MONA's exclusive Ladies Lounge to close - for now

The Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal last month sided with a discrimination complaint made by NSW tourist Jason Lau after he was refused entry to the museum's Ladies Lounge in 2023.

The museum had been given 28 days to stop refusing entry to those who did not identify as female.

The installation, which was designed by artist and museum owner David Walsh's wife, Kirsha Kaechele, is said to feature some of the museum's most important works and symbolises a statement about women's exclusion from male-dominated parts of society and the art world throughout history.

Ms Kaechele on Tuesday said she had made the decision to appeal the tribunal's order for the good of art and law in general.

"We need to challenge the law to consider a broader reading of its definitions as they apply to art and the impact it has on the world, as well as the right for conceptual art to make some people - men - uncomfortable," she said.

"Ladies love the lounge - a space away from men - and given what we have been through for the last several millennia, we need it."

The appeal contends that the tribunal's view was too narrow in terms of women's historical and ongoing societal disadvantage.

It argues the tribunal did not recognise how the experience of the Ladies Lounge promoted equal opportunity.

The museum will comply with the tribunal's order and close the Ladies Lounge until further notice.