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Mona opens $100m new wing designed by Anselm Kiefer after four-year construction
The long-awaited new wing at Mona has finally opened after four years of construction – and “knackered” owner David Walsh has revealed the eye-watering price of the impressive new building.
Walsh says the idea for the wing had its genesis more than 15 years ago, when he himself experienced a “Damascene moment” upon visiting La Ribaute.
“Our first visit to La Ribaute came four years before Mona opened. I wanted (and I want) Mona to be as commanding, as compelling and as discomforting,” Walsh said in a blog post on Friday.
“Mona was going to be so drab, so unwhole compared to this. What could we do? Giving in seemed a reasonable option, but we were into construction in Hobart. I was literally in over my head.”
And so Walsh’s vision of building a monument to Kiefer – complete with ‘dream library’ – was deferred, while other additions to the museum, such as the Pharos wing and the Siloam underground tunnel network, were prioritised.
“More years passed. And I thought about La Ribaute, and how I was sanctified there, and about how few were possessed of the opportunity to be amplified by its joy, since visiting isn’t easy,” he said.
A new wing of Mona has opened after four years of construction. It comprises a giant new artwork by the German neo-expressionist artist Anselm Kiefer. Picture: Instagram/Emma Bugg
Through Mona artistic director, Olivier Varenne, Walsh asked Kiefer’s permission to build “something like the vast concrete amphitheatre” at La Ribaute.
“If Mohammed won’t go to the mountain, the mountain should come to Mohammed,” Walsh said.
The Mona boss was candid when discussing the cost of his latest pet project, conceding that the budget had blown out from an initial $11m to more than $100m.
“[It’s] much, much more than I can afford,” he wrote. “Scope creep. And new ideas. And new works. And … And …
Founder of Mona David Walsh. Picture: Zak Simmonds
Walsh has previously proposed to build a high roller casino at the museum, as well as a 176-room hotel.
While the hotel plan was put on the backburner in 2021, Walsh has indicated that he hasn’t given up on the idea.
“I’m knackered. And I’ve had my apotheosis. So let’s build a hotel that I can’t afford and suffer some more,” he said.
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