Before I get to my travel recap of my food during my Malaysia trip, I like to balance eating with activities that generally require a lot of walking. In Penang, my stay at the Blue Mansion Hotel that I just recapped put me very conveniently close to walking to all the trendy areas of George Town. It usually took me less then 10 minutes. So both days I did a lot of searching for and visiting street art. There is so much art in George Town in so many places, some listed some not, that made the art walk both like a quest but also that of surprise finds. I want to share my tips on visiting George Town street art and in general for visiting George Town.
Views of George Town from Komtar Tower, The Top Penang, with a 360 view and Rainbow Skywalk and its see through floor
When it comes to visiting Penang, I highly recommend walking around George Town to look at street art as one of the most unique things you can do and one of the top 3 must dos. The street art are mostly murals and span so many different art styles and many show slices of life here to reflect the blending of peoples and cultures that is representative of history or current times here.
The Indian Boatman painted by Russian street artist Julia Volchkova / Wo Ai Nee Chinese Malay Indian / The Traditional Rickshaw Vendor mural off of Armenian Street / Folklore by the Sea located at Chew Jetty
A Little History of George Town
Penang Island has three major areas of note for visitors. The first is that the initial touristy draw used to be Batu Ferringhi, a beach resort area north of George Town. You will still find the sandy beaches with restaurants and water activities popular with visitors, though it’s probably the #2 attraction area now after George Town. Also here is a The Floating Mosque (Tanjung Bungah) and a vibrant Night Market. From George Town, you can get to Batu Ferringhi in about 30 minutes by car, so you can still visit the area without necessarily staying there – let’s say for a seafood dinner right by the sea.
Then south by the airport is a version of Asian Silicon Valley that they call the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone. Although for my work trip this second area is where my focus would be, there isn’t much here besides company campuses and malls. So even though it may be a 30 min-1 hour car trip (depending on traffic) to here from the historical area, it’s worth staying in George Town instead.
The #1 draw of Penang now is George Town, specifically the UNESCO World Heritage Site area which has the historical buildings where the port originally was when George Town was founded. It is the second largest city of Malaysia, following the capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. George Town is the main city in the island of Penang and the capital city of Penang State (which also includes Penang Island but is bigger then the island itself). If the name sounds very British, it is because it gets its name from being the first British settlement in Southeast Asia in 1786. As the area that was first developed, you will find a lot of history here, from blended architecture in buildings or signs with multiple languages as well as a mix of culture in food, religion, and more as a legacy of being a port town bringing locals and outsiders, East and West, together for generations.
As the main city, George Town of Penang is where you will find hotels, hostels, restaurants, bars, temples and churches of all religions, shopping and such at its most dense. There is no public train system here – besides walking, the most common transportation are Grab (the car share service similar to Uber or Lyft), taxi, bus, or ferry to take across the island rather then taking one of two of the long bridges connecting it to the mainland. You can also rent bicycles and scooters or even ride a trishaw. You can find a lot of trishaws right by street art mural by Ernest Zacharevic called Trishaw Man in front of the St Francis Xavier Church, and you can also find a trishaw station at Lebuh Armenian and Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling (formerly) known as Pitt Street.
Tip: If you want to use Grab – you can download the app before your trip, but you will likely not be able to add your payment information until you are in Southeast Asia. I’m not sure if it’s the way they verify the credit card, but you need to be in the geo before it accepts it. Besides walking, Grab was my most used transportation mode here because I found the bus system a little too much work to figure out and Grab is so cheap I didn’t feel like taking more time waiting for buses and its stops for only a few US Dollars savings.
I would recommend having Grab ready in your back pocket even if you start out walking. The weather here is hot and humid all year round, so you may find yourself getting tired faster. I came during monsoon season so sometimes it would start raining pretty hard and it may rain for quite a while.
Finally and probably most important, not many places have sidewalks. The way they built the streets there is a covered “Five foot way” that extends from most shophouses that in theory could have been a walkway. In reality sometimes businesses extend their tables/business stuff to this area, or people park carts or motorcycles etc. so you will find yourself at times having to walk outside the 5 foot way/aka into the street. You may even find yourself quite a bit into the street because there are cars parked, and even double-parked, as well. This adds extra effort to walking that can also tire you out! As you can see below, sometimes you’re lucky and they are clear – and then sometimes, they are not.
Penang Street Art Background
George Town being a UNESCO World Heritage site is relatively recent since it was awarded this designation in 2008. As part of the cleaning up and revitalization of the area to promote tourism, the Penang State Government wanted to find a way to highlight its history and promote its multi-cultural heritage. Their idea was to have artists pitch ideas of how to tell the story of George Town history. Sculpture Art At Work won with the pitch of Voices of the People, which was a series of 52 steel rod sculptures that combined caricature and cartoon like art with text to highlight some background about a spot. What a cool idea instead of just traditional plaques right for this “living museum” of George Town?
On the left, by the sculpture Jimmy Choo by Baba Chuah marks the area where Penang born world famous shoe design Jimmy Choo first apprenticed to make shoes. The text says Mutri Street, but the sculpture actually is around the corner on Leith Street because supposedly Jimmy Choo set up as a roadside cobbler on the five-foot way here! To the right, you see Win Win Situation showing trade between China and Malaysia on Mutri Street, by Julian Kam
Tip: With that many sculptures you can choose to see some of them – an all day walking adventure – or just the ones you enjoy the most or that happen to coincide with other sights you have on your list. You can see photos of half of the sculptures at the Penang Global Tourism’s Facebook page or thumbnails of all of them using this pdf map (you can also find this brochure at the airport and tourism office). I also really liked this blog post by Nerd Nomads that provided more story and cited each work to the 4 artists that contributed to the project and highlights his favorites.
