Headed up to Penang for a quick weekend getaway? Here’s a detailed and in-depth guide to help you find where exactly all the famous works of Penang street art in George Town, the central part of Penang where you’ll find most of the tourists. I have another guide dedicated to street art in Penang outside the George Town core area, and here are some ideas for other things to do in Penang besides hunting street art.
Post updated: Dec 2017
There has been quite a boom of street art in Penang since 2012 and my last trip in 2014 when I first created this post. To make things easier for you, I’ll be recommending some routes that you can follow, as well as have a handy Google Map on hand so you can plan for short walks when exploring George Town on your own.
There’s a lot of information to take in – use this menu for a quick way to find the information. The route colours correspond to those on the Google Map above. I’m thinking of doing individual maps, but maybe later on because hell just updating this post for 2016 took me most of the day!
If you are looking for accommodation options, check out The Frame Guesthouse [booking.com affiliate link] where I stayed in 2016, or Mango Tree Place [booking.com affiliate link] in 2014 (review here), both were pretty good places I’d recommend.
Booking.com affiliate links means that if you click through and make a booking, I get a small % commission from them, at no extra cost to you. This helps pay for my hosting and maintenance fees. I use booking.com on most of my own travels as well.
Suggested routes to find street art in Georgetown, Penang
- A quick intro to the various street art projects that have coloured Penang
- Orange: Lebuh Ah Quee > Lebuh Pantai > Lebuh Gat Chulia
- Red: Lebuh Armenian > Lorong Soo Hong > Gat Lebuh Armenian > Chew Jetty
- Yellow: Lebuh Cannon > Lorong Lumut > Lorong Toh Aka
- Green: Lebuh Stewart > Jalan Muntri > Jalan Penang > Leith Street > Lebuh Chulia
If you are feeling adventurous, I have another guide to help you venture outside of Georgetown Core and other parts of Penang for more street art!
Street Art Projects in Penang
The street art in Penang can be classified into several categories below.
Ernest Zacharevic works
This Lithuanian artist is probably the reason why street art became such a big deal to Penang in the first place, after his commissioned work ‘Mirrors George Town’ for the George Town Festival back in 2012 became a big hit. His works are by far the most popular out of all the street art I saw, with queues forming to take pictures with these works and appearing on souvenirs quite prominently. He recently had a solo exhibition in early 2014 titled Art is Rubbish is Art, and now has works that can be found in various part of Malaysia, Singapore and Europe.
101 Lost Kittens
This collection of 12 cat-related street artworks is a project by Thai artist Natthapon Muangkliang and Malaysian artists Louise Low and Tang Yeok Khang aimed at creating awareness towards stray animals. Here’s a quite detailed blogpost about where you can find all the 101 Lost Kittens artworks.
Urban Exchange 2014 and 2015
Creative space Hin Bus Depot and Urban Nation organizes an annual urban arts festival that invites both local Malaysian and prominent overseas street arts to Penang to transform the buildings with murals and street art. Beyond murals, it also brings together contemporary art and outdoor art installations to the streets of Penang.
Marking George Town
These 52 iron structures can be found in abundance throughout George Town, and were actually commissioned by the Penang Tourism Board to provide a fun pictoral anecdote about the history of the street it is located on, and is a rather fun way to learn a little bit about Penang’s heritage. I don’t cover that in here because the locations are already pretty well documented by the Tourism Board
Others
There are many different street artworks besides those listed above, some by random artists and others commissioned by the local tenants. I tried my best to find out info about these artists and credit them accordingly here, but if you do have updates, please let me know!
Resources
- I highly recommend you pick up the Marking George Town map by Penang’s tourism board from the airport as a hard copy guide to Penang’s street art
- Another handy resource I used for my 2016 trip is Travel2Penang, which is pretty detailed and the street view maps were simultaneously useful yet hard to read somehow
*Remember that street art is transient and ever-changing and I might have overlooked some spots!
ORANGE Part I:
LEBUH AH QUEE (Ah Quee Street)
Start from Lebuh Cannon junction and walk down towards Jalan Pantai junction.
At junction with Lorong Pit: This Marking George Town structure explains how Ah Quee street got its name. The minion next to it shouting at the yellow hydrant is pretty amusing
Off Lebuh Ah Quee: You should across this odd little clearing to your left as you walk, and there’s a bunch of random street art in this place that’s quite fun (didn’t take pictures then, too crowded!), but in particular, this one is a part of 101 Lost Kittens project, and is quite a hilarious piece called ‘The Real Bruce Lee Would Never Do This’. Note that there are 3 cats in this picture! Update Feb 2016 – this piece is looking a bit worse for wear now…
Close to Jalan Pantai junction: Update Feb 2016 – Ernest Zacharevic came back in 2016 to do a little touching up for his various artworks, so this work that I saw fading in 2014 is now restored, yay!
