The Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia (IAMM) in Kuala Lumpur is presenting its year-end exhibition, 'Busana: Traditional Costumes Of The Malay World', which runs until April 12, 2026. Photo: IAMM
EXHIBITION: 'BUSANA: TRADITIONAL COSTUMES OF THE MALAY WORLD'
Venue: Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur
Date: ends April 12, 2026
The Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia (IAMM) in Kuala Lumpur presents its year-end show Busana: Traditional Costumes of the Malay World, on display until April 12, 2026.
Reflecting a renewed local interest in baju kurung, kebaya, and baju Melayu, the exhibition spans Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, southern Thailand, and the Philippines, showcasing the richness of Malay dress. The revival gained momentum in 2023 when Unesco recognized the kebaya as a shared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
IAMM draws from its extensive textile collection to celebrate the artistry and craftsmanship of these garments. Highlights include pieces from the late Tun Endon Mahmood, loaned by Yayasan Budi Penyayang, alongside complete ensembles with accessories — selendang (shawl), samping (waistcloth), and destar (headdress) — illustrating how attire reflects status, ceremony, and tradition.
Visitors can admire embroidery traditions from tekat emas to kelingkan, and the kebaya nyonya, blending Malay and Chinese influences with delicate lace and vibrant stitching. A dedicated section explores Islamic motifs, calligraphy, and geometric patterns, revealing the artistry and cultural depth of Malay textile heritage.
More info here.
A view of the 'Sentul Biennale: To Our Friends' exhibition at A+ Works of Art in KL, which featuresover 150 works by 60 artists from nine countries across the region. Photo: A+ Works of Art
EXHIBITION: 'SENTUL BIENNALE: TO OUR FRIENDS'
Venue: A+ Works of Art, D6 Trade Centre, Jalan Sentul, KL
Date: ends Dec 21
There is something invigorating about an art gallery willing to fold wit into its contemporary programme.
Sentul Biennale: To Our Friends at A+ Works of Art is currently on view until Dec 21, presenting over 150 works by 60 artists from nine countries across the region. The gallery space has been thoughtfully and wittily utilised, perfectly suiting the show’s irreverent spirit.
The exhibition brings together a diverse mix of emerging and established artists working across various mediums, making it a remarkable feat of curation.
The show, featuring homegrown favourites such as Ahmad Fuad Osman, Sharon Chin, and Izat Arif, also brings together several renowned regional and international names — Amin Taasha, Michael Shaowanasai, Gary-Ross Pastrana, Manit Sriwanichpoom, Cian Dayrit, MM Yu, Putu Sutawijaya, Than Sok, Ariana Chaivaranon, Krista Nogueras, Law Yuk Mui and Lo Lai Lai Natalie.
Audaciously naming itself a "biennale", Sentul Biennale playfully reflects on the concept of the biennale as an institution, acknowledging its own ambitions amid spatial, financial, and structural constraints, while remaining committed to the value such events can offer.
Responding to contemporary discussions on friendship, kinship, and community in art, this edition focuses on the moment of introduction between friends, inviting viewers to consider how connections shape creative practice and shared experience.
More info here.
At Futura Connectiva KL, 14 Indonesian creators - including Tahilalats, Si Juki, Milk & Mocha Bear, and Bandits of Batavia - gather at REXKL in Kuala Lumpur for public talks, industry meet-ups, and discussions on cross-border collaboration. Photo: Handout
DIGITAL ART EVENT: FUTURA CONNECTIVA KL
Venue: REXKL, Kuala Lumpur
Date: Dec 12-14
If you enjoy digital art, comics, animation and immersive art, Futura Connectiva KL is a weekend programme worth exploring. This marks the first collective presentation of contemporary Indonesian IP creators in Malaysia, part of Jakarta’s Gebyar Nusantara initiative, which brings 14 Indonesian creators to Kuala Lumpur as the city advances its creative economy and global ambitions.
Featured IPs include some of Indonesia’s most recognisable names: Tahilalats, the webcomic sensation; Si Juki, a cultural icon with multiple media spinoffs; Milk & Mocha Bear, the globally loved kawaii brand; Bandits of Batavia, soon to be a feature film; and Janisaris, a bestselling historical-fantasy series — alongside emerging creators shaping Indonesia’s next wave of visual storytelling.
Visitors can attend public talks on character-IP development, comic-to-animation adaptation, worldbuilding, and international publishing, while REXKL’s theatre transforms into a multi-sensory digital showcase of large-scale projections and animated displays.
Free admission event.
More info here.
The cast of 'Nenek Kebayan Dan Putera Raja' presents a story of paradox: the attempt to defy fate and broken promises between the classic archetypes, and the ripple effects that touch everyone, even the uninvolved. Photo: Handout
THEATRE: 'NENEK KEBAYAN DAN PUTERA RAJA'
Venue: pangkin@ejklsseni, Wangsa Maju, Kuala Lumpur
Date: Dec 12-14
Malaysia’s classic folk archetypes receive a contemporary reinvention in Nenek Kebayan Dan Putera Raja, presented by ejklseni at pangkin@ejklseni - an indie theatre space - from Dec 12–14.
Written and directed by Aiman Zulhakim, the story (in Bahasa Malaysia) follows three figures who converge beneath an old tree, triggering reflections on fate, promises, and the shaping of truth.
