The Ipoh Mural Art Trail is a map produced by the Ipoh Tourist Information Centre showing the location of Ipoh’s famous street art.
You can obtain your own copy from the Tourist Office or Oldtown White Coffee outlets.
Following the success of street art in Penang, Melaka and elsewhere in Malaysia, the city of Ipoh commissioned talented Lithuanian artist, Ernest Zacharevic to produce a series of murals sponsored by Oldtown White Coffee.
His art has transformed scruffy shop house walls into works of art, some of which use live props to create a 3D effect.
His work is of a transient nature much like famous British artist Banksy. The damp mould stains on the walls caused by Malaysia’s humid climate will eventually erase his work, so do go and see it while you still can.
He created eight Murals in Ipoh, one of which (Girl) has since been painted over:
1. A Paper Plane
2. An Old Uncle Drinking Coffee
3. A Yellow Hummingbird
4. A ‘Kopi’ Break
5. A Bag Of Coffee
6. Girl On A Wall In Bandar Timah
7. Old Town Relives Nostalgia With Trishaw
8. Tin Mining Town With Chinese-Style Painting
The map gives GPS coordinates and you try finding the coordinates on Google Maps but it is more fun to locate them on your own.
Use the map to give you a general idea of the murals’ location and you can have an adventure walking about searching for them.
Zacharevic’s murals are not the only ones in town and indeed a thriving street art scene has sprung up in recent years.
The Mural Arts Lane is a narrow street running between Jalan Sultan Iskandar and Jalan Masjid whose drab walls have been brightened up with dozens of cheerful murals portraying scenes from Malaysian culture, some of them painted by art teacher Eric Lai.
You will notice the creative way that doors, windows and even vegetation have been incorporated into the murals. Mural Arts Lane is marked number nine on the map.
You’ll be able to see lots of other examples of street art by walking around the older parts of town.
Businesses are also using murals to promote their services. Brewster Village is a wedding and events venue operating from a heritage building which was formerly a fire station.
If it’s raining on the day you visit, you can still see murals indoor at the Wisma Chye Hin on Jalan Sultan Idris, Ipoh.
This article first appeared in Malaysia Traveller