Mona’s back – but almost fully booked

THE lights are back on and finishing touches have been made as Hobart’s Museum of Old and New Art partially reopens to the public for the first time in five months.

Mona’s award-winning bar and restaurant, Faro, reopened on Friday for six weeks for lunch and dinner experiences, along with live music, performance and art.

Coined the Faro Experiments, diners are told to expect the unexpected, with a mystery menu changing weekly and the theme revealed only when guests are seated.

Mona chief executive Mark Wilsdon said the experiments were as much about the food on offer as the new ways of working.

“COVID has definitely created an environment that’s forced us to look at different ways of doing things,” Mr Wilsdon said.

“It’s given us opportunities to try new things, so we’re looking at different ways we will work and different experiences for customers.

“Obviously we’re looking forward to better times when we have visitation from tourists, but at the moment our focus is our local community and engaging with them.

“It’s about shining a light that Mona is here and getting Mona talked about again.”

Patrons must sign a legal waiver consenting to Mona “experimenting” on them.

“I understand this may involve the ingestion of food, music and art that, even by Mona standards, is conceptually questionable,” the waiver states.

Mr Wilsdon said the main museum would reopen later in the year and reiterated that locals would still not be required to pay an entry fee.

He said the team was working on preparing for the summer festival Mona Foma.

“There are amazing challenges the curators face, but we’re hoping to do a festival,” he said.

The Faro Experiments are almost fully booked, with a few spaces left in the final weeks on Sunday afternoons.