If you’re a fan of street art or merely looking for instagrammable spots, George Town has a lot to offer as Lithuanian-born Penang-based artist Ernest Zacharevic and Russian artist Julia Volchkova, displayed their arts in between the small roads in George Town, painted on the walls of classic buildings.
Visitors can find the history of George Town and its multicultural and diverse residents depicted on murals around the city, along with over 50 wrought-iron caricatures, which are witty and depict the lifestyle of the early immigrants of George Town in the 20th century. Visitors can use the street art map for a more streamlined experience when exploring the entire mural paintings on the streets.
It started as a street art project in conjunction with the 2012 George Town Festival, led by Zacharevic, to transform the streets of George Town into an open-air art gallery that can be admired as visitors explore the heritage enclave. While Zacharevic has set the pace to transforming George Town into a city of murals, local artists have also been commissioned to create new wall murals.
Today, the street art has become one of the key attractions in George Town. In fact, finding the locations of the murals is as exciting as a treasure hunt. It’s certainly fun to explore and pose with the murals.
Besides that, a dilapidated bus station has been turned into an open art gallery – the Hin Bus Depot Art Centre – where emerging new artists showcase their talents. This gallery is set up based on the concept that “one man’s rubbish is another man’s treasure” where it features murals and recycled items, such as old paint buckets, furniture and oil drums, and turned them into art pieces. There are exhibitions, pop-up markets, art performances, souvenir shops and cafés located inside the depot.
