it’s one of those nearly impossible destinations: the museum of old and new art in hobart, tasmania, australia. conceived by david walsh – a tasmanian self-confessed geek, atheist, vegetarian, mathematician, gambler, art collector, etc.
mr. walsh is offering a pretty comprehensive package: next door to the museum, a winery, moorila, and, for the art-hungry in need of accommodation, there are eight amazing pavilions to choose from. of course, a gourmet restaurant, the source. here’s the menu. and a wine bar, given the winery…for the connoisseurs, here’s the wine list.
they are opening the museum this weekend! did i mention there’s no entry fee? damn distance! cuz that’s where i wanna be! tonight groupe f, the famous pyro-technicians, will set things on fire! and tomorrow, there’ll be a wire, health and true live concert.
an early bloomer, david went through shelly and chaucher as a pre-schooler, before getting really interested in science. and, when the first legal casino opened down the road from his house, he found in it the perfect place to test his knowledge. soon, he was counting cards and developing algorithms for predicting the winning horse. by his late twenties, he was very rich. out of his gambling winnings, he spent 61 million sterling pounds on art and an extra 31 million for a nonda katsalidis building to house it.
now, that’s my kind of guy! but, besides the obvious damien hirst and chapman brothers purchases, the collection includes antique egyptian scarabs and roman empire coins, among many others. apparently, he also got erwin wurm’s fat car!
walsh says: “the museum is going to be a subversive adult disneyland. my intent is serious, but the process is comic.”
now, excuse me for a second while i’m adding tasmania cheap flights to my search engine alerts. fingers crossed!
photo credits: mona