My favorite was Narrowest Five Foot Way by Julian Kam: The ‘five foot way’ of Wan Hai Hotel shown here is said to be the narrowest in Penang and is obviously not actually five feet across, as the painting cheekily points out.
In addition, as part of the George Town Festival 2012, another international artist Ernest Zacharevic was commissioned as part of a Mirrors George Town street art initiative. His art works are probably the most famous of all the street art because of how it often combines 2D art with physical objects to make it more interactive, and the art style has a nostalgic realism feel to it that is very accessible to anyone. Although he doesn’t get paid for it, you will probably see lots of souvenir shops with copies of his art on shirts, bags, magnets, etc. 
Above, you see the mural of Little Children on a Bicycle on Armenian Street that has become a symbol of George Town and is based on a real photo he took of two children. Sadly the stranger who took this photo for me when it was my turn in the line that is here did not tell me I was covering the boy. To the right is Boy on a Motorcycle in which Ernest Zacharevic incorporated an abandoned motorbike.
Tip: You can find a map and preview what each of the Ernest Zacharevic works looks like at this Penang Travel Tips site. His artwork is iconic, so don’t be surprised if you find a line of people waiting their turn to take a photo with the art.
Above, you see Little Boy with a Pet Dinosaur, and then Boy on a Chair reaching
Tip: You can also see a fuller map that includes the Ernest Zacharevic work and other street art also on Penang Travel Tips, and this is the Google Map that I used during my visit. Realtor Timothy Tye helpfully provides gps coordinates which other maps had not always offered because sometimes it’s hard to tell from just the dot on the map where the right art wall really is. When you open the map you’ll see there’s more then 100 spots on the map – and you may still encounter new additions (or some have disappeared wearing down over time).
The popularity of Ernest Zacharevic ‘s art has inspired other artists and initiatives as well. For instance, a similar style of incorporating children and physical objects can be found from these two works by Louis Gan, a local deaf-mute self-taught artist: Brother and Sister on a Swing, and Children Playing Basketball
Some art initiatives have been for charity, such as the series of 12 art pieces for 101 Lost Kittens, the works of Thailand artist Natthapon Muangkliang and Malaysian artists Louise Low and Tang Yeok Khang aka “Artists for Stray Animals” calling attention to the plight of street animals. Below are some examples. The Skippy For Penang mural is the largest of the series and unfortunately has faded over time, and became an icon for the series with the original inspirational cat being adopted and who sadly passed away in January 2019. The wall painting Love Me Like Your Fortune Cat calls for love for real cats as much as the fortune cats with the raised paws often seen to usher in luck at Asian restaurants. Below that are I Can Help Catch Rats, and the fading The Real Bruce Lee Would Never Do This (showing him kicking a cat).
Another statement piece is Only You Can Stop Air Pollution showing someone with a gas mask as cigarette butts emerge into the environment. Also spotted: a statement focused on drawing parking boundaries.
Others art pieces are partnerships with businesses to promote something. Examples include I Want Pau by WK Setor that is right next to the Ming Xiang Tai Pastry Shop and implies the desirability of the signature pastries in the bike’s baskets. Or Old Soy Milk Stall shows an old lady serving the soy bowls to children that was a collaboration mural between the school St. Xavier’s Institution, Homesoy company, and Vilmedia ad company.
Then there is this one near the Thai food restaurant Lemongrass. The art + commercial partnerships are now bringing up a different level of conversations about street art that at first, was incredible in promoting artistic expression. But now, some may begin to question whether it is becoming a gimmick, and as the murals are proliferating are they taking away from the historical and cultural aspects of George Town. Or, is it just marking the current culture – including incorporating pop culture icons ranging from Mr. Bean to Simpsons or Minions characters?
Even if there is some commercialism in commissions for some of the street art, isn’t it still a step forward in supporting the art scene and artists, and celebrating art instead of having blank walls?
Walking around the areas with the murals will take you around neighborhoods that are tourist friendly with shops for food and drink so make sure you refresh yourself as needed.
Tip: I decided to look at the art ahead of time and then narrow down which ones I wanted to visit the most and included that on my walking routes. Otherwise you may become tired trying to see it all. However, I would also sometimes open the google map just to see if there was anything within a block or so radius of where I was.
I strongly recommend you map sights you’d like to see along with art so you don’t have to waste time backtracking. Often the street art is only a few blocks away from sights you may want to visit, be it Pinang Peranakan Museum or Chew Jetty or Chulia Street Market or Khoo Kongsi Clan House or a famous char kway teow stall.
I saw more artwork then I took photos of – I happened to share some of my favorites. Which ones would you put on your map to see in person?
Penang, Malaysia Travel Posts (October 2019)
- Staying at the Cheong Fatt Tze Blue Mansion in Penang
- Best Activity for Penang: Tips for Visiting George Town Street Art in Penang
- Food Highlights of Penang
- Visiting Kek Lok Si Temple
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