Music
Open your ears
Hours:
Friday to Monday, 10am–5pm
If the weather is good, the music is outside on the lawns. If it’s crap, it’s inside the Ether building nearby. In the museum, you might find musicians-in-residence performing live each day.
Upcoming
Finn Seccombe
Free
Finn Seccombe
13 December 1pm–3pm
Finn Seccombe
Mona Lawns
Finn Seccombe
Free
13 December 1pm–3pm
Mona Lawns
Friday 13 December 2024
Finn Seccombe
Lush, cross-pollinated soul and jazz from an arch-top guitar and Finn's pipes.
Free
13 December 1–3pm
Mona Lawns
Saturday 14 December 2024
Jen Valender presents Aeolus: Wind Harp Jam
Three aeolian harp-sculptures (which will be played by the wind), accompanied by harpist Genevieve Fry.
Free
14 December 1–3pm
Mona Lawns
Sunday 15 December 2024
Kelly Ottaway
One of the state's most accomplished composers and jazz musicians, and a piano.
Free
15 December 1–3pm
Mona Lawns
Monday 16 December 2024
Kave Milc
'Sonic guides' here to take you on a little trip: ambient textures, experimental rhythms, electronic melodies. Maybe some cryptic prophesies, too.
Free
16 December 1–3pm
Mona Lawns
Thursday 19 December 2024
TEAHOUSE
Otherworldly mix-and-match sounds from classical instruments (including sitar, tabla, Indian violin, harp and flute), five-string bass and synth.
Free
19 December 1–3pm
Mona Lawns
Friday 20 December 2024
Tapir
Tapir are 'a pair of herbivorous ungulates who steer a course between summoning up mirage-like soundscapes from some hidden world, and pitching headlong into the deepest of grooves.'
Free
20 December 1–3pm
Mona Lawns
Saturday 21 December 2024
Charles Malovnek Trio
Energetic, expressive jazz and blues.
Free
21 December 1–2pm
Mona Lawns
Kimi Nakagawa
Okinawan folk songs for sanshin and vocals.
Free
21 December 2–3pm
Mona Lawns
Sunday 22 December 2024
Jethro Pickett
Maverick songwriter / producer Jethro crafts beguiling, off-kilter recordings moored by pleasing melodies and spools of 24-track instrumentation.
Free
22 December 1–2pm
Mona Lawns
EWAH
Guitar and vocals that vary from intimate to expansive, coloured with flecks of psychedelic folk, alt-country, and art pop.
Free
22 December 2–3pm
Mona Lawns
Monday 23 December 2024
Ally Oliver
Emotive tales of grief and acceptance in the mould of the folk icons of old, backed by her debuting new band.
Free
23 December 1–3pm
Mona Lawns
Thursday 26 December 2024
Warren and Donna Mason
Proud Yuwaalaraay man (and fifteen year Tassie transplant) Warren—who's the brains / muscle behind Tin Camp Studios—is joined by teacher, healer and musician Donna for some songs and stories.
Free
26 December 12–1pm
Mona Lawns
Q.E.
Aphex meets pop, plus noise. 'Intelligible pop songs that are more primeval than poetic'.
Free
26 December 1–2pm
Mona Lawns
Sasha Gavlek Quartet
Groove and alt-jazz originals exploring themes of self-discovery, nostalgia, and sometimes bugs.
Free
26 December 2–4pm
Mona Lawns
Friday 27 December 2024
Coral Sculptures
Coral Sculptures live by the credo of 'Eat. Pray. Shoegaze.' Swirling, ethereal vocals with loping shoegaze pulse and melodic basslines.
Free
27 December 1–2pm
Mona Lawns
Stormworm and La Sauvage
Haunting vocal melodies and French spoken word reverberate over electronic pulses and synth passages.
Free
27 December 2–4pm
Mona Lawns
Saturday 28 December 2024
The Black Sea Carnys
Brooding, experimental quartet blending darkwave, post-punk and industrial rock.
Free
28 December 1–2pm
Mona Lawns
Bing/Santospirito
Hypnotic improvised sounds for violin, piano, drums (Bing) and guitar, piano and drums (Santospirito). Noise, improv, jazz.
Free
28 December 2–4pm
Mona Lawns
Sunday 29 December 2024
LCO Trio
Lead by Melbourne based drummer Liam O'Leary, LCO Trio will take you through the sights and sounds of some original and standard jazz music with some of Hobart's finest home grown local musicians.
Free
29 December 1–2pm
Mona Lawns
OM3
Tenacious, high-energy improvisers fusing hip-hop, post-punk and funk.
Free
29 December 2–4pm
Mona Lawns
Monday 30 December 2024
Comrad Xero
Techno-factory: live bass from Graham Meredith, plus keyboards and vocals over prerecorded sounds composed by Comrad Xero themselves.
Free
30 December 1–2pm
Mona Lawns
Philomath
An improv band with a philosophy of musical risk-taking, who are aiming to reach an alternate sonic universe.
Free
30 December 2–4pm
Mona Lawns
Wednesday 1 January 2025
South Weight Hi-Fi
A big, hand-built sound system that'll be pumping out family-friendly day-party jams. Dub, reggae, roots, plus the odd cultural offshoot.
