One of the highlights of our family trip to Malaysia was a visit to the street art of Penang in Georgetown. This is such a fun, vibrant place to visit with kids (or without) with sights at every turn. There are various ways you can see the art with walking tours and plenty of places to hire bicycles. But we just took a relaxed wander around the streets, finding the pieces as we went. Here are some of our favourites (and an easy walk to take with children to see them).
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Table of Contents
‘Little children on a bicycle’ – street art of Penang, Malaysia
‘Little children on a bicycle’ is one of the most famous of the street art of Georgetown pieces. And as such has attracted lots of attention, not all of it positive.
We were sad to see it defaced with yellow paint as it’s such a beautiful piece. But I understand the artist is going to be involved in helping to restore it.
It was painted by Ernest Zacharevic, who studied in London and created this as part of the 2012 street art festival in Penang.
This is situated on Lebuh Armenian and is a great place to start your tour. You can almost do a loop around visiting some of the key pieces from here (see our itinerary of street art in Penang at the bottom of this post).
I love the pure happiness in the children’s faces. I think Zacharevic captured that joy perfectly.
‘Teach you Speak Hokkien’
Just along from ‘Little children on a bicycle’ on Lorong Soo Hong is a large purple piece called, ‘Teach you Speak Hokkien’. This is by Malaysian artists Jim Oo Chun Hee and John Cheng.
This bold, purple mural offers more than a photo opportunity. It’s a celebration of Penang’s cultural identity. Penang Hokkien is a dialect unique to the region, spoken by many locals and passed down through generations. The mural encourages people to keep the dialect alive, especially as younger generations shift toward Mandarin or English.
101 Lost Kittens Project – street art of Penang
One of the themes that comes up over and again with the Malaysian art is cats. And further along Lebuh Armenian is the wonderful Skippy, the Giant Cat or ‘Skippy comes to Penang’ to give it its full name.
This is part of a collection of pieces (called the 101 Lost Kittens Project) to draw attention and awareness of the number of stray animals throughout the city.
‘Love me like your Fortune Cat’.
And keeping with the cat theme is the ‘Love me like your Fortune Cat’. Which like Skippy above is painted by a collective called ASA (or Artists for Stray Animals).
I love the fortune cats which are stacked high.
‘I want Pau!’
Just along from ‘Love me like your Fortune Cat’ is the wonderful, ‘I want Pau!’ by the artist WK Setor.
I love this piece, with two children trying to reach the basket filled with buns which is fittingly on the side of the Ming Xiang Tai Pastry Shop.
This is a really interactive piece and the children loved jumping on the bicycle.
‘Children playing basketball’
Along Chulia Street Ghaut, on the wall of the Kwong Wah Yit Poh warehouse is ‘Children playing basketball’ by artist Louis Gan.
‘Brother and Sister on a Swing’ – Penang street art
The second piece by Louis Gan is nearby (between Lebuh Victoria and Pengkalan Weld and down the small alleyway next to Gat Lebuh Chulia). This is probably my favourite of all the street art in Penang, ‘Brother and Sister on a Swing’.
I just thought this was the sweetest piece and a great opportunity to interact with it.
Other street art
Along Lebuh Ah Quee (just off Lebuh Pantai) there is the opportunity to spot a number of pieces. Some famous and others less so.
I really liked this beautiful piece of a man wearing a shirt with the Malaysian flag on it.
And almost opposite was another piece by Ernest Zacharevic, ‘Boy on a Motorbike’. Which is another fun, interactive piece which the children loved getting on the bike to join in with.
Just around the corner from Lebuh Ah Quee, at Lorong Soo Hong is the painting by Malaysian artists John Cheng and Jim Oo Chun Hee, ‘Feeling Proud’.
Also just off Lebuh Ah Quee is another of the 101 Lost Kittens project, called ‘The Real Bruce Lee Would Never Do This’, again by the ASA collective.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of all of the street art of Penang. And we saw many other pieces as we wandered during our trips to Georgetown.
But this was a great afternoon walk which is very achievable with small children (it was just enough for our nearly four year old).
It’s a fun area to visit with kids and a great way to get them wandering between the sights and not realising how much they are walking.
FAQ – what you need to know about the street art of Penang
- How long does a street art trail take with kids? Usually 1–1.5 hours going at a child’s pace.
- Are there facilitiess along the route? Yes, near the clan houses and cafes at Armenian Street there are loos. There are plenty of places to pick up snacks too (see below).
- Where’s good to get lunch or snacks? Recommend family-friendly places like China House for cake, or Line Clear Nasi Kandar for hearty meals.
- What if it rains? The galleries at Hin Bus Depot offer covered exhibitions of local art; they continue to rotate pieces.
Sample itinerary – street art of Penang walk
- Start at Little Children on a Bicycle (Lebuh Armenian) and take photos.
- Walk to Teach You Speak Hokkien (Lorong Soo Hong)—train your tongue with Penang phrases.
- Head to the Skippy cat mural and nearby Lost Kittens art cluster (Armenian Street).
- Pause at Ming Xiang Tai pastry shop for a pau (snack).
- Continue to Children Playing Basketball and Swing siblings (near Chulia Street).
- Explore Ah Quee artworks including Batman, Feeling Proud, and Bruce Lee kitten.
- Stop at Paper Kite Girl and Fisherman mural if available.
- Finish at Hin Bus Depot gallery or local café to cool down and recap art finds.
Read more of our Maaysian posts –
Best things to do in Penang with kids
Penang cooking class – a Nyonya cookery class with Pearly Kee
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Have you visited the street art of Penang with children? Which was your favourite piece?
I love all the interactive pieces, they are so clever and creative. Such a shame that the first one has been defaced.
Some incredible street art there – it has the trompe l’oeil effect – fools the eye.
I agree with Nadine. So much street art is graffiti style, and this feels so different. I have to confess to having hated Malaysia when we visited, but a few posts recently have made me wonder if I might have judged too hastily. This is a lovely example.
Oh wow, that is impressive street art – why can’t our walls be covered like this instead of all the silly tagging?
Wow they are really amazing! Skippy the cat looks very much like one we had x
I adore all the street art. Sometimes you need to look part the surface to see what is there. Amazing
I wrote a piece on the street art in Madeira last year. I love having a stroll and viewing all of the creativity pieces, it’s far better than the graffiti you seem to get here x
How amazing is that – I’d have spent hours photographing it all x
Oh my gosh they are amazing!!! Brilliant photos. x