A visitor immerses herself in Vincent van Gogh’s 'The Starry Night' at the Art Gallery section of Immersify KL, where the iconic painting is brought to life through large-scale digital projections. Photo: The Star/M. Irsyad
DIGITAL ART EXHIBITION: 'IMMERSIFY KL'
Venue: The Labs, Bukit Bintang City Centre, Kuala Lumpur
Date: open daily
Kuala Lumpur is no stranger to digital art exhibitions, and many city dwellers have already experienced teamLab showcases abroad. But when a new immersive art playground opens locally, it's always a reason to celebrate.
Now open at Bukit Bintang City Centre, Immersify KL, developed by South Korean outfit Bitgrim Immersify Group, is a futuristic gallery featuring 11 interactive zones, including Malaysia’s first 360-degree, 12m-high projection space.
Using high-definition visuals, interactive installations, and 3D spatial sound, it offers a unique way to experience digital art.
Designed for all ages, Immersify KL blends nature, creativity, and Malaysian culture into an engaging edutainment experience. Spanning approximately 2,787sq m, visitors can explore digital landscapes, interact with immersive displays, and unwind at a themed cafe.
Art lovers will also appreciate the "Art Gallery" section, where masterpieces by Vincent van Gogh, Gustav Klimt, and Claude Monet are projected to fill entire rooms, creating a breathtaking visual experience.
More info here.
Gan Sze Hooi’s painting, 'Girl In A Labyrinth Of Food (2025). It is one of the new works at the 'Urban Narratives' exhibition in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: G13 Gallery
EXHIBITION: 'URBAN NARRATIVES'
Venue: The Drawing Room, Yap Ah Shak House, Chow Kit, Kuala Lumpur
Date: ends March 11
This collaboration between G13 Gallery and Yap Ah Shak House marks another exciting chapter in the effort to bring art into Kuala Lumpur’s historic areas. Urban Narratives invites visitors to see the city through fresh eyes, as 18 Malaysian artists reinterpret its streets, buildings, and everyday life.
Set within the Yap Ah Shak House in Chow Kit, a six-storey building that blends heritage architecture with contemporary design, the exhibition offers a unique dialogue between past and present. It uncovers hidden stories, revealing the cultural, social, and emotional layers that shape Kuala Lumpur’s evolving identity.
Working with diverse mediums – from paintings to mixed media – artists such as Shafiq Nordin, Najib Bamadhaj, Fawwaz Sukri, Gan Sze Hooi, Gan Tee Sheng, Ho Mei Kei, Nik M Shazmie, Nik Mohd Shahfiz, Syed Fakaruddin, Wong Ming Hao, and Yuki Tham bring their unique perspectives to the exhibition.
Urban Narratives also marks G13 Gallery’s first exhibition beyond its Petaling Jaya space, making it a milestone in the gallery’s journey of bringing art to new and meaningful locations.
Admission is free.
More info here.
A gallery view of the 'A Life In Shadows' exhibition at the Museum of Asian Art, Universiti Malaya in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: The Star/Faihan Ghani
EXHIBITION: 'A LIFE IN SHADOWS: THE STORY OF WAYANG KULIT'
Venue: Museum of Asian Art, Universiti Malaya, KL
Date: ends April 30
The Museum of Asian Art at Universiti Malaya presents A Life In Shadows: The Story Of Wayang Kulit, which explores South-East Asian shadow puppetry. It also celebrates the legacy of Tok Dalang Dollah Baju Merah (1937–2005), a key figure in Malaysian wayang kulit.
Featuring nearly 100 shadow puppets and artefacts from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Cambodia, the exhibition highlights the region’s shared heritage and its ties to Hindu epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata.
A standout display features 25 of Dollah Baju Merah's original puppets, honouring his lasting influence, while a handwritten Jawi manuscript of Hikayat Handuman (from Hikayat Seri Rama), sourced from the Za'ba Memorial Library, adds historical depth to the exhibition.
For a rare treat, a series of 1950s "wayang beber" scrolls from Jogjakarta offers a fascinating glimpse into this traditional storytelling art form, making the exhibition well worth a visit.
A collaboration between the museum and Australian photographer Constantine Korsovitis, the exhibition expands on his book A Life In Shadows: Shadow Theatre In South-East Asia. It also features modern interpretations by Fusion Wayang Kulit, bridging tradition with contemporary pop culture.
Admission is free. Open: Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm. Saturday, 9am-4pm.
More info here.
