One of my plans in Kuala Lumpur was to explore art galleries and museums, similar to what I had done in Bangkok. In a way, I was in luck. On the other hand, I was not.
Let’s start with the bad news. Similarly to what happened in Georgetown, I struggled to understand opening days and times. Actually, just don’t trust anything you see online – websites aren’t updated frequently and their schedules seem to change quite a lot. And if for some reason a gallery was temporarily closed, this wouldn’t be disclosed anywhere online – so you’d get there just to face a closed door. Perhaps this was just my luck – or lack of it – but it was frustrating, especially when you made it all the way there just to be unable to enter.
The Ilham Gallery was one of them. I went all the way there just to be greeted by a “Closed for Maintenance. Please proceed to the Gift Shop” sign. The “Proceed to the Gift Shop” was even more unnerving – no, you can’t see any art, but you can do some shopping!
The National Art Gallery was another big hitter for me. I had seen online that it closed at 6pm. I get there just before 4pm, thinking I’d still have a couple hours to explore… I wasn’t even 10 minutes inside when I heard the voice on the speakers saying they were going to close within the next hour. The National Gallery in Kuala Lumpur is free to visit, but it is a little outside the centre. So you have to take the underground or an Uber. It was indeed disheartening as this place has a fantastic collection of works that I enjoyed perusing.
The good news is that when it comes to art, Kuala Lumpur, similarly to Georgetown, has an open-air art gallery that I would urge you not to miss at all. In fact, there is art everywhere, with local businesses also having beautiful murals as part of their decorations.
Walk around the Central Market area and you will find amazing works. The Central Market itself is a good place to go for souvenirs and there are plenty of places to eat around it as well.
The creme de la creme is in Chinatown, which became one of my favourite areas in Kuala Lumpur. Some of the artworks seem to be inspired by those you see in Georgetown, but at least here it’s all much better conserved. The artwork on the walls still has strong colours and well-defined lines, and I could see artists adding their contributions to the walls.
Most of these works are concentrated in Petaling Street, so don’t miss it when visiting Kuala Lumpur. They are inspired by the day-to-day life of the Malay, with the same childlike and often comedic scenes I found heartwarming in Georgetown.
Whilst all I mentioned above is free, I would also recommend visiting the Islamic Art Museum. It contains an impressive collection of Islamic Art, the biggest in Southeast Asia, and you can spend a few good hours going through the galleries and learning about the art and the culture of the Islamic world across multiple regions. The price is just about £3.50/$4.50, and you also get some air conditioning hours of exploration!
I mentioned this in my previous post, but there is really a lot to see and do in Kuala Lumpur and it’s such a great destination for those interested in art. Dedicate more than a couple of days to the city, it certainly deserves your attention.
Love, Nic
The Winged Bone 
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