About this place
What to expect
Looking at art used to be boring. It still is, maybe, but at least at Mona, the Museum of Old and New Art, you can get drunk and/or rage against the machine. Located just up the river from Hobart, Mona's subterranean architecture showcases the highlights (and lowlights) of David Walsh's private collection of art and antiquities, the largest private art collection of art in the southern hemisphere. There's art and exhibitions but also live music, library, food, wine, beer, bars, restaurants, winery and cellar door, accommodation, recording studio, and a tennis court. Mona was designed to be explored—as a space of wonder and experiment—with The O, which you should totally download before you get here. Catch the ferry, too. You could probably speed through the place in three or four hours, but they recommend you hang around—make a day of it. Each June, Mona's Dark Mofo winter festival delves into centuries-old winter solstice rituals and celebrates the dark through art, music, food, film, light and noise.