Georgetown, Penang Street Art – Treasure Hunt

How many times do we come across a city that has so many hidden graffitis that one literally has to be on a treasure hunt to find them? Well, that is Georgetown for you! This tiny city was awarded the status of World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008. But in this article, i would like to emphasize more on its unique street art. You can read more about Georgetown, World heritage Site in my blog ‘Georgetown – UNESCO World Heritage Site for a reason’ .

The entire city of Georgetown is covered by these art forms. They are either in the form of murals, paintings or cast-iron structures. If you want to catch a good glimpse of most of these arts, then I recommend you to explore the lanes of this city by foot. But be careful of the weather in Malaysia. It can act funny at times. Unfortunately, when we decided to explore the street art, the weather was sultry. So be prepared and carry an extra shirt in case the one you are wearing gets completely drenched in sweat.

These art forms are not just random art forms, but it talks a lot about Penang’s history and culture. Thus any tourist can easily get the essence of what Penang is all about, without any local’s help. This is my loot from my treasure hunt.

One of the newer mural, Marilyn Monroe sitting on a bench

Mr. Bean on a bicycle

Boy on a chair - A boy reaching for his treasure

Children on a Bicycle - Whoever said chasing kids was an easy task, probably never chased a kid.

Brother and Sister on Swing

Creature breaking the wall - Save me from this madness !!

Teach you Hokkien

Magic

This mural can be easy to miss as it is a part of a shop door. If the shop is open, in our case it was, and in case you notice this art you can request the owner to shut the door to click few pictures. They will be kind to do that for you.

This piece of art is very tiny compared to other street arts. Thus, be careful and don’t let this treasure hide away from you.

A BIIIIIIIIGGGGG Cat. This cat is gonna be difficult to pet. Difficult to miss this wall-sized treasure.

Few of the many cast-iron structures. PS: Read the paragraphs. They tell a lot about Penang history.

Peeping Minion

Real Bruce Lee would never do this

Catch the thief!!!!

Boy on a Bike

Awaiting Trishaw Paddler

Going around the city looking around for all of them can be very tiring but fun at the same time. It is very interesting to know how artists have made good use of the lanes and blended them with Penang’s culture. It is often said that not everyone can find all of the street art, Georgetown has to offer. And it is true to an extent. But, this is not some kind of a challenge, it is the belief of the people that artistes will come up with something new everyday on their streets. Unfortunately there is a lot of vandalism and many of the originally beautiful murals and sculptures lie faded and destroyed. Though the locals say, it is not a problem because new artists will keep coming with newer arts on the streets, it is but important to preserve some of the classics to remind us of inception of Georgetown’s street art.

This is my treasure, go find one of your own!! Happy ‘art’ hunting!!