Museum of Contemporary Art Australia introduces admission fees, reversing free entry after 25 years

In 2025 Australia’s only public museum dedicated to contemporary art will charge $20 for admission in what appears to be a lifeline decision.
Museum of Contemporary Art Australia at night. A building lit up in pink, blue, purple and orange lights at night.

The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA) has made the decision to introduce a $20 general admission fee starting 31 January 2025 – for the first time in 25 years.

In an email circulated today (18 December), MCA Chair Lorraine Tarabay said, “In the absence of an uplift in government funding, as of January 2025, the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA Australia) will no longer be in a position to offer free admission to the public.“

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Celina Lei is ArtsHub's Content Manager. She has previously worked across global art hubs in Beijing, Hong Kong and New York in both the commercial art sector and art criticism. She took part in drafting NAVA’s revised Code of Practice - Art Fairs and was the project manager of ArtsHub’s diverse writers initiative, Amplify Collective. Celina is based in Naarm/Melbourne. Instagram @lleizy_