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If you've never been to Tassie, trust us when we say you need to plan a trip sometime in June or beyond. Not only has Hobart’s Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) unveiled the first phase of a striking new $100 million wing, it's also preparing to launch a major exhibition by French-Swiss artist Julian Charrière.
Soft-launched in late 2025, the striking new wing at MONA marks a major expansion of the already labyrinthine institution founded by David Walsh. Four years in the making, the new space has been purpose-built to house Elektra, an imposing work by celebrated German artist Anselm Kiefer.
The monumental installation is an exact replica of a large-scale artwork by Kiefer: a multi-level concrete amphitheatre modelled on La Ribaute, the artist’s vast studio-museum complex in southern France. Walsh first visited the site in 2007, an experience that would ultimately inspire MONA’s new architectural addition. The wing forms the first stage of the museum's latest development, with a second phase – Walsh’s long-anticipated private library – expected to open later this year.
Also in the works for 2026 is a must-see exhibition by Julian Charrière, titled Hard Core, which will explore geological time and the immense natural forces that shape our planet. Opening on June 6, 2026 and running until March 29, 2027, it will mark the French-Swiss artist's first solo exhibition in Australia and coincide with Hobart’s popular winter arts festival, Dark Mofo (June 11-22).
Instead of occupying the new wing, Hard Core will transform MONA’s touring galleries and extend into the Void and newly excavated areas of the museum. The exhibition brings together sculpture, film, photography and installation works that connect nature, science, mythology and industry. Visitors will encounter sculptures made from coal, lava, onyx and obsidian, glacial rock samples repaired with metals, and even a vending machine filled with fossilised ammonites.
Hard Core will also introduce 'Breathe', a permanent installation commissioned specifically for MONA and embedded into the museum’s foundations. The work releases oxygen molecules trapped inside banded iron ore formations since the Great Oxidation Event around 2.4 billion years ago, allowing visitors to inhale air that has been locked inside rock for billions of years. Yes, really.
For a museum already known for pushing artistic boundaries, the combination of a monumental new wing and Charrière’s ambitious exhibition signals an exciting new chapter for MONA.