David Walsh, the billionaire owner of the Museum of Old and New Art (Mona) in Tasmania, announced the opening of a major extension housing 'Elektra', a multilevel concrete amphitheatre by German artist Anselm Kiefer. The project, which cost over AUS$100 million, opened on December 19 with a performance featuring dancers Juliet Burnett and Cecilia Martin, bassist Nick Tsiavos, and vocalist Deborah Kayser. Kiefer, Walsh, and Walsh's wife Kirsha Kaechele attended the unveiling. Elektra is Kiefer's second permanent installation at Mona, joining his 2007 work 'Sternenfall/ Shevirath ha Kelim'.
The extension matters because it represents a deeply personal and ambitious commitment by Walsh to realize a vision inspired by a 2007 visit to Kiefer's studio-estate in France, which he describes as a 'Damascene moment'. The project, which underwent significant 'scope creep' over four years, aims to offer visitors an experience of art as 'compelling and as discomforting' as what Walsh first encountered. It also reinforces Mona's reputation as a destination for monumental, site-specific installations by major international artists, alongside works by Ai Weiwei, Alfredo Jaar, Wim Delvoye, and Charles Ross.