#MyMirka Story: Lily Mora, director of Sunday Salon

Lily Mora is the founder and director of Sunday Salon, an online platform which champions emerging and established Australian artists, making art more accessible for broader audiences. Lily is a third generation art dealer, and Mirka Mora’s granddaughter. Here, she shares some memories of growing up with an irrepressible grandmother…

When I was a child, I remember thinking that Mirka was the most fun person you could be around because she didn’t behave like other adults.

Eating in restaurants with Mirka was always fun, not only because she would order dessert first, but also because restaurants are fertile ground for a good prank. She would climb under the table with me and we would tie all the adults’ shoelaces together and laugh hysterically as they tried to stand up. She showed me how to loosen the lid on the salt shaker just the right amount and watch people then accidentally pour mountains of salt onto their food.

She would also tell you things that you knew she probably shouldn’t tell a child. Like when I was 10 and she told me about the time she fainted after she saw ‘a little dickie’ in the back of a cab…

She was also generous beyond your wildest imagination. She once gave a good friend of mine a bottle of Chanel No. 5 perfume because she thought it was a fitting gift for someone who had just turned five.

Another time, she surprised my brother and I with an impromptu trip to Toys R Us where she gave us a supermarket trolley each and said, “You can have as many toys as you can fit in your trolley – run!”.

She showed me that there is fun and joy to be found in just about any situation. I can still hear her wicked laugh.