Just past Ernest Z’s Boy and Dino: Another popular piece of Ernest Zacharevic’s, of a boy on a motorbike. Update Feb 2016 – The motorbike seat has seen some serious wear and tear from all the tourists pretending to perch on the back for photos, though it was patched when I saw it this time! Expect this one to be crowded as well
Just past Ernest Z’s Boy on Bike: look for some 3D sculptures on the wall – this one looks like a Chinese dragon
Near Jalan Pantai Junction: On the wall facing Ernest Z’s work is this piece featuring a man wearing a shirt of the Malaysian flag. It’s marked with a ’27’ – anyone know who it’s by?
ORANGE Part II:
LEBUH PANTAI (Beach Street)
Turn left at the Lebuh Pantai junction. Walk past Gat Lebuh Chulia junction. Before you reach Lebuh Pasar, you should come across a carpark on your left where you should see these two artworks quite easily:
I first saw German Karl Addison aka idrawalot‘s work in Sheung Wan, but his sketchy style is pretty distinctive. This huge piece on one side of the carpark is called Symbiotic Relationship for UX2014.
On the other side of the carpark facing idrawalot is this work by Malaysian artist Fauzan Faud, also for UX2014. The colours are pretty outstanding
ORANGE Part 3:
Gat Lebuh Chulia
Turn back down Lebuh Pantai and walk towards Gat Lebuh Chulia. Turn left and walk towards Pengkalan Weld aka Weld Quay.
Between Lebuh Victoria and Pengkalan Weld: There is a small alleyway to the left of Gat Lebuh Chulia. This piece by Louis Gan is on the right side of the alley. Like Ernest Z’s work, this one features a 3D swing and 2D murals of children standing on it. Step by Step Lane is also painted on.
On the other side of the alley from the swing work is this Chinese style minion. Note the other minion heads on the right peeking around the door!
*on the opposite of Gat Lebuh Chulia is another alleyway. Within that one you can see another of Louis Gan’s murals, which show two kids playing basketball. I missed that this time around!
RED Part I:
CHEW JETTY
After you are done with the orange route above, continue walking down Gat Lebuh Chulia till you reach Pengkalan Weld. Turn right and walk down the road (away from the Bus interchange). You should pass various jetty entrances, stop and turn in the one that says Chew Jetty.
Entrance to Chew Jetty: Here’s Ahmah and Ahsoon (Grandma and Grandson) right next to the entrance to Chew Jetty. There is another mural of Ahmah and Ahkong somewhere along the pier, though I seem to have missed it >_<
Side of My Chew Jetty Vacation Home facing sea: If you do walk to the end of Chew Jetty, you’ll see the remnants of Ernest Zacharevic’s Children in a boat mural on the side of My Chew Jetty Vacation Home. Sad it’s gone!
RED Part II:
GAT LEBUH ARMENIAN
Backtrack towards Pengkalan Weld and cross the road. Gat Lebuh Armenian should be directly opposite. Walk straight up the road towards Lebuh Armenian.
Before Lebuh Victoria junction: on the right side of the road, this I Want Bao! mural which is next to Ming Xiang Tai pastry shop. Similar in style to the Ernest Zacharevic ones, it features an actual bicycle and bun steamers, and you can see painted buns when you peep in from the top
Past Lebuh Victoria Junction: A little further down Gat Lebuh Armenian on the left side of the road is another artwork from the 101 Lost Kittens project. It’s called “Love Me Like Your Fortune Cat”, and I suspect the same artist who drew the big rat with the Skippy artwork drew this little teeny mouse hanging on the side too
Further down from Fortune cat: This blue kitten is a little further down, also across the street from Skippy. On the weekend, they rent bicycles from a little table in front of this kitten
Past Blue Kitten: On right side of the road, you can’t quite miss Skippy for Penang, this huge cat mural on the wall. Skippy’s the main mascot of the 101 Lost Kittens Project. I think another artist drew in the large rat around the corner, which makes this a rather hilarious mural when you see this 2 pieces together!
Past Skippy, near Jalan Pantai junction: this little 3D sculpture of little kittens on clothes poles, also a part of the 101 Lost Kittens Project. Update Feb 2016 – Now you will see people actually hanging clothes on this piece, and the cats aren’t very intact anymore…
*another 101 Lost Kittens work entitled ‘Please care and bathe me’ is somewhere around here, though I couldn’t find it!
