Amazing Street Art - Penang, Malaysia
Penang sure is one unique island.
A community full of rich cultural mix and business history, this place never ceases to amaze me in so many ways. Today, I'll show you some of the street art from Georgetown, Penang. Georgetown is a familiar name for me having grown up in the Washington, DC area and having spent so much time in the Georgetown neighborhood of the city . But this Georgetown is a world away in Penang, Malaysia.
What is Penang and where is it?
Penang is an island and a state in Malaysia on the west coast. The island itself was founded by the British as a trading post for the East India Trading Company and the headquarters can be found as a beautiful hotel today on the coast overlooking the sea. Traders and workers came to Penang to make business and for jobs. The main population is of Chinese descent with a rather large Indian population mixed in with Malay, Aceh, and other cultures including Armenia.
How is Penang these days?
Georgetown, when I first visited 20 years ago was mostly just full of cheap guesthouses, local eateries, poor recyclers, and apparently gangs and drugs. In the 60's, the island was a stop on the hippy trail. I've visited many times and lived for six months in Penang last year. Most foreigners came only to buy a visa from the Thai consulate in the past.
These days Penang has become a very fashionable and cool upscale boutique style destination for foreign and domestic tourists alike. A few cheaper guesthouses still exist but the overall feeling has changed somewhat. However, back in 2012 the local government decided to sponsor a street art program to attract more tourists working with Ernest_Zacharevic from Lithuania. This art still holds on to the past and has become very popular with tourists. These are just a few shots I like and new works go on the walls quite often there. Check it out if you're in the area!
Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed the art and bit of history of Penang! Feel free to comment below!
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Love this, I visited George Town in January got to see some awesome street art, didn’t see any of these though very nice
Hey @grindle thanks for commenting... Yes I tried to take some shots that aren't on the "normal" route. Things change so fast these might even be gone as I was there last about one year ago. There are so many more around there. Nice that you were there. I love Georgetown, hope you enjoyed...
Yes loved it.
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I had to rub my eyes a bit to see whether the chair was also painted or strategically placed 😃
Cool stuff Chris, some of that looks a bit Banksy-inspired.
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Thanks Justin. Indeed I guess he's the big influence on street art these days... There's so much more there actually... I'm working on a Phuket street art article now...
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