Malaysia 2014: Penang’s Street Art in George Town

One of the most popular activity when in Penang is to see (as many as you can) the different art installation along the streets of George Town. There are two main type of “street art” that you can find here, they are the steel installations and street paintings or murals. We only focused on taking the photo of the street paintings because most of the steel installations where always blocked by either parked cars or being covered by temporary food shops.

In celebration of 2012 George Town Festival, the town council decided bring into life the old buildings around George Town so they asked Ernest Zacharevic, a young Lithuanian-born artist to “paint the town” not just in red but with different colors. The project called “Mirror George Town” has seen some of the selected streets in George Town come to life by Ernest’s extra-ordinary paintings and murals. Seeing how this arts attracted more tourists, a lot of locals later on came out and offer their spaces for other art installations.

Trishaw Man along Jalan Penang Road
One of Ernest Zacharevic’s creation, Trishaws used to be a popular mode of transport in the olden days in Penang. The location for this trishaw mural resembles the trishaw riders’ waiting area near the Cititel Hotel.

 

KUNGFU GIRL along Lebuh Muntri (very near Camera Museum)
Another Zacharevi creation, “Kungfu Girl” is a giant mural of a girl trying to lift herself up with both her hands on the window. If you are visiting the Camera Museum, try to catch this painting nearby.

 

Boy on Chair along Lebuh Cannon
“Boy on Chair” is a mural located along Lebuh Cannon. The boy standing on a chair and inching himself to reach as high as he can.

 

Magic, along Lebuh Armenian
The wall mural “Magic” depicts a frightened little girl over a magic show performed by a magician.

 

Three Cultural Ladies along Lorong Armenian
This mural caricature depicts three different girls in traditional costumes.

 

Kids on Bicycle along Lebuh Armenian
The “Kids on Bicycle” mural located at Lebuh Armenian is painted by Ernest Zacharevic, most of the time there is a long queue for photo taking in this area, also try the cendol in the store facing this area 😉

 

Love Me Like Your Fortune Cat along Gat Lebuh Armenian
“Love Me Like Your Fortune Cat” is one of the murals painted by ASA, Artists for Stray Animals, in George Town, Penang. Fortune cats are cat dolls that are often found in Japanese and Taiwanese restaurants, near the cashier. See the poor little mouse on top left corner 😉

 

Skippy along Gat Lebuh Armenian
“Skippy” or a giant cat mural bless the walls of George Town in conjunction with George Town Festival 2013.

 

“Hiding Mouse” (I’m not sure the about the actual name) along Gat Lebuh Armenian
At the end of the wall where Skippy was painted, there is a mouse who seems hiding from Skippy.

 

Cats walking for animal awareness along Gat Lebuh Armenian
The cats walking for animal awareness mural is the 8th of 11 murals created for the 101 Lost Kittens project, to generate greater awareness of stray animals.

 

Old Motorcycle along Lebuh Ah Quee
The “Old Motorcycle” mural on Lebuh Ah Quee is painted by Ernest Zacharevic, a young Lithuania-born artist. Sorry I cannot help myself anymore and decided to be part of the picture this time 😉

 

“The Window” along Lebuh Ah Quee near the “Old Motorecycle”
I just find the composition very beautiful so I took a shot 😉

 

Bruce Lee along Lebuh Ah Quee
“Bruce Lee” is one of the murals painted by ASA, Artists for Stray Animals, in George Town, Penang for the 101 Lost Kittens project. Sadly, I do not think this painting will last any longer due to weather corrosion 😦

 

Brother and Sister on a Swing along Gat Lebuh Chulia
“Brother and Sister on a Swing” is a wall mural of two young children, a boy and a girl, standing on a swing.

 

Children Playing Basketball along Gat Lebuh Chulia
The Children Playing Basketball wall mural is painted by local artist Louis Gan.

I want Bao along Lebuh Victoria next to Ming Xiang Tai Pastry Shop

 

Other notable “arts” you can find around the streets of George Town

A head of a dog catching a meat, very near the Bruce Lee painting.

 

The head of an elephant whose nose is made of a plastic pipe, also near the Bruce Lee painting
A Bicycle “parked” near the “Boy on Chair”, I’m not sure if it really being used or if it’s an art installation but very noticeable is it’s “compartment”.

 

While walking around, we saw this messages wall for the passengers of the (still) missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 were written, so we decided to stop for a while a say a little pray and write a simple well message.

Finding this painting and murals one by one is a very fun activity, it is like treasure hunting around the town. There are a lot of free maps available from airport or hotels which can guide you on how to plan your route. As you can see, most of the murals are slowly degrading as a result of corrosion due to harsh weather conditons and other pollutants. (considering that most of them are just a little over 2 years ago) so if you have time, better visit them soon before they are totally gone.