Architecture and site

The building was designed by Melbourne architect Nicksan Architecture in collaboration with engineers and consultants influenced by projects by Frank Gehry, Renzo Piano, Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid, Herzog & de Meuron, Richard Rogers, and I. M. Pei. The subterranean gallery complex was carved into a sandstone cliff at Moorilla Winery site, linking to local landmarks like Mona Vale, Battery Point, and the Derwent River. Landscape interventions referenced designers and movements associated with Capability Brown, Claude Lorrain, Gertrude Jekyll, and contemporary practices exemplified by James Corner, Olmsted Brothers, and Peter Walker. Engineering inputs included firms and standards tied to Arup, AECOM, Buro Happold, and regulatory frameworks comparable to those considered by Heritage Council of Tasmania and planning bodies in Hobart City Council. The building's circulation and subterranean galleries have been compared to experiences at Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Cité de l'Architecture, Getty Center, and Louvre-Lens.

Collections and exhibitions

The collection mixes antiquities, modernist works, and contemporary installations, inviting comparisons with holdings at the British Museum, Prado Museum, Hermitage Museum, Rijksmuseum, Uffizi Gallery, and State Tretyakov Gallery. Works by contemporary artists in the collection echo names like Marcel Duchamp, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol, Francis Bacon, Louise Bourgeois, Jeff Koons, Cindy Sherman, Gerhard Richter, Robert Rauschenberg, John Baldessari, Barbara Kruger, Maurizio Cattelan, Ai Weiwei, Olafur Eliasson, Bill Viola, Bruce Nauman, Robert Mapplethorpe, Nan Goldin, Kara Walker, Chris Ofili, Doris Salcedo, Wolfgang Tillmans, Sarah Lucas, Rachel Whiteread, Grayson Perry, Cornelia Parker, Kiki Smith, Takashi Murakami, Anselm Kiefer, Stella McCartney (art collaborations), and Ed Ruscha. Exhibitions have included thematic and monographic shows referencing curatorial practices at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Whitney Museum, Serpentine Galleries, Victoria and Albert Museum, Hamburger Bahnhof, and Hayward Gallery. The antiquities and "old" component prompts dialogue with collections at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Pergamon Museum, Museo Nacional del Prado, and Ashmolean Museum.

Curatorial approach and programming

Curators have pursued provocative juxtapositions, drawing on methodologies associated with curators from institutions like the Museum of Modern Art, Tate Modern, Centre Pompidou, Serpentine Gallery, and Palais de Tokyo. Programming has included performance series involving practitioners linked to All Tomorrow's Parties-style festivals, music curators with ties to Iggy Pop, Nick Cave, PJ Harvey, and collaborations with orchestras and ensembles such as the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, and electronic artists in networks including Modular Recordings and Warp Records. Educational and research partnerships have been formed with universities and museums including the University of Melbourne, University of Sydney, Australian National University, Smithsonian Institution, and the Getty Research Institute.

Visitor experience and facilities

The visitor journey features a ferry service across the Derwent River, shuttle links to Hobart International Airport, and onsite amenities referencing hospitality models at Louis Vuitton Foundation, The Broad, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, and luxury cultural destinations like The Ritz-Carlton and Banyan Tree. Facilities include restaurants and bars with culinary programming that has collaborated with chefs and hospitality operators known to institutions such as Noma, Attica, El Bulli-alumni networks, and local Tasmanian producers associated with MONA's Moorilla Winery and regional vineyards linked to Australian wine producers like Penfolds and Jacob's Creek. Retail, publishing, and membership models align with practices at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Frick Collection, and Royal Academy of Arts.

Controversies and reception

The museum's confrontational acquisitions and display strategies provoked criticism and praise from media and critics connected to outlets and persons including The Guardian, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Australian Financial Review, Germaine Greer, John Pilger, Cameron Bailey, Jerry Saltz, Roberta Smith, Catherine de Zegher, and policy debates engaging politicians such as Scott Morrison and commentators from The Conversation. Debates touched on funding and tax arrangements similar to disputes around Guggenheim Bilbao subsidies, philanthropy cases like those involving Gina Rinehart and James Packer, and legal or ethical concerns comparable to controversies at Louvre Abu Dhabi and restitution dialogues with institutions like the British Museum and Musée du Quai Branly. Reception among artists, curators, and the public has ranged from acclaim in travel and culture coverage by Lonely Planet, Condé Nast Traveler, National Geographic, and Time Out to critique in specialist journals such as Artforum, Frieze, ArtReview, and Apollo.

Category:Museums in Tasmania