Is Mona worth it?

Is Mona worth visiting?

Yes, if you like art that starts a conversation, a boat ride and a long lunch. Plan 3 to 4 hours at least. If dim, enclosed spaces bother you, know that most of it is underground.

Mona won the 2012 Australian Tourism Award for best new development, and Lonely Planet named Hobart one of its ten cities to visit for 2013, citing Mona. The day itself is the draw: the ferry from the waterfront, the climb up from the jetty, the descent into the sandstone, then lunch or a glass of Moorilla wine on the lawns.

Who may not love it: Mona's FAQ warns that the museum is mostly underground, with confined spaces and low lighting, and some galleries have strobe lighting and loud audio. Art can be confronting, and the O gives warnings as you go. Kids are welcome; there is a children's library and a play area, and under 12s get in free.

Jo, after the mountain trip in May 2025: "Mona is fun and the building alone is worth visiting."

What is Mona Tasmania famous for?

For being underground, for art about sex and death next to ancient antiquities, for having no wall labels, and for the ferry ride there. Its owner once called it a "subversive adult Disneyland".

Wikipedia's entry calls Mona noted for its central themes of sex and death, and that sets the tone. Old objects and new work share rooms with no chronology and no labels. Instead you carry the O, which tells you about whatever is near you, including the curators' notes and David Walsh's own opinions.

Beyond the galleries, Mona lists live music, a library, food, wine, bars, restaurants, a cellar door, accommodation, a recording studio and a tennis court. Each June it runs Dark Mofo, its winter festival, from 9 to 22 June 2027 next time; our Dark Mofo 2027 note has the dates. Its summer festival, Mona Foma, is no longer held.

What does Mona stand for?

Mona stands for the Museum of Old and New Art. It writes its own name "Mona", and the Tasmanian Government describes it as Australia's largest privately owned museum.

The "old" is real: the collection runs from antiquities to new commissions. Mona calls its general collection Monanism, at "3200 and counting" works, with a warning that there are no guarantees any piece will be on display when you visit.

Size claims vary by source, so we keep to the official ones. Study Tasmania, a Tasmanian Government site, calls it Australia's largest privately owned museum. Discover Tasmania says the private collection of art and antiquities is the largest in the southern hemisphere. Mona does not make either claim on its own pages.

What is there to see at Mona in 2026?

Mona's art page lists Phrontisterion, the new library, plus Anselm Kiefer's Elektra and Julian Charrière's Hard Core, all included in entry. James Turrell's Event Horizon is a separate A$12 ticket.

• Phrontisterion: Mona's library of some 50,000 items, opened in 2026 beneath Kiefer's concrete amphitheatre. A reference library with no loans, included in entry.
• Anselm Kiefer, Elektra: on Mona's art page now, included in entry.
• Julian Charrière, Hard Core: from 6 June 2026 to 29 March 2027, included in entry.
• James Turrell, Event Horizon: a 10-minute work in the Pharos wing, A$12, booking recommended. Mona lists health cautions on its page, so read them first.
• James Turrell, Amarna: a light work with sunrise and sunset sequences.

Bookings for the ticketed artworks open 28 days ahead. Mona says the collection keeps changing and some works may not be on display on the day, so treat any list, ours included, as a starting point and check the O when you arrive.

What not to miss at Mona?

The ferry in, the descent to B3, the O in your hand, the library and lunch with a river view. Then follow your interests: the table below matches what you like to where to go.

Mona is easy to rush and better slowly. A rough guide by interest:

How long to give it is a guide of its own: how long to spend at Mona. Mona itself suggests 3 to 4 hours, or the whole day with lunch and wine.

The summit of kunanyi / Mount Wellington in the morning, then the ferry and about three hours at Mona, entry included.

★ 4.6 · 7.5 hours · from $98

Explore the Mt Wellington and Mona day trip → Tour details

Is the poo machine still at Mona?

Wim Delvoye's Cloaca Professional, the so-called poo machine, is part of Mona's collection. Check the O on the day to see whether it is on display.

Walsh commissioned Cloaca Professional (2010) for Mona, and visitors have named it the work they hate most, while spending more time with it than with any other, per a Mona survey reported on Wikipedia. Mona's current art page does not list it, and works rotate.

We do not give feeding times: none are published for 2026. Open the O when you get there, search for the work, and it will tell you if and where it is. The same goes for Kirsha Kaechele's Ladies Lounge, which is now closed, Mona says.

Who owns Mona, and who designed it?

David Walsh, born in 1961, owns Mona. He is a Tasmanian professional gambler and art collector who made his fortune with a betting system. Fender Katsalidis Architects, led by Nonda Katsalidis, designed the building.

Walsh grew up in Glenorchy, just down the road. In his own account he was rich by 1991, and in 1995 he bought the Moorilla estate, where Claudio Alcorso had planted some of Tasmania's first wine grapes in 1958. Mona's about page calls the museum "the playground and megaphone of David Walsh". He was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2016.

The building went underground to keep the setting of the two heritage houses on the site by Roy Grounds, so the galleries have no windows. Fender Katsalidis also converted and extended the heritage-listed Round House, which now ties into Phrontisterion. Arriving by water, Mona's FAQ says, is part of Walsh's design for the place.

Is Mona making money?

No. ABC News reported in November 2025 that Mona had lost about A$408 million since it opened in 2011, with the losses covered by its owner.

The same report put the loss of Moorilla Estate, the business behind Mona, at about A$63 million in 2023-24, on revenue of A$41.4 million. Visitor numbers were 330,000 in 2024-25, down from 405,000 in 2018-19. Walsh told the ABC the museum is "financially where I want it to be".

What that means for a visitor: Mona is still building. Phrontisterion opened in 2026, the largest construction project in its history according to The Art Newspaper. Mona has also announced a Bangkok outpost with a Thai developer.

Frequently asked questions