MONA: Retreat Underground!

Escape the political pressure this weekend. Retreat underground with us.<

Whether you see it as the end of the world (‘Pompeii’), or a fairytale come true (‘Sleeping Beauty’), we’ve got it covered – right down to the letter – this weekend at Mona.

ART AT MONA

Until September 16, 2013: Works sampled from 10 years of Australian artist Todd McMillan’s absurd and melancholic video-art practice come together in ‘Ten Years of Tears’, on show at MONA in Roy Grounds’ modernist masterpiece, The Round House (which now serves as the Mona Library). Entry is $20 (free for Tasmanian residents and under-18’s). Wednesdays to Mondays, 10am – 5pm www.mona.net.au

Until April 21, 2013: MONA’s major exhibition for the year, ‘The Red Queen’, is an assemblage of major commissions, exciting art loans and yet-unseen works from David Walsh’s collection. The idea behind the exhibition is ‘‘art that explores why art is made’’. Is art necessary to human survival and evolution? Whatever you decide, it’s a lot of fun. Take the kids – there’s a jingly trampoline and a room with 40 TVs. Entry is $20 (free for Tasmanian residents and under-18’s). Wednesdays to Mondays, 10am – 5pm www.mona.net.au

Opens September 27, 2013: The annual Mona Scholarship exhibition opens in the Mona Library Gallery, with 2012 recipient Pip Stafford’s opening of ‘A Rat’s Nest’, continuing until October 19, 2013. The 2013 Mona Scholarship recipient will also be announced on the opening night. www.mona.net.au/scholarship

CINEMONA

POMPEII An exclusive private view in high definition of the British Museum’s major exhibition ‘Life and death in Pompeii and Herculaneum’, focusing on the homes and lives of the inhabitants of the thriving industrial hub of Pompeii and the small seaside town of Herculaneum nearly 2,000 years ago when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79AD. Introduced by British Museum Director Neil MacGregor, this fascinating show will take audiences around the exhibition with insights from renowned experts who will bring these extraordinary objects to life. With accompanying music, poetry and eyewitness accounts, you’ll see specially made films of Pompeii and Herculaneum today, and go behind the scenes of the exhibition to explore the stories of these famous Roman cities.
Ends September 13. Bookings $15, $13, $10, from www.mona.net.au/cinemona and MONA Museum Reception (03) 6277 9971
Thursday 5 Sept 11.45am & 1.30pm & 3.15pm
Friday 6 Sept 11.45am & 1.30pm
Saturday 7 Sept 12pm
Sunday 8 Sept 12pm
Monday 9 Sept 12pm
& more session times online at www.mona.net.au/cinemona

POMPEII FOR SCHOOLS Specially created for children aged 7-11, ‘Pompeii for Schools’ is presented in a lively and entertaining style designed to engage a young audience, the film explores behind the scenes of the British Museum’s blockbuster exhibition ‘Life and death in Pompeii and Herculaneum’ and links to the curriculum across a range of subjects, including history, science, art and design, PSHE and citizenship. In similar spirit to ‘Horrible Histories’, children’s television presenters Ed Petrie and Naomi Wilkinson, accompanied by children from London primary schools, discover what life was like for Romans living in the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. From blind food tasting and simulating volcanic explosions, to Latin lessons and excavating Roman remains in the British Museum basement, ‘Pompeii for Schools’ tells the dramatic story of events leading up to the eruption of Vesuvius and its devastating impact on the inhabitants of both cities.
Standard prices $20 adult / $18 conc / $15 child or school / group bookings $15 / $13 / $10, from Museum Reception (03) 6277 9971
Thursday 5 Sept10.15am
Friday 6 Sept 10.15am
Saturday 7 Sept 10.45am
Sunday 8 Sept 10.45am
Monday 9 Sept 10.15am
& more session times online at www.mona.net.au/cinemona

SLEEPING BEAUTY A gothic romance with music by Tchaikovsky. Perrault’s timeless fairy tale, about a young girl cursed to sleep for 100 years, was turned into a legendary ballet by Tchaikovsky and choreographer, Marius Petipa, in 1890. Choreographer Matthew Bourne (‘Nutcracker!’ of 1992 and ‘Swan Lake’ with an all-male cast of 1995) takes this date as his starting point, setting the Christening of Aurora, the story’s heroine, at the height of the Fin-de-Siecle period when fairies, vampires and decadent opulence fed the gothic imagination. 2013 Olivier Award Nominee for Outstanding Achievement in Dance
Standard prices $23 adult / $21 conc / $15 child, plus school/group bookings, from Museum Reception (03) 6277 9971.
Saturday 7 Sept 2pm
Sunday 8 Sept 2pm
Monday 9 Sept 2pm
Thurs 12 Sept 2pm

MUSIC AT MONA

Saturday 7 Sept 1pm-3pm: For MoFolk (Folk at MONA) this week, Tilley delivers some folky vocal versatility that’s sure to make you swoon. www.mona.net.au/what’s-on/music

Sunday 8 Sept 1pm-4pm: JAM (Jazz at MONA) features a bit of jazz improv, brought to you by Ben Panucci, Alex Boneham and James Waples. Expect an individual, authentic spin on the Hot Club of France, plus much more. www.mona.net.au/what’s-on/music

Saturday 19 Oct 7.30pm: Synthesiser please… Since emerging on the Australian music scene in 2012, young Tasmanian songstress Asta has been on fire – as has her heart. She’s run the gamut of supports and festivals and now she’s wrapping up her first nationwide tour, ‘Synergy’, with Berriedale the focus for the final blast. Come on down to funky town, thirteen-metres underground. Tickets: $25 / $20 from www.mona.net.au/what’s-on/events and on the door.
LITERARY MONA

Sunday 8 & Monday 9 Sept
Nationally-acclaimed literary salon Women of Letters makes its Tasmanian premiere in MONA’s Eros and Thanatos rooms on Sunday from 2.30pm with panellists Kabita Dhara, Posie Graeme-Evans, Missy Higgins, Louise Saunders, Maria Venuti and Alison Whyte discussing ‘A letter to the advice I should have taken’. People of Letters kicks off at 6.30pm on Monday with panellists Pinky Beecroft, Paul Dempsey, Dewayne Everettsmith, Maria Grenfell, Lally Katz, Michael Veitch and Danielle Wood discussing ‘A letter to the thing I wish I’d written’. Both events are sold out.

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MONA
Museum of Old and New Art
655 Main Rd, Berriedale, Tasmania
Opening hours: 10am – 5pm (last entry 4.30pm)
Entry $20 (free for Tasmanian residents & under 18)
Ph 61 3 6277 9900
www.mona.net.au
Rebecca Fitzgibbon Events Media Manager Museum of Old and New Art