Free
1 January 2025 12–4pm
Mona Lawns
Thursday 2 January 2025
208L Containers
Absurdist rockers straddling the line between post-punk and pub rock. Imagine John Clarke riffing over a slightly warped Minutemen cassette.
Free
2 January 2025 1–2pm
Mona Lawns
Tasha Zapppala
lutruwita / Tasmania-based singer-songwriter, sound artist and researcher who spends her time touring, making billypots of beans, drinking tea and capturing field recordings.
Free
2 January 2025 2–4pm
Mona Lawns
Friday 3 January 2025
Willow Nischler
Not easily pigeon-holed, but if you were going to, you'd probably say post-punk wrapped in a cloak of alt-folk (from a young woman trying to find her place in the world).
Free
3 January 2025 1–2pm
Mona Lawns
La Descarga
A 'tropical boom experience full of fiery colourfulness and boneshaking rhythms' inspired by—and maintaining—the folkloric rhythms of coastal Colombia.
Free
3 January 2025 2–4pm
Mona Lawns
Saturday 4 January 2025
Tai Harlii
RnB and jazzy space jams. Might get a bit goth-y (in a good way).
Free
4 January 2025 1–2pm
Mona Lawns
TIM BOH
Innovative soundscapes from the bleeding edge of IDM and experimental electronic. A hybrid performance of live stuff and DJ work.
Free
4 January 2025 2–4pm
Mona Lawns
Sunday 5 January 2025
Den.
Heartfelt blends of blues, folk and pop, layered with stirring electropop-esque rhythms and moody counter-melodies.
Free
5 January 2025 1–2pm
Mona Lawns
Monday 6 January 2025
Naomi Baltyn
Captivating, ethereal emotionally charged solo stuff from an accomplished ex-Boorloo / Perth songwriter.
Free
6 January 2025 1–2pm
Mona Lawns
Jamie Pregnell Trio
JP leads a jazz-posse with his elite guitar skills.
Free
6 January 2025 2–4pm
Mona Lawns
Thursday 9 January 2025
Rain of Animals
Instrumental wizardry and vocal harmonies ft. mandolin, fiddle and guitar. Bluegrass, oldtime, swing.
Free
9 January 2025 2–4pm
Mona Lawns
Friday 10 January 2025
The Pits
Ex-Queensland punks making music to get your mum pogoing.
Free
10 January 2025 1–2pm
Mona Lawns
Saturday 11 January 2025
Bextexta
Trip-hop, shoegaze and hints of Britpop through a dense wash of synth, guitar and beats.
Free
11 January 2025 1–2pm
Mona Lawns
Nice House
Your 'new-wave pop-rock neighbours in short shorts and sneakers, asking risqué questions over the scraggly fences of nipaluna / Hobart'. Vocal pizazz, synths, plenty of dancing.
Free
11 January 2025 2–4pm
Mona Lawns
Monday 13 January 2025
Shark and Fox
Murder ballads: subwoofer-boosted accordion, twanging gourd banjo licks played on a fretless children's Stratocaster, vintage synths controlled by a violin, and an Argentinian bombo fashioned into a drumkit.
Free
13 January 2025 2–4pm
Mona Lawns
Accessibility
Getting on the ferry
Getting on the ferry
The lower deck is accessible for mobility aids and prams, and includes a bar and accessible toilet. Upon arrival at Mona, you will disembark at the bottom of 99 stairs that lead up to the museum entrance.
Getting around
Getting around
Mobility aids
Mona is mostly accessible for mobility aids (wheelchairs, walking frames and scooters), prams, and assistance and guide dogs. The museum has a ground-level entrance, including an information desk, cloaking and shop; and three subterranean floors: B1 nearest the top, then B2, and B3 at the very bottom. Three lifts operate inside the museum: the main lift takes you from the museum entrance down to B3 and B1; the internal lift shuttles between B3, B2 and B1, but does not exit the museum; and the Pharos atrium travels from B3 to B2, connecting the underground tunnel network. We recommend bringing your own mobility aids (there’s quite a bit of walking in the museum). Mona has some wheelchairs available to borrow, but these can’t be reserved in advance. Speak to staff at the museum entrance when you get here.
Some parts of the museum are not accessible with mobility aids: the Pausiris chamber, parts of the heritage-listed Round House building, and certain artworks such as James Turrell’s Unseen Seen, Richard Wilson’s 20:50 and Alfredo Jaar’s The Divine Comedy.
Taking a break
There are seats throughout the museum if you want to relax (just don’t sit on the art, the curators get sad when that happens, unless it’s an art seat). There’s even a bar. Settle in. Have a drink. If you need somewhere quiet for a break, try the parent and carer room on B3. Speak to gallery staff positioned throughout the museum if you need assistance.
Good to know
The museum can get a bit dark, noisy and sometimes smelly. Strobe lighting operates in some areas; check the map on your O. Be aware if you don’t like confined spaces. Ditto the feeling of getting a bit lost. It’s all part of your journey through Mona. Mona’s grounds are a bit hilly and mostly accessible via footpaths and ramps. Here you’ll find the mostly accessible Moorilla Wine Bar and Ether Building, which houses accommodation reception on the ground floor and the Source Restaurant and Cellar Door upstairs (accessible via lift).
Contact
Contact
If you have any questions or specific requirements, contact our Bookings and Enquiries team before your visit.
And if you have any feedback on accessibility at Mona, please let us know by filling out this form.