Loving it here in Penang. Unofficially the country’s food capital, it has also acquired quite a reputation for its street art. It hasn’t been long since Penang’s streetscape was given a boost with the creation in 2012 of a street art project. A Lithuanian artist, Ernest Zacharevic, started with murals in this heritage site that depicted playfulness, energy and some elements of local culture. Walking around the old town searching for these murals was an exciting activity. It wasn’t so easy though as some have faded and in such deteriorated condition. Many were clustered around the Armenian Street, to include those done by artists other than Zacharevic.

It was fun, and before we knew it, we have worked up quite an appetite for dinner. We missed many though as the sun has set and there were many cars parked along the streets where the murals were. Some even blocked the street art. Worse, some are barely recognisable and in dire need of a “retouch”. I am not sure how long these artworks will be around. Just the same, it’s a huge draw for Penang tourists especially the 3D and interactive street art. The historic district of Georgetown is teeming with this art scene.

The tourists in this heritage site don’t seem to mind the heat and humidity. Some have rented bikes while others like us simply sweated it out searching on foot. Either way, the murals invite the viewers to come nearer and take photos. We took the Lebuh Armenian route, passing Cannon and Acheh Streets from our hotel. We should have gone farther down past Chew Jetty to view more like the “Children Playing Basketball” and “Brother and Sister On A Swing”. But it’s almost dinner time and the Jetty Food Court beckoned. And so, part 2 of this street art search will have to wait.

Lastly, I wondered about those many kitten/cat paintings. They are cute too. Why cats? There is a political undertone here . The Penang state government reportedly runs its affairs on a CAT approach. CAT stands for competence, accountability and transparency. A good approach, I must say. But I won’t amplify on its political meanings and interpretations on this post. We’d just keep walking and check out more street art. 😊

There is a map one can download from the Net but it is easy to miss these artworks. We did. So we’re going back to check those we missed. Watch for updates on this blog.

Update here:

https://lifeisacelebration.blog/2019/03/07/in-search-of-more-graffiti-georgetown-penang/