At the Art Depot space (National Art Gallery), the 'Creative Exploration' initiative hands the creative reins to art students - along with a pair of Chuck Taylors as their blank canvas. Photo: Bernama
EXHIBITION: 'CONVERSE: CREATIVE EXPLORATION'
Venue: Art Depot, National Art Gallery, KL
Date: ends April 12
Sneakers, meet young art! The National Art Gallery's Art Depot has always exuded street cool, and now, thanks to Converse Malaysia (Converse MY), it's about to get even edgier. In collaboration with UiTM, the Malaysian Institute of Art (MIA), and the National Art Gallery, the Creative Exploration initiative hands the creative reins to art students - along with a pair of Chuck Taylors as their blank canvas.
As part of the global "Love, Chuck" campaign, this project blurs the lines between fashion and art, proving that sneakers aren’t just for walking - they’re for making bold artistic statements. The resulting works will be showcased at Art Depot until April 12, before selected pieces hit the big stage at Converse flagship stores around the Klang Valley.
Beyond just a celebration of creativity, Creative Exploration reinforces the National Art Gallery as a hub for contemporary art while shining a light on UiTM and MIA as breeding grounds for young artistic talent.
More info here.
'Sorga Rawa' (Bog Paradise), a solo installation work by W. Rajaie, fills up the entire gallery space at The Back Room in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: The Back Room
EXHIBITION: W. RAJAIE'S 'SORGA RAWA'
Venue: The Back Room, Zhongshan building, KL
Date: ends March 9
The Back Room presents Sorga Rawa (Bog Paradise), a solo installation work by W. Rajaie that fills the entire gallery.
Known for his earth paintings – textured works of compacted dirt with deep cracks – Rajaie expands his exploration of soil as a medium, pushing it into metaphysical territory.
Sorga Rawa is a surreal, shifting landscape where matter becomes myth and ritual turns to religion.
On March 8 and 9, the "Upacara Cemar Tapak" (Ceremony of Stained Feet) will take place at the gallery. This simple ceremony expands the mythic world of Sorga Rawa, during which visitors are invited to take off their shoes and enter barefooted into the exhibit's mud site.
These will be the only days when viewers can interact with the site - on other exhibition dates, the site can only be viewed from the threshold of the gallery’s entrance.
Admission is free.
More info here.
A view of Bayu Utomo Radjikin's 'Warbox' (1994) installation at the Ilham Gallery exhibition. It was part of the iconic 'Warbox, Lalang, Killing Tools' exhibition held at the Creative Centre, National Art Gallery (then located at the former Majestic Hotel in KL) in 1994. Photo: The Star/Shaari Chemat
EXHIBITION: 'BOOM BOOM BANG: PLAY & PARODY IN 1990s KL'
Venue: Ilham Gallery, Ilham Tower, Kuala Lumpur
Date: ends March 9
It's the final days to catch Ilham Gallery’s exhibition, Boom Boom Bang: Play & Parody in 1990s KL - a time capsule of a decade where art, theatre, comedy, protest, and punk collided in a creative explosion.
Spanning multiple mediums, the exhibition revisits a period of bold cultural and social experimentation, where artists wielded humour and rebellion to challenge the status quo. Its title references Boom Boom Bang, a 1998 documentary by Berlin-based Zakiah Omar and Hanno Baethe, which captured the artistic pulse of the time.
Featuring works by Ismail Zain, Ahmad Fuad Osman, Wong Hoy Cheong, Bayu Utomo Radjikin, Azizan Paiman, Five Arts Centre, Instant Café Theatre, Yee I-Lann, Nur Hanim Khairuddin, Zulkifli Yusoff, Carburetor Dung, Raja Shahriman Raja Aziddin, and more, the exhibition highlights the voices of artists, performers, activists, punk rockers, and writers who shaped the city’s identity during a period of transformation.
Curated by Rahel Joseph, Simon Soon, Azzad Diah, and Ridhwan Saidi, Boom Boom Bang concludes with a series of engaging public programmes. On March 8 at 3 pm, art historian Sarena Abdullah will present “Art in a Time of Change: Artistic Responses in 1990s Malaysia,” offering insights into the creative shifts and cultural dynamics of that transformative decade.
Then, on March 9 at 3 pm, artist Niranjan Rajah will take the stage with “Revisiting The Failure of Marcel Duchamp/Japanese Fetish Even! or How I Saw the World Wide Web of the 1990s as a Medium for Art,” exploring how digital innovations influenced artistic expression during the era.
Free admission exhibition.
More info here.
