Penang Street Art has become a popular tourist attraction in recent years and it is a fun way to explore this UNESCO World Heritage city. Some tourists rented bicycles, some took trishaws, while others, like us, just strolled along the streets. For the kids, it was a bit like treasure hunting because they had to figure out where the street arts were. It was also a great way to get them to learn how to read a map.
There are three main types of Penang Street Art. They are:
- Street Art by Ernest Zacharevic – Ernest is a Lithuanian-born artist that made street art popular in Penang. His art work is the most popular with people queuing up to take photos with it.
- Marking Georgetown – These are iron-welded sculptures that describes the history of the street in a fun way.
- 101 Lost Kittens – You will find paintings of kittens all around Georgetown.
If you have limited time, head to Lebuh Armenian (Armenian Street) where most of the street arts were found. If you have more time, try the route below.
See the graceful ballerina on Love Lane.
Head to Lebuh Chulia (Chulia Street) and walk towards the T-junction on Pengkalan Weld street. You will find a picture of two kids on a real swing to your left just before the T-junction.
Turn right on Pengkalan Weld, then right again on Gat Lebuh Armenian.
You will find several street art including the first picture above of “Kids on Bicycle”.
“I want Pau!” below is one of the popular street art at the junction of Lebuh Victoria (Victoria Street), in front of a Chinese pastry shop.
The picture below is from the 101 Kittens collection called “Love Me Like your Fortune Cat”.
“Skippy” the cat was one of the biggest coloured street art.
The “Lion Dance” was also found on Lebuh Armenian.
There were some murals, like the one below, drawn by local artists. The mural was a big one that filled up the entire exterior wall of a building.
The “Cultural Girls” is small but one of the more vibrant street arts along Lebuh Armenian.
At the end of Lebuh Armenian, turn left on Lebuh Cannon to find the “Boy on a Chair”, pictured above right.
The picture below was one of the welded iron caricatures under “Marking Georgetown”.
Turn back and walk down Lebuh Cannon (Cannon Street), and then turn right to Lebuh Ah Quee (Ah Quee Street). Turn left to one of the small lanes on Lebuh Ah Quee to find a mural of Bruce Lee kicking a cat. Many people missed this hidden lane.
Go back to Lorong Ah Quee to find the “Old Motorcycle”. There were a number of people waiting in line to take pictures on the famous motorbike.
Return to Lorong Cannon (Cannon Street) and continue to the right until you reach Lorong Stewart (Stewart Street). Turn left on Lorong Stewart until you see “The Indian Boatman” mural below just before the intersection with Lorong Chulia (Chulia Street).
Continue straight towards Lebuh Muntri (Muntri Street) until you see the “Kungfu Girl”.
Finally, if you head to the end of Lebuh Muntri (Muntri Street), you will see “Trishaw man” on your right on Jalan Penang. We didn’t walk here, but drove past it while on Jalan Penang.
Tips
- If you are driving, it is difficult to find parking in the historic town. Some roads are even closed on weekends. Try parking at one of the parking lots further away from Lebuh Armenian. We were able to find parking lots at Love Lane despite arriving in the late morning.
- You can get the google map of the Street Art from Penang Street Art Google map.
- The brochure showing some of the street arts and map can be downloaded from www.visitpenang.gov.my. You can also get a map from the tourist office, or even, your hotel.