RED Part III:
LEBUH ARMENIAN (Armenian Street)
After Gat Lebuh Armenian, cross the Lebuh Pantai junction towards Lebuh Armenian and walk all the way up. You will need to make a minor detour towards Lorong Soo Hong. This road is closed to vehicular traffic on weekends.
Junction of Lebuh Pantai – this work ‘Cats & Humans Happily Living Together’ is actually within the grounds of Cheah Kongsi, whose entrance is along Armenian Street after the bicycle work below. You can also see the work from along Lebuh Pantai if you rather not go in, though entrance is free! These cats are in a Taoist deity procession
Junction of Lebuh Pantai: you can’t miss most Kids on Bicycle on the right side of the street – this is perhaps Ernest Z’s most popular mural. Expect there to be a lot of people who want to take photos with this artwork! The bike is affixed to the wall, so most people either pretend to sit on the back, or chase after the bike
Past Bicycle work: On the right side of the road there is an alleyway, where you can see this artwork called ‘I can help catch rats”, which is also part of the 101 Lost Kittens project. Go down this alleyway. I know it looks dodgy, but trust me, turn left at the end and walk straight down.
Behind Edelweiss Cafe: Congratulate yourself if you manage to find this artwork – it should be on the left side after you emerge from the back alley. This is part of the 101 Lost Kittens artworks called ‘No Animal Discrimination Please’. Keep walking straight on till you are on Lorong Soo Hong. Lebuh Armenian should be running parallel on your left
Along Lorong Soo Hong: It’s quite hard to miss this large purple artwork about learning to speak Hokkien, along with Hokkien phrases on the floor! It’s drawn by Malaysian artists Jim Oo Chun Hee and John Cheng (source)
Next to Hokkien Work: Don’t miss this tiny little piece at the corner of the Hokkien artwork! It’s so cute, and it’s not very big. Turn right and walk up Lorong Soo Hong, away from Lebuh Armenian. We’ll come back in a bit.
Further up Lorong Soo Hong: This work was once two minions stacked on top of each other. Now it’s Marge Simpson – I left the original work in the picture below for reference
Back in 2014, Marge Simpson was actually minions! You can see the Hokkien artwork and Lebuh Armenian in the background. Go back down to Lebuh Armenian, turn right and keep walking on
Junction of Lorong Soo Hong: This is on the wall in front of the shop at the corner of Lorong Soo Hong and Lebuh Armenian that sells souvenirs. On most days except Mondays, there is a little stall to my left called 70s Ice that sells the old school dessert Ice Balls!
Before Lebuh Cannon junction: this is painted on old store shutters on the right side of the road – I’m quite tickled by the screaming girl behind me
YELLOW:
Start from LEBUH CANNON
From Lebuh Armenian junction, turn left and walk down Lebuh Cannon.
Before Lebuh Acheh Junction: This is opposite the entrance to Khoo Khongsi on the right side of the street. I didn’t manage any decent pictures that showed the window properly, so here’s one of a random person while we were waiting our turn
Right across the road from the boy on chair is this cat in a blue window that’s kinda slightly disconcerting because it’s eyes are so huge and not the same size
Lorong Lumut: From Lebuh Cannon, turn right onto Lebuh Acheh and in a short distance, turn left onto Lorong Lumut. It’s a pretty quiet lane that sees the odd car and motorcycle go by, but I spotted this cute robot saying hi
This is actually a pretty small stencil on the left hand wall
This mural by Julia Volchkova should come up on your left side. It’s absolutely stunning, the way the old lady looks like she’s a part of the tree!
Right next to the old lady is this graffitied shutter which is kinda cute
Junction of Lorong Toh Aka and Lebuh Pantai: From Lorong Lumut keep walking till you reach Lorong Toh Aka. Lorong Tok Aka splits weirdly at the junction – take the road without turning that will bring you back to Lebuh Pantai. This work is called Security by Bibichun – it faces Lebuh Pantai junction
On the other side of Lorong Toh Aka from the guardian is this Oscar the Grouch, also by Bibichun!
Lebuh Pantai: Across the road from the Bibichun work is this one by German artist Don John for UX2015. It’s a melting rose ice cream cone but I’m not sure if it has any further meaning!
And in that same alcove is the Lang Hoose hotel and it has this little girl directly facing the rose cone
GREEN:
start from LEBUH STEWART
Ok I didn’t link this walk with the other three as it is a little bit further away. Start from Jalan Masjid Kepitan Keling and walk along Lorong Stewart.
Along Lorong Stewart: Keep an eye out for a very narrow alleyway on your right hand side – there is a magnificent white tiger by Japanese street artist TWOONE aka Hiroyasu Tsuri. Not the easiest to photograph because alleyway is so narrow!
