Museum of Old and New Art
The Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) is an art museum located within the Moorilla winery on the Berriedale peninsula in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. It is the largest privately funded museum in the Southern Hemisphere. MONA houses ancient, modern, and contemporary art from the David Walsh collection. Noted for its central themes of sex and death, the museum has been described by Walsh as a "subversive adult Disneyland."
MONA was officially opened on 21 January 2011. In addition to its frequently updated indoor collection, MONA hosts the annual Mona Foma and Dark Mofo music and arts festivals, which showcase large-scale public art and live performances.
Discrimination
In March 2024, Jason Lau, a visitor from New South Wales, filed a lawsuit against the museum, alleging that it engaged in illegal discrimination by barring him from accessing the "Ladies Lounge" exhibition. The exhibit, created with the intention of providing a safe space for women to gather and highlight historical exclusion faced by women, became the subject of legal scrutiny. The museum's legal counsel acknowledged that Lau had been discriminated against but stated that the exclusion was part of the intended artistic experience. Kirsha Kaechele, an artist and David Walsh’s wife, defended the exhibition in court, stating, "It excludes men, and I would be lying if I were to say I didn't find it titillating."
In April 2024, a court ordered MONA to cease denying entry to individuals who did not identify as women. In response, the museum installed female toilets in the exhibit area. Initial reports indicated that the toilets featured works by Pablo Picasso from the original exhibit, but a subsequent blog post by Kaechele revealed that the paintings were forgeries created by her three years earlier.
In September 2024, Justice Shane Marshall of the Supreme Court of Tasmania overturned the April ruling, determining that it was legal to bar men from the "Ladies Lounge" as the exclusion promoted "equal opportunity" for a marginalised group.
Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
References
- [The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2024/apr/09/mona-ordered-to-allow-people-who-do-not-identify-as-ladies-into-ladies-lounge-exhibit) - [Garden Drum](https://gardendrum.com/2015/03/03/review-mona-it-lost-me-at-the-gate/) - [Archive.is](https://archive.is/wip/botFj) - [ABC News](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-24/mona-hangs-picassos-in-female-toilet-after-court-ruling/104015216) - [ABC News](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-15/mona-founder-david-walsh-on-future-of-tasmanian-museum/105982838)
This page contains information generated by Ollama. The information was reviewed, and may have been altered, by a human editor before being added to the Featured category. As of July 2026 information generated by AI is not subject to copyright and is thus in the public domain. This page is pending human review.