I am drawn to street art, enough to actually take a walk under the bridges and tunnels of Jakarta for a slow, close look at them a few years ago. I understand the resistance, the public discourse, the activism that is channeled through street art, so I kind of understand why someone was bothered enough by the commissioned murals in Georgetown, Penang, to take a stab at the public by tagging some of the most famous murals with cheeky ‘Facebook ready’ or ‘Instagram Me’ signs. I suppose that person feels that the city-commissioned murals take the politics and social commentary out of street art by turning it into photogenic tourist attractions.
When we finally walked through the streets of Georgetown, though, I actually smiled. True, the murals are definitely tourist attractions. There were long queues of people who want to take a photo with the murals and I bet these photos will make it to Facebook or Instagram, but I really couldn’t see what is wrong with that. Nobody frowned or complained about queuing under the scorching sun, you can find little children and old grandparents posing with the murals as creatively as they could. Coming from a city with dysfunctional public spaces, it is absolutely fantastic seeing people actually smiling as they are walking and riding bicycles, taking in the brilliant art gracing the walls of Georgetown.
More photos from Penang on our Instagram accounts: @thedustysneakers and @maesy_ang
The Dusty Sneakers 
Ah, when I was in Penang last June, I didn’t notice that Georgetown has such beautiful and artistic murals. Kurang riset sepertinya. I even didn’t found one (atau mungkin akunya aja yg sadar :D)
Then it means you’ll have fun discovering them when you visit Georgetown next time! They are easy to find if you explore Georgetown on foot. 🙂
Well, I explored Georgetown on foot, hihihi. Walking around Little India, Armenian Street, Welq Quay, and Padang Kota Lama. Where are the murals? 😐
Exactly at all the places you just mentioned! Hahaha… Georgetown just really wants you to come back, then 😀
Seriously? :O
I really didn’t notice them. Well, cheap ticket come to meeeeee!!!
Such an “instagramable” city 🙂
Warna Warni Ibukota Polandia
You might be interested in the blog post I linked to above, the writer tagged the murals with ‘Instagram Ready’ or “Good for Facebook’ signs: http://skl0.com/georgetown-i-love-you-but-penang-2013/
I just think Georgetown is a very nice place to wander on foot 😉
surely will include Georgetown on my where-to-go list this year!
thank you for sharing the funny murals. 🙂
You’d love Georgetown, Yuki! It’s a very easy city to walk around in and enjoy 🙂
yeay, can’t wait!
One of my fave city 🙂 I went there left my stressful reports for several days last year, came back to Jakarta and scolded by the Boss. But never regret it. Definitely will come back later 😛
Yes, and now it’s ours too 😉
nice shots!
Thanks! 😀
Hello gypsytoes & twosocks, nice pic btw. We just met last Sat in Gramedia Semanggi. Nice blog too..
Hi Diana! Great to see you here too. Thank you so much for coming on Saturday 🙂