Junction of Lebuh Klang: Look to the left and find this very large boatman by Julia Volchkova
Jalan Muntri: Walk past the Love Lane junction when Lorong Stewart becomes Jalan Muntri. Keep walking till you see Penang Ta Kam Hong on your left – Ernest Z’s Kungfu girl looms large on the wall. Somehow I missed this in 2014 despite walking past several times. I still don’t understand how I missed it.
near junction of Jalan Penang and Jalan Muntri – Walk to the end of Jalan Muntri till you reach Jalan Penang junction. Turn right and walk till you reach a small carpark on your right. This work is on the side of the building facing the carpark. It is one of Ernest Zacharevic’s pieces and it is HUGE.
Near junction of Leith Street and Jalan Penang: Turn back down Jalan Penang, walk past Jalan Muntri until you hit the Lebuh Chulia junction. Instead of going down Lebuh Chulia, take a small detour up Leith Street to spot this little work by ‘Kang’ on the side of shophouses
Lebuh Chulia: Head back down to Lebuh Chulia, walking away from Jalan Penang. You should see Chulia Mansion on the right side of the road and if you look up, you’ll spot this girl on a flying turtle. This is a collaboration between Ernest Zacharevic and Argentinian artist Martin Ron
Chulia Mansion: On the other side of Chulia Mansion is another artwork – this one by Australian artist Vexta for UX2014. I like the simplicity, and the branch-like hair
If you have any additions or corrections, do drop me a comment or an email please! I created this guide based on my own experiences and research, so I may have missed out some things or gotten locations wonky, so do help me make this guide better!
Whew if you covered all that, that is a lot of walking indeed! Now how about heading outside of the core George Town area – we’ll be exploring outer areas like the south-western Balik Pulau, and even across to mainland Penang! Or check out some of my other Penang posts.
Looking for more street art? Check out my dedicated street art page:
Click picture for the full list of street art guides covering Asia, Australia, Europe and USA
Comments
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Excellent article! I loved this piece and the detailed info. I believe you ventured far beyond the more well known street artworks and showed some hidden gems.
Thanks Ayush I hope it helped you find some cool works :)
Thanks so much for this post – I managed to find so much of the art this week because of it! Unfortunately a couple are starting to fade even more but as you said, there are lots of new ones too! Great post :)
thanks, good to know! well street art is everchanging, so the fun part is seeing what new works pop up over time :)
I will be there tomorrow :) for 2 days. Thank you so much for the intricate directions! full information is here! Thank you Thank you.
have fun and glad you found the guide useful!
I’m kinda disappointed to be in Penang with someone who’s grumpy all the time about walking despite the fact that I’ve told her more than once that Penang holiday was going to be all about walking long before booking our flight.
Now I’m flying back home without photographing any of the paintings. :(
Thank you for the detailed post I can at least enjoy the painting through your camera.
Well some people just don’t like walking unfortunately! Hopefully you have a chance to come back next time on your own :)
I know how you feel. I think you have to come back to Penang next time :)
Hi I loved the articles and photos.
Appreciate the detailed article. Must visit again to catch the ones with kids. Wish they will be preserved.
Thanks Cher! There’s some new stuff up now though, gotta go back again some time :)
“I want pau” mural art is painted by malaysia artist, wk setor (which u can find his signature under the painted window). TQ
thanks Lily, guess I must have missed it! :)
Thank you so much for such an informative post! We head to Penang in September x Bron
Have an awesome time in Penang! I hope to go back again soon and update this post :)
Thanks for this post Jaclynn! I will be heading to Penang in May and am so excited to look for the street art because I’m a huge fan (: I went on the London Shoreditch Art Tour too (http://www.etsyexplores.com/alternative-london-street-art-walking-tour-in-shoreditch/) and will definitely want to try out the spray-paint option in future (: Keep travelling and writing!
Thanks! The workshop was definitely quite fun especially because it’s not something you get to do every day. Have fun in Penang! :)
The please care and bathe me cats were down the driveway/alley where the rat was hiding around the corner from the big cat. They were really cute! :) I think I missed the cats and humans living together one too and I missed that minion post! haha
Thanks for the tips Cailin! Guess it gives me something to go back and check out :)
I can’t believe I missed Kung Fu Girl still argh~
Love this! I was in Georgetown in December, unfortunately I was super sick upon arrival and did not get to do much wandering about. I loved all the street art I did see and am glad to see more of it here on your site! :)
Thanks for your comment! It sucks that you were sick, but am glad I managed to let you have a peek from my blog :) hopefully you can go back there again someday and see the works for yourself!
hi loved the article and all the great photos!!