Nenek Kebayan and Putera Raja are reimagined to probe how power, history, and storytelling shape ordinary lives, exploring themes of propaganda, legacy, and choice.
Performed in an intimate setting by a young cast (Suba Magas, Zaweel Afnaan, Nadiya Zalika, Khairul Dudu and Adam Syahmi), the production blends homage and reinvention, offering a folk tale that resonates with contemporary concerns and the enduring intricacies of human experience.
More info here.
Khoo's 'Morning Bathers' (oil on canvas, 1998), which is one of his artworks showing at G13 Gallery in Petaling Jaya. Photo: G13 Gallery
EXHIBITION: KHOO SUI HOE: SELECTED WORKS 1965-2020
Venue: G13 Gallery, Petaling Jaya
Date: ends Dec 31
G13 Gallery is no stranger to senior artist Khoo Sui Hoe’s work, having hosted two exhibitions in the past three years. Its latest show, Khoo Sui Hoe: Selected Works 1965–2020, now on in the Petaling Jaya art space, gathers standout pieces from more than five decades of one of Malaysia’s most influential modern artists.
The exhibition traces the 86-year old Khoo’s evolution — from the expressive, figurative works of the 1960s to his signature dreamlike scenes and the quieter, distilled imagery of his later years.
His exhibitions at G13 Gallery have been a treat for art lovers and historians, offering a rare chance to trace the evolution of his style and explore the depth of his creative vision. The shifts in colour, form and mood reveal an artist who kept reinventing himself, yet always stayed rooted in the poetic, intuitive qualities that define his art.
Many of the oil on canvas works, now on display at G13 Gallery, come directly from Khoo’s personal collection and are rarely shown.
More info here.
Shaman Tearoom, comprising Kent Lee (left) and Aiwei Foo, will be celebrating its fifth anniversary with the 'Into Still Life' shows at The Godown in KL from Dec 12-14. Photo: TengSoulWong
CONCERT: SHAMAN TEAROOM'S 'INTO STILL LIFE'
Venue: The Godown, Kuala Lumpur
Date: Dec 12-14
Multidisciplinary collective Shaman Tearoom — the duo of Aiwei Foo and Kent Lee — returns to The Godown, Kuala Lumpur, from Dec 12–14, with a performance that unfolds the profound stillness beneath our ever-shifting world. Their work traces subtle, often imperceptible movements that surface in quiet moments, revealing textures of change that emerge only when everything else falls silent.
In Into Still Life, which also celebrates Shaman Tearoom's fifth anniversary, the duo reimagines the traditional genre of “still life,” transforming inanimate observation into a living inquiry where seeing becomes feeling.
First presented at Singapore’s ArtScience Museum, the work contemplates how life pulses within stillness and how stillness resonates within life.
The result is a meditation on duality: yin’s quietude and yang’s momentum coexist not in opposition, but in delicate reciprocity, echoing Eastern philosophies and illuminating the hidden rhythms that bind all existence.
More info here.
EXHIBITION: 'I LOVE SUSHI'
Venue: The Project Room, UR-MU @ The Toffee, Jalan Raja Chulan, KL
Date: ends Dec 31
Malaysians can now explore sushi beyond the plate. The Japan Foundation, Kuala Lumpur (JFKL) is welcoming the masses to its touring exhibition I Love Sushi, which offers a short - yet insightful - journey through Japan’s iconic dish as a celebration of history, art, and tradition.
Organised with the Embassy of Japan in Malaysia, Urban Museum Kuala Lumpur (UR-MU), and Sushi Hibiki, this free exhibition reimagines sushi as a cultural masterpiece, reflecting Japan’s creativity, craftsmanship, and deep respect for nature.
At the gallery, I Love Sushi allows visitors can explore captivating visuals, interactive displays, and digital experiences that trace sushi’s evolution - from a centuries-old preservation method to the refined nigiri-zushi of the Edo period, and finally to the modern global phenomenon it is today.
The exhibition also offers a multisensory experience at The Project Room, featuring a virtual reality “sushi shop,” educational videos, and exhibits - a sushi "wall" with 150 varieties - highlighting the precision and artistry behind every roll and slice.
Part of a decade-long world tour that began in 2022, the exhibition celebrates food as a bridge of cultural exchange, showing how, like art, it connects people across borders.
More info here.
EXHIBITION: ILHAM ART SHOW 2025
Venue: Ilham Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
Date: ends April 5, 2026
Ilham Gallery in Kuala Lumpur is closing the year on a high with the Ilham Art Show 2025, showcasing contemporary artists and collectives across painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, installation, textiles, film, and video.
The exhibition has been drawing enthusiastic weekend crowds and brings together established names and exciting newcomers, including Gan Chin Lee, Wong Perng Fey, Roopesh Sitharan, Tiga Tawai, Eiffel Chong, Marcos Kueh, Joshua Kane Gomes, Kim Ng, Arikwibowo Amril, Syarifah Nadhirah, Kimberley Boudville, Yvonne Tan, Hieng, and Afiza Abubakar.
An open-call exhibition, the show welcomes artists based in Malaysia or abroad, regardless of background or experience. From over 270 submissions, 20 artists and collectives were selected in March 2025 by a regional panel including Gridthiya Gaweewong, Sharmini Pereira, Wong Hoy Cheong, and Rahel Joseph. Each received a production grant