When it comes to MONA – the Museum of Old and New Art – in Hobart, there’s one thing it has plenty of: stories.
Sure, there are the tales of the debaucherous parties that went on in the gallery’s earlier hey-days. The fact it’s privately owned and how and why that came to be. The stories of its political disdain; the owner’s penchant for personal gratification through a gallery hacked into the side of a mountain; it goes on.
One thing is for certain, though; there’s only one story that matters, and that’s that it’s a damn good time. There’s nothing but one hell of a cultural awakening that is a far cry from what you’d expect to come out of Hobart, but 8 years prior.
MONA is the art gallery that put Hobart on the map, turned up the city’s tourism quota and sits at the pinnacle of wholesome Australian experiences that can only really be found in our southernmost city.
The city itself is known – if anything, for its work over the past few years alone – for quality.
Quality food, wine, art, experiences, hotels, road trips, scenery, oxygen. Much like the rumours of the existence of MONA, what you can take away from a trip to Tasmania is as wide and varied, but one thing is constant: quality, stories and the whole array of it all. The gallery almost sits atop it all.
Though it’s about a 20 minute trip from the centre of town – a journey easily embarked on by making your way to Brooke Street Pier and buying a ferry ticket – it’s close enough to be accessible, yet far enough to make the journey a memorable one.
From the moment you board – don’t be skint; get yourself the VIP ticket, which means more intimate quarters, endless sparkling and a serving of canapes – it’s an experience. From the staff in boilersuits to the sheep that bedeck the deck, it’s a journey that showcases the Hobart waterway, culminating wonderfully with the mountain-hacked MONA gallery at the other end. Pray you get good weather to enjoy the looming view of Mount Wellington bearing down over the town.
Arrival at MONA is an experience. You climb over 100 steps to arrive at the entryway; a garrison of spectacular views, wrought iron decorations, outdoor art installations and free space to roam, wander and enjoy. There’s even a place to feed and drink yourself prior to entry, if that’s for you. Just wander up the hill.
But it’s what’s inside that has over 1.28 million people visiting the gallery annually.
They move their artworks around, have special exhibitions and like to keep things interesting, so it’s hard to recommend what to see and when, but a simple look at the MONA website will sort you out, prior to entry.
Currently, the gallery’s ZERO exhibition is one to see. It’s on until 22 April 2019 and is exploring all kinds of roundness.
With work from artists Heinz Mack, Yves Klein, Enrico Castellani, Christian Megert and more, it’s an experience that requires as much of an open mind as it does an appreciation for the contemporary.
A work of German proportions out of Dusseldorf, its work from the 50s – its three founding artists were Heinz Mack, Otto Piene and Gunther Ukeker – that runs against the style and feel of the moments after WWII. They wanted to break free from the anxious individualism that seemed to oppress the artists of the time.
“Zero was named for its promise of new beginnings. (Later, ‘ZERO’ denoted the international incarnation of a movement.) Art was not something to be painfully extracted in solitude, but to be assembled and constructed alongside your peers, using whatever materials you could get your hands on at the time: cardboard, metal, cloth, mirrors, smoke… They banged nails, smashed bottles, poked holes, and cut up each other’s canvases. Strikingly disparate styles and techniques were united by the artists’ drive to provoke a strong sensory experience in the viewer. One-night exhibitions, put together in their studios, drew enthusiastic crowds, and eventually, the attention of Germany, Europe, and beyond. They weren’t interested in trawling through the ashes of the far or recent past. They wanted to stage an exhibition on the moon.” – MONA website.
Without giving away too much, it’s definitely worth the visit. Get your tickets at the MONA website.
And when you’re done of course, there’s some seriously quality food and drink on offer within the gallery itself.
The best? Faro, of course. If not for the menu, than the space it’s in.
If you like balls – and let’s face it, who doesn’t? – there’s a giant one that command the centre of the glass-walled room that makes the restaurant, commanding your attention as your sight refracts off its pure white surface, through the surrounding windows to the almost unadulterated waterways, mountains, boats and greenery that makes-up the semi-remote look of the MONA gallery. It’s freakin’ spectacular to sit, drink, while away the time and eat some food from chefs who know what the fuck they’re doing. See the menu here.
MONA isn’t just a gallery; it – much like the rest of Hobart – is an experience. An experience that’s as good alone, as it is with a couple, and one that must be had with glasses of champagne, on a crips Hobartian day. See more at the MONA website.