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Hobart’s boundary-pushing Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) is about to get bigger and bolder. This June, MONA is set to unveil a brand-new wing, complete with a statement library that’s been a decade in the making. With a price tag north of $100 million, the project brings together Aussie architect Nonda Katsalidis, German artist Anselm Kiefer and MONA’s enigmatic founder David Walsh.
Dubbed the Phrontisterion (Ancient Greek for 'thinkery'), Walsh describes it as his “dream library” – though don’t expect hushed halls or the Dewey Decimal Classification. This is MONA, after all. The subterranean space sits beneath 'Elektra', Kiefer’s monumental amphitheatre, originally built at his studio in southern France.
Inside, Walsh’s personal and very eclectic collection of rare books, historic manuscripts, maps and paraphernalia offers a glimpse into his mind. As MONA librarian Mary Lijnzaad puts it, "If you want to know what David is really like, browse his bookshelves."
To understand how we got here, it’s worth rewinding. Walsh grew up in Tasmania, just down the road from where MONA now sits on the banks of the River Derwent. After dropping out of university, he turned to professional gambling and became a multi-millionaire. In 2011, he channelled that success into MONA – a cultural offering designed to share his eclectic private art collection and, by his own admission, ease a touch of “gambler’s guilt”. What started as a largely overlooked antiquities museum has since evolved into a three-level underground labyrinth, carved into 250-million-year-old sandstone along the river. Today, it houses around 1,900 works and is arguably Tasmania’s biggest tourism drawcard.
MONA's new wing connects to the existing museum via a sandstone tunnel, expanding its already unconventional footprint. Phrontisterion will also house 'Breathe', a permanent installation by Julian Charrière, alongside his exhibition Hard Core, running from June 6, 2026 to April 5, 2027.