For Arts’ Sake - Penang Monthly

Living in Still Life: Reflections on Tan Chiang Kiong’s Odyssey

4 min read

Penang’s Soka Gakkai Centre is a fitting site for Tan Chiang Kiong’s exhibition. The venue now houses 168 of his works, turning the space into both gallery and archive.

by Tan Shu Min

Art Continues to Communicate in Different Realms and in Difficult Times

7 min read

In “residues: hinging on my insanity”, an open studio by Arundhati Kartik, Wang Xi Jie and Hendra Selamat, the three artists engaged with the space as a site for reflection and change, where dislocation and transplantation of works and ideas take place from Singapore to Penang.

by Maya Fauzi

Threads of Change: Weaving Waste Into Art

7 min read

Kelsey Merreck Wagner was trained in printmaking and ceramics. Since the very beginning, her art has been deeply tied to environmental concerns close to her heart. It wasn’t until 2017 that she decided she wanted to weave.

by Sheryl Teoh

An Aging Artist: Teoh Shaw Gie’s Midlife

6 min read

In his solo exhibition, Archaeology of Midlife, which was hosted at O Sculpture Studio from 21 June to 27 July 2025, Teoh Shaw Gie explored the pains and insecurities of his midlife with a beer-bellied sense of self-deprecating humour.

by Teioh Nuan Ning

The Painted Cave: Where Ancient Walls Demand Attention

6 min read

Trader’s Cave is a beauty—it made me feel like I just marched into the fortress city of Minas Tirith with giant columns lined at its mouth. After ambling and taking photos over the 200m stretch, we exited, only to be swallowed by the Great Cave.

by Rachel Yeoh

Tsue Ta Tee's Calligraphy Legacy In Penang

6 min read

Tsue Ta Tee (崔大地) was one of the prominent calligraphers active in Penang and the region in the 1950s and ‘60s, who helped to leave this important legacy on Penang’s cityscape.

by Pan Yi Chieh

The Contours of Home: From Palais to Pulau, An Exhibition on Belonging and Oddities

7 min read

Photos courtesy of Critical Craft Collective WHILE HOME REPRESENTS safety and comfort, it also acts as an intimate space shaped…

by Liani MK