Feature

Penang Art Society, established in 1953, is the oldest registered art society in the state, celebrating its 65th anniversary last August with an exhibition at the Penang State Art Gallery, where 160 pieces of art by its members went on display.

Penang in the 90s. Independent music had just exploded onto the scene and the air was electric with Nirvana and Metallica.

It is quite surprising for musicians who have countless hours of practice under their belts spent more on music lessons than their parents would want to recall and who have all played frequently in professional settings at one time or another, to perform for free.

At 19 years old, Catherine Wong is one of the youngest kotai (“song stage” in Hokkien) singers in Penang.

Ling Goh was born into a family of Teochew puppets and opera performers. Her great-grandparents, Yang Bing Jin and Li Yu Feng, were performers in China who came to Penang to continue the trade with their son, Yang Qing Ying, Goh’s grandfather.

To complement the Penang Philharmonic Orchestra, the mixed choir Voices of Penang Philharmonic was rejuvenated in 2016.

The Clan Jetties community has been living with the sea as backdrop for generations. This inseparable connection with their environment has formed an essential part of their identity, alongside the constant struggles in their daily lives.