SEARCHING FOR STREET ART IN GEORGE TOWN, PENANG, MALAYSIA
Penang's Famous Street Murals
Before street art murals were commissioned by Ernest Zacharevic in 2012's 'Mirrors George Town' became a hit, there wasn't really much to do in Penang except to eat and shop perhaps.
Since the introduction of street murals, however, George Town has found a new lease of life and breath of fresh air as tourists and locals alike went in search for these hidden, intuitive art murals along the capital of Penang.
I am not offering a guide in locating the mural arts because I would rather you obtain the accurate information from the OFFICIAL MAP GUIDE by Tourism Penang and Penang Tourism Board. Handy guides and maps are easily available at hotels and airports and all you have to do is go on a treasure hunt!
Conservation
These murals come under constant wear and tear from the weather elements as well from humans 'interactions' all too often. Besides serving the greater good of community outreach, I hope there will be groups out there that will carry out restoration efforts for these treasures.
Nothing will deter visitors to George Town in their quests for searching all (almost) famous artworks along the streets!
The Murals
Part of the fun lies in searching and marking your presence with a photo when you spot a piece of these artworks.
Sparkle your creativity and strike your best pose!
Titled: 'Bruce lee with 3 cats', located at the corner along the main streets of Ah Quee.
. Can you spot the 3 cats?
. Can you spot the 3 cats?
Other whimsical artwork, not listed on the map but nearby to the Bruce Lee mural.
'Almost There!' at Lebuh Cannon street portrays a young boy standing on a chair and reaching for the window. This street is filled with other craft shops. This mural is really pretty much unnoticeable if not for the crowd surrounding it for photo taking.
The Craft shops
Cycle Or Walk?
In George Town, You will spot many cyclists. For me, I chose walking at my own pace. Why? I noticed cyclists constantly having to watch out for oncoming traffic from cars and pedestrians, all while having to search for murals on the map, mounting and dismounting the bike for photos etc. Looking to have too much multi-tasking involved, we decided walking to be the better option. We walked our way through the town and managed to cover a huge area as well, finding almost all the murals by the end of our 2 days trip, so it's definitely do-able.
But that is not to say cycling is no fun. I am sure it will bring on another set of experience altogether!
What will you choose?
You can rent double-seats bikes too.
Cyclists everywhere.
More Murals Spotted
More Murals Spotted
Titled: 'Magic'.
But unfortunately, the gates were opened that day else we could have spotted the full picture.
Quaint olden days shops all found in the vicinity as you walk along
'Lion Dance' was located at the corner of Lorong Soo Hong and Lebuh Armenian.
'Mrs Simpsons' along Lorong Soo Hong area
( This was a repaint over the original Minions artwork).
And MINIONS spotted outside an accessories shop!
This is the accessories shop, near to where the 'Mrs Simpsons' was spotted.
This cute opera artwork — 'Culture Girls', can easily be spotted along Lorong Soo Hong.
'Teaching you to Speak Hokkien' done by a Malaysian artist. At the same area.
The Gems
Lebuh Pantai is where the most famous artwork — 'Kids on Bicycle' by Ernest Zacharevic is. The bike frame is affixed to the wall, so let your imagination flow.
Another classic — 'Boy on Motorbike'. Unfortunately, wear and tear were already appearing on this mural.
Hopefully, it stays on longer.
Further down from the 'Boy on Motorbike', it's this cute dinosaur.
Another work.
Another famous work by Louis Gan, a freelance self-taught artist from Penang who gained attention after painting 'Brother and Sister On A Swing'.
Spotted another place to play basketball! Just across the street from the children on swings is 'Children Playing Basketball' also by Louis Gan
'Man on Boat' as it's loosely named. This full-size wall mural painting was done by Julia Volchkova and portrays an Indian old man rowing a boat. This art stands majestically along Lebuh Klang and Steward Lane.
'Kungfu Girl' at Muntri Street by Ernest Zacharevic again.
This gigantic canvas lies behind the shophouses along the streets of The Camera Museum. The colors have faded significantly, though the art is very much impressive with the girl mimicking pushing herself up from the window roofs akin to practising kungfu.
'Man on Boat' as it's loosely named. This full-size wall mural painting was done by Julia Volchkova and portrays an Indian old man rowing a boat. This art stands majestically along Lebuh Klang and Steward Lane.
This gigantic canvas lies behind the shophouses along the streets of The Camera Museum. The colors have faded significantly, though the art is very much impressive with the girl mimicking pushing herself up from the window roofs akin to practising kungfu.
Cats Project
As I researched, I came to know about the '101 Lost Kitten Project' by Thai artist Natthapon Muangkliang and Malaysian artists Louise Low and Tang Yeok Khang, which was a project aimed at creating street cats awareness. Many kitties artwork sighted along the streets belong to this project. Below: Kittens on Poles at Gat Lebuh Armenian.
'Love Me Like You Love Your Fortune Cat'.
Another huge kitten wall mural which you can't miss, angled by a mouse at the corner and the whole effect is really funny. The mouse is believed to have been drawn by a different artist.
More kitties as part of the Project 101.
'Please Care and Bathe Me' .
Some real cat action.
Rickshaw Culture
Being a rickshaw rider under the big glaring sun is no joke.
And perhaps paying tribute to rickshaw riders was what intrigued Ernest Zacharevic to create this largest canvas artwork painted in George Town measuring 15.2 m by 15.2 m. This mural is pretty hard to locate and is on a building facing an open space carpark. Search it if you are along the way towards Cheong Fatt Tze/Blue Mansion. It shows an elderly trishaw peddler resting on a trishaw.
Located at the junction of Jalan Penang and Lebuh Muntri.
Trishaws in this mode are available in abundance in George Town, marking a distinct presence and adding on to the special characteristics to Penang.
Locals At Work
Markings of George Town
Scattered in George Town, you will also spot many of these iron cast structures known as 'Markings of George Town' commissioned by Penang Tourism to highlight fun facts of Penang across the town.
Iron frames part of Marking George Town.
Minion in Chinese suit. This is really funny.
On the way towards Children on Swings, we spotted minions again in the most unpredictable places- peeking from behind doors. Really cute though.
Send A Postcard Home
That's what I always do when overseas. There will be one and only one post card shop in George Town with a bigger scale — The Postcard Shop .
Never forget to purchase some postcards and drop a note back home or to your loved ones!
This store has an extensive range of pretty postcards with many stamps for decoration. Fun to the max and you can mail home and worldwide by purchasing the stamps! I like!
Mural street arts are susceptible to changes and no one can predict when the colors will fade or peel off. Be there quick!
These street arts are reflective of Penang's culture and lifestyle and deserve utmost preservations for future generations.
6 comments
Love this post! I'm always looking for street art wherever I go. I'm planning to to go to a bunch of murals in San Diego, California (where I visit often) to make a post all about it. Pinned this for if I ever go :)
ReplyDeleteJustine
www.theiridescentwings.com
Hi Justine! Wow cool, California murals! Looking forward to reading your post when up.
DeleteGeorgetown, Penang's murals are quite popular and art lovers really love it. It's really cute though. Been to Penang but spent most of the time at the beach and enjoying the local food. :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Joy, yes indeed, they are famous indeed. Glad you have been to Penang before and yup I love the delicious local food too. Come to Singapore one day for more if you have the chance to!
DeleteWhat an incredibly creative town - I had honestly never heard of it before but wow! The Marge Simpson haha love it! Thanks for sharing :]
ReplyDeletehi! thanks for dropping by~ Glad you enjoyed reading. Yes, Marge Simpson was really cute.
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