Street art, especially murals, has been experiencing an awakening in several Malaysian cities in recent years. With Penang leading the charge, many other cities in the southeast Asia country have taken the cue. Embarking on campaigns to reinvigorate their colonial-era town centres via injecting lively street art that appeals to the present day Instagram-focused travellers. Ipoh is no exception. This laid-back Malaysian city has turned to street art to boost its appeal to visitors. In this Ipoh Street Art Map post, let us share with you the locations of some of the most fascinating murals in Ipoh’s old town.
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Penang Ipoh Travel VLOG
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Ipoh Street Art
Seeing the success that Penang (George Town) had in her collaboration with the talented Lithuanian artist, Ernest Zacharevic, Ipoh followed suit. The city’s tourism board, with OldTown White Coffee* as sponsor, worked with Ernest Zacharevic on a series of mural in its old town. This, in turn, prompts other local artists to independently start work on various street art in the area. Resulting in the flourishing street art scene in present-day Ipoh.
If you’ll like to see the behind-the-scenes video of the production process for Ernest Zacharevic’s Ipoh street art, click here.
*OldTown White Coffee is one of the leading restaurant chains in Malaysia. The company was founded in Ipoh, the place where white coffee originated. OldTown made a name for itself by being the first manufacturer to introduce 3-in-1 instant white coffee.
Ipoh Street Art Map
Refer to the next section for the images of the street art that we’ve explored.
“Red” pins denote street art done by Ernest Zacharevic. “Black” pins denote street art done by other artists.
*Tips for using the above map (strongly recommended):
- Best viewed using desktop/laptop.
- Click on the top-left button to open sidebar (more info).
- Click on the top-right button to open a larger map in a new tab.
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Ipoh Street Art that we’ve visited (images)
Below are the images of the Ipoh street art that we’ve visited. (For higher resolution of the images in this post, refer to our Facebook Page)
Interesting fact: As part of the campaign with OldTown White Coffee, Ernest Zacharevic had originally painted 7 murals in Ipoh old town. The 7th mural was named “Girl with Stool”. However, this mural was painted over in late-2017. Till this day (Dec-2019), the various bronze nameplates (found at each of the surviving murals) still record the presence and original location of the “Girl with Stool” mural.
Old Uncle with Coffee Cup (Artist: Ernest Zacharevic, Mural#1)
This mural is located at the end of a row of shophouses right in the historical centre of Ipoh old town. It depicts an elderly Chinese man enjoying his cup of (presuming) white coffee, which originates from Ipoh.
Given that OldTown White Coffee is the sponsor of this series of street art, it is unsurprising for the theme of this mural and that a branch of the restaurant chain is housed within this row of shophouses.
Paper Plane (Artist: Ernest Zacharevic, Mural#2)
This mural is painted around 4-5 stories high along the side of a building in the adjacent street to the “Old Uncle with Coffee Cup” (above). It depicts two young boys exploring the surroundings on the back of a giant paper plane. Surely the dream of many young kids.
Kopi-O (Artist: Ernest Zacharevic, Mural#3)
The murals “Kopi-O” and “Hummingbird” (see below) are located at the opposite ends of a huge make-shift carpark (fees payable) at the edge of the old town near to Kinta River.
“Kopi” is the Malay word for coffee, while “O” is the Hokkien (a Chinese dialect) word for black. Thus, “Kopi-O” literally means black coffee. As opposed to “Kopi” which refers to coffee with condensed milk.
This mural shows the traditional way of drinking take-away coffee from a straw and plastic bag (tied with a nylon string at one of the top ends). It shows the plastic bag emptying (from left to right) as someone is enjoying the fragrant brew.
(For higher resolution of the images in this post, refer to our Facebook Page)
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Hummingbird (Artist: Ernest Zacharevic, Mural#4)
The murals “Kopi-O” (above) and “Hummingbird” are located at the opposite ends of a huge make-shift carpark at the edge of the old town. This mural depicts a giant hummingbird coming back to a real tree.
Evolution (Artist: Ernest Zacharevic, Mural#5)
The “Evolution” mural is located a short walk from the “Hummingbird”. It pays tribute to Ipoh’s heydays of tin mining.
Prior to the discovery of tin in the area, Ipoh was a village. After tin deposits were found, Ipoh swiftly grew into a major town. Unfortunately, the depletion of its tin deposits coupled with a reduction in the raw material’s price led to the eventual decline of the town for the next few decades.
Trishaw (Artist: Ernest Zacharevic, Mural#6)
The “Trishaw” mural depicts a middle-aged Chinese man collecting used cardboards and discarded materials for recycling. Scenes like this are not uncommon in towns/cities around the region even till this day. Those in the trade typically collect the items from various sources around the area to be sold (by weight) to the local recycling plants. A truly backbreaking and thankless trade to engage in. And a testimony to the grit and hardworking nature of the locals.
(For higher resolution of the images in this post, refer to our Facebook Page)
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Below are the street art done by other local artist in Ipoh Old Town.
Second Concubine Lane
Coffeeshop
Men Drinking Beer
(For higher resolution of the images in this post, refer to our Facebook Page)
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Stacked Parking
Uber Eats Delivery
Street Hawker
Choi!
(For higher resolution of the images in this post, refer to our Facebook Page)
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Things to do in Penang
Want to know what are the Top Things to do in Penang? Refer to our other blog post.
Penang Ipoh Self-drive Itinerary (4-days)
For the actual itinerary of our Nov-2019 4-days Penang Ipoh self-drive road trip, refer to our other blog post.
Penang Street Art Map
The street art in George Town is one of the most popular attraction in Penang. Refer to our Penang Street Art Map blog post to find the locations of the wall paintings in George Town.
See our other blogs on Malaysia:
- Malaysia: Sipadan/Mataking
- Malaysia: Sarawak
- Malaysia: Kota Kinabalu
- Malaysia: Pulau Tenggol
- Malaysia: Genting Highlands
- Malaysia: Johor
- Malaysia: Tioman
- Malaysia: Langkawi
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