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- Mona Removes Entry Deposit for Tasmanians as Local Visitation Surges
The Museum of Old and New Art (Mona) has made it even easier for Tasmanians to visit, announcing it has removed the $5 entry deposit for all local visitors.
The change comes just weeks after the opening of Phrontisterion, Mona’s new library, which has already sparked a significant increase in local visitation. Since opening, more than 6,000 Tasmanians have visited the museum in just two weeks—more than double the number recorded during the same period last year.
The response has also been strong from schools, with more than 600 students already booked to explore the new library and museum in the coming months. To coincide with the school holidays, Mona has introduced several new family-friendly menu items at Heavy Metal Kitchen, including a plant-based Joey Burger, Un-Chicken Nuggets and a Fish Finger Po’boy.
Mona CEO Philippa Holmes said the decision was made to encourage more Tasmanians to experience everything the museum now has to offer.
“We wanted to make it as easy as possible for Tasmanians to visit and revisit the museum, especially now that Phrontisterion is open. We’ve absolutely loved the support it’s received from locals—including kids’ enthusiastic explorations of the Children’s Library—so we decided to remove the $5 deposit for all Tasmanians in time for the school holidays.”
Mona founder David Walsh reflected on the importance of libraries in creating opportunity.
“My first library card was the great leveller, the thing that gave impoverished child-me a chance to seek. I wasn’t so impoverished at all, because I lived in a society that, despite its many failures, put libraries in suburbs, books in hands, and opportunity within reach.”
Alongside the new library, Mona continues to refresh its permanent collection through regular rotations, giving returning visitors something new to discover throughout the year.
Visitors can also experience the museum’s latest major exhibition, Hard Core by Julian Charrière, running until 29 March 2027. The exhibition explores the relationship between humanity and the natural world through glaciers, volcanoes, rock formations and immersive installations, including Breathe, a permanent chamber that releases oxygen trapped within iron ore for billions of years.
While entry is now free for Tasmanians, visitors are still encouraged to book timed-entry tickets online to secure their preferred arrival time. Bookings containing only free museum entry will not incur a booking fee.
The announcement comes ahead of the busy winter school holiday period, providing another reason for locals to rediscover one of Tasmania’s most visited cultural attractions.