Georgetown in Penang is one of the most vibrant and eclectic places we have been to! This charming city is a UNESCO heritage site thanks to it’s rich multi cultural history. Filled with pretty streets, colonial houses, Chinese temples, museums and a collection of street art, murals and steel sculptures that have brought it international popularity. While you can read about all the best things to do in Georgetown here, this blog post will specifically deal with the street art of Georgetown and provide a complete guide for that.

During our 3 days in Penang, we spent a whole day in Georgetown itself walking and exploring the historic area while also hunting for the best street art. Looking for street art is like going on a treasure hunt: armed with a physical map (tip: pick up one from your hotel) I went about from street to street in my quest. And was rewarded with a collection of popular as well as some not so popular but equally stunning pieces of street art and murals scattered all throughout.

The street art and murals here are mostly based on local day to day life in Penang and are therefore very much relatable. There are also many based on cats which are part of a project called ‘101 cats’ to bring attention to the plight of street cats in Penang. Some of the work here is actually a commission by shops as a form of advertisement and promotions.

Georgetown, Penang is now known as one of the best cities for street art in the world. Today, travelers come from all over to admire these pieces and take photos. Georgetown (and Penang) have become famous in Instagram thanks to this pretty art that is very much instagrammable (Read about the Top 10 instagram spots in Sri Lanka here)

HISTORY OF STREET ART IN GEORGETOWN

The story goes back to 2008 when Georgetown was awarded the Unesco heritage status and to celebrate this, the local government announced a contest called ‘Making Georgetown’. The winner was Tang mun kian, whose 31 carootonish scuptures in iron depicted the history of Penang and were among the first art installations in the city.

Later in 2012, the city invited Ernest Zacharevic, a Lithuanian artist to create murals and further beautify the streets. His now iconic works combined the use of art along with real life 3D objects thereby creating interactive art for tourists. These works soon exploded in popularity and other artists joined in with more art work and murals that made Georgetown, Penang one of the best street art capitals of the world. The original 6 works by Ernest Zacharevic are still the most popular out of all and attract big lines till date.

HOW TO SEE THE STREET ART IN GEORGETOWN

The best way is by walking. Start from a point and walk through the streets discovering more and more murals. If you just want to see the best 5-6 pieces, you can take a trishaw tour. But if you want to see most of them, then walking is the best way to do that. Keeping in mind Penang’s hot and humid weather, it is best to start very early in the morning around 7am or so to avoid the mid day sun and tourist lines. Check out some pieces in the morning and keep some for late afternoon (after 4pm) to be able to see most of them.

HOW TO FOLLOW THIS GEORGETOWN STREET ART GUIDE

I have listed all the street art here in such a manner so that you can follow this guide to get from point A till the end without too much of a hassle. You can also follow this list in reverse if that’s what suits you. It is best to start from the outer perimeters (either the clan jetties/ Beach street on the eastern end or Penang road on the Western end and make your way inwards towards the center.

This way is more suitable if you plan on mostly walking and want to see all the murals in a specific area before proceeding onto the next. As some of the streets are big spanning across the town, its easier to see the art on one specific end, check out other nearby streets and then come across to the other end of the same street again. For example, Chulia street is big and you will be coming across it twice.

Alternately, you can explore the street art in a street specific manner and distribute it across a couple of days. As in, going to a specific street, seeing ALL the art there and then moving onto the next one. This however isn’t very convenient for walking and you might need to take a trishaw/Grab taxi to reduce distances.

THE ULTIMATE STREET ART GUIDE FOR GEORGETOWN, PENANG

GEORGETOWN STREET ART AREA 1: CHEW JETTY

Starting this guide from the outer boundry of Georgetown in the eastern end:  the clan jetties. Head up to the most popular jetty, Chew jetty which has 2 nice murals:

1.FOLKLORE BY THE SEA

Painted by Singaporean artist Yip Yew Chong in 2018, this mural depicts the immigrants from China who arrived to Penang and settled by the waterfront. It is painted on the wall of one of the stilt houses on water in Chew jetty.

TIP: There is also a popular show called ‘Folklore by the sea’ that takes place in the theatre at Chew jetty that showcases the history, legends and myths of the clan jetties via dramatic performances.

Located on one of the first houses in Chew jetty, this mural depicts a happily smiling grand mother and grand son pair.

