Penang street art was made famous by Ernest Zacharevic an artist from Lithuania, after he created murals for the George Town Festival in 2012. Louis Gan is a local street artist that needs to be mentioned here too. This amazing artist has a hearing disability and was born deaf with a speech impediment. He had a love for art and taught himself how to paint through watching videos and practicing on canvas. Along with these two great artists work, George Town is now home to many new pieces by both commissioned artists and local street artists alike. For the 2013 George Town Festival the ASA, Artists for Stray Animals, were commissioned to do a project called “101 Lost Kittens” to create more awareness for strays. Along with these giant wall murals that were commissioned, you’ll find local artists showcasing their work on pipes, down alleys, in doorways and in front of shops. Paintings are not all you’ll find in George Town. There are also 50+ wrought-iron caricatures named “Marking George Town” that tell the history of Penang’s Georgetown in the form of a funny cartoon. There is always something new to see when you walk the streets of downtown George Town.
There is a map you can pick up that shows where all the popular murals and iron structures are. You can follow the map and walk around on your own, take the free CAT bus or for 30 MYR (~$7.00) an hour you can hire a trishaw to take you around to all the different spots.
GEORGE TOWN’S POPULAR WALL MURALS
“Little Children on a Bicycle” by Ernest Zacharevic
Cross Streets: Lebuh Armenian and Lebuh Pantai
“Little Girl in Blue” by Ernest Zacharevic
Location: Jalan Muntri in-between Love Lane & Lebuh Leith
“Boy on Bike” by Ernest Zacharevic
Cross Streets: Lebuh Ah Queen and Lebuh Pantai
“The Awaiting Trishaw Paddler” by Desmond Yeo
Cross Streets: Jalan Penang & Jalan Muntri
“Skippy Comes to Penang” by ASA – Artists for Stray Animals
Location: Lebuh Armenian in-between Beach St & Lebuh victoria
“Children on the Swing” by Louis Gan
Location: Chulia Street in the alley between Lebuh Victoria & Pengkalan Weld
“Sister and Brother Playing Basketball” by Louis Gan
Location: Chulia Street in the alley between Lebuh Victoria & Pengkalan Weld
“The Real Bruce Lee Would Never Do This” by ASA – Artists for Stray Animals
Location: Lebuh Ah Queen down an alley (Cross Street Lebuh Pantai)
IRON CARICATURES
“Too Narrow”
‘The hand pulled rickshaw was the most popular form of transportation in early Penang’
Cross Streets: Lorong Soo Hong and Lebuh Armenian
“Double Role”
‘Up until 1909 the police doubled as George Town’s firefighters’
Location: Gat Lebuh Chulia (next to the fire fighter base camp)
“Ting Ting Thong”
‘Seck Chuan Lane was a distribution center for market produce many itinerant hawkers took advantage of the crowds by plying their food here. One of the favorite food sold is Ting Ting Thong or rock candy a hardened mixture of sugar, ses seeds, and nuts loved by kids. It has to be chi and hammered to break it into smaller biteable pieces.’
Location: Seck Chuan Lane
“Budget Hotels”
‘At the turn of the last century many shophouses were turned into cheap hotels and making this internationally known tourist strip very popular with backpackers.’
Cross Streets: Lebuh Chulia & Love Lane
“Narrowest Five Foot Way”
Location: Lorong Stewart
HIN BUS DEPOT
Although the main murals in downtown are beautiful, my favorite art pieces were at Hin Bus Depot. As the name suggests, it’s right by the bus station, and when you walk through the coffee shop, you’ll find a playground full of art murals. Hin Bus Depot also has monthly art shows so you’ll always find one going on there. Check their Facebook page for the most current show. What I love about this place is the random ‘Vans Off The Wall’ skate ramp in a section of the park. There’s also artwork by Alex Face who is a famed street artist from Bangkok; you’ll recognize his baby in bunny onesie hiding between a couple of trees.