GEORGETOWN STREET ART AREA 2: CHULIA STREET (EASTERN END)

After crossing Pengkalan Weld, walk a couple of minutes to reach Chulia street. This is a big street which runs from one end to the other. There are many murals on Chulia street but we will start with the murals on the eastern end and later see the ones on the western end. As this area is midway between the quay and the main area, there are’nt many people here. The street art to see here include:

Near the swing, there is another good art piece: Old Soy milk stall of an old woman handing out bowls of soy milk. This one is actually an ad as it was created as a collaboration with a soy milk and an advertising company.

6. CHILDREN PLAYING BASKETBALL

Another piece by Louis Gan, the original made in 2012 had a real basketball which is no longer present.

GEORGETOWN STREET ART AREA 3: ARMENIAN STREET (EASTERN END)

Armenian street is a long street with many beautiful murals. We will see some of them now in the eastern end which can be easily accessed from the last mural (basketball one) and the others (on the western end) later.

Start right at the intersection of Armenian street and Victoria street. Here you will find a very famous piece:

7. I WANT BAO

One of the examples of a commercial mural, this piece was commissioned by the Ming Xiang Tai pastry shop located besides it to promote their shop. It was painted by KL based artist W K Setor who cleverly used a bicycle with a bao/bun box on it to create an interactive art piece.

Continue further on Armenian street to find

8. LOVE ME LIKE A FORTUNE CAT

One of the ‘cat’ themed murals scattered across Georgetown as part of the ‘101 cats’ project to bring awareness to the plight of street cats in Penang. The meaning of this mural is to love cats as one would love a jade fortune cat which are supposed to bring good luck and prosperity.

9. MONKEY MURAL 

A strange monkey face mural on the wall of Gudang café.

Now cross the intersection of Beach street with Armenian street and continue straight to find one of the most iconic pieces of street art in Penang:

10. CHILDREN ON A BICYCLE BY ERNEST ZACHAREVIC

Probably the most famous piece of street art in Georgetown, Penang! This is one of the original 6 pieces of street art by Ernest Zacharevic for his ‘Mirrors of Georgetown’ project in 2012 and one of the most popular. Thanks to it’s popularity and location right in the midst of all the action, expect long queues. we had to wait a bit before getting our shots so come early or on a weekday for less people.

Now take a left turn onto Lebuh Pantai and walk a few minutes till you reach Cheah kongsi temple where you can see another quirky cat mural:

11. CATS AND HUMANS LIVING HAPPILY

This is a little bit of an unknown piece located in one of the walls of the Cheah Kongsi temple compound. While a bit faded, I like the quirkiness of it. You can pay the entrance fee of 10 RM to go in or stand outside the grilled gates like us and take the photo.

Continue walking some more till you reach the Beach street Fire station at the intersection (a vibrant red-white building) on your right to find this piece:

12. FIREMEN MURAL

Located inside the fire station and visible from outside.

Now go back a few metres and turn onto Lebuh Ah Quee street on your left.

GEORGETOWN STREET ART AREA 4: AH QUEE STREET (EASTERN END)

One of the best streets for street art enthusiasts! We will start with the eastern end of this street and you can see all the pieces here in this order:

13. ONLY YOU CAN STOP AIR POLLUTION

A very powerful and interesting piece of street art cum installation that shows 10 cigarette butts emerging from the wall.

14. MALAYSIAN MAN IN FLAG SHIRT

Just across the cigarattes is this mural of a Malaysian man in the country’s colours.

15. BOY ON BIKE BY ERNEST ZACHAREVIC

One of the original pieces created by Zacharevic in 2012, this one is also hugely popular among tourists. The motorbike seat has been repaired plenty of times due to all the tourists sitting on it.

16. BOY WITH PET DINOSAUR

Just besides the boy with bike, is another boy with a pet dinosaur mural by Ernest Zacharevic that is often missed.

17. BRUCE LEE MURAL

This one is slowly fading away and had’nt been repainted yet when we visited in 2022. I hope they restore it as its quite a nice piece.

18. HAPPY DOG WITH STEAK

Continue walking on Ah Quee street and right before the end, there is an unnamed alley that connects Ah Quee street with Armenian street. I am calling this one ‘Umbrella alley’ as there is a very pretty umbrella installation and it is filled with many murals like:

19. ROTI SELLER

This one is located right at the beginning of this alley and depicts a ‘Roti’ seller with his cart. Roti is a type of Indian bread and the last few of them can be found in Little India.

20. MEN PUSHING WALL
21. CHINESE GIRL PRAYING AT THE ALTAR

A very pretty piece showcasing a Chinese girl wearing a sarong and praying at the hanging altar with her joss sticks.

22. CAT NEAR WINDOW

23. TRIBAL/ABORGINAL PEOPLE

Another one of my favourites as it so different from the usual Georgetown/Penang street art.

The alley ends in Armenian street (Western end) where you can check out the remaining  murals like

24. MAGICIAN PLAYING TRICKS

You will find this fun art work right at the beginning of Armenian street on the metal shutters of a bicycle shop.

This art work is an ode to the famous Lion dance celebrations of the Chinese community that occur during Chinese new year.

27. TEACH YOU HOKKIEN

Take a turn on the left lane to find this giant 2m tall striking purple mural. Created by artists Jim oo chun hee and John Cheng this visually appealing piece of a boy shouting that he can teach you Hokkien, a dialect of the Chinese community.

And after that, go back to the main street to find one final piece of street art here:

28. I CAN HELP CATCH RATS/ PSYCHEDELIC CAT

Located on the small lane besides Edelweiss café, this psychedelic mural of a cat is the final piece of art you will see in the western end of Armenian street.

Walk back till the Umbrella lane end of Armenian street and take a left turn to reach Cannon street.

GEORGETOWN STREET ART AREA 5: CANNON STREET

This street is known for it’s numerous cat murals that were a part of the project ‘101 cats’ to bring awareness about the plight of street cats in Penang.

30. CAT PEEKING ON BICYCLE TYRE

35. BOY REACHING UP BY ERNEST ZACHAREVIC (in the small right lane)

Another original from Zacharevic’s ‘Mirrors of Georgetown’ project painted in 2012, this one had a chair which is no longer present now.

We found a small cat themed shop here which has many cute and cool cat graffiti and murals inside. My favourite was the Michael Jackson dancing version!

This is one of the famous pieces by Russian artist Julia Volchkova who has painted many murals in Georgetown. It has cleverly used the banyan tree and the painting to create an interesting piece of art.

Now walk back onto the western end of CHULIA STREET to cover the remaining pieces of art there.

40. MR BEAN (near Grand Swiss Hotel)

42. TURTLE RIDER (just besides it)

A cool mural that is actually a collaboration between Ernest Zacharevic and Argentinian artist Ron Martin and combines the former’s realistic paintings with the latter’s fantasy elements.

GEORGETOWN STREET ART AREA 6: MUNTRI STREET

Muntri street is one of Georgetown’s most touristy areas packed with guesthouses and boutique hotels but charming none the less. It cuts into Love lane and has many beautiful street art pieces that you have to see.

44. KUNG FU GIRL/GIRL IN BLUE BY ERNEST ZACHAREVIC (near Moon tree hotel)

This is also one of Zacharevic’s original 6 pieces but not as well known and does’nt attract that many tourists as it is situated quite high up and can’t be taken as a selfie. It is 20 foot tall and showcases a girl in blue balancing herself on a rope with the help of two windows.

GEORGETOWN STREET ART 7: STEWART LANE

46. WHITE TIGER

It is painted on the side wall of the Tipsy tiger party hostel building.

47. INDIAN FISHERMAN

A very beautiful mural by Julia Volchkova, this stunning art work is among my Top 5 favourites in Georgetown street art.

Note : this area also has good colourful architecture for photography.

OTHERS:

48. TRISHAW MAN BY ERNEST ZACHAREVIC on Penang Road

The last of Ernest Zacharevic’s original 6 works lies in the north western end of Georgetown in Penang road and depicts a waiting trishaw puller inspired by the nearby trishaw stand. It is very big and occupies 5 storeys of a building. Tip: This area is close to the Blue mansion and you can check them out together.

On the western perimeters of Georgetown, there are a few cool pieces on Beach street which you can also access while visiting the clan jetties.

50. GIRL WALKING ON NUMBERED TILES

Hope you found this Street art guide for Georgetown very informative and helpful. Hopefully you can plan your own trip soon and check out all this cool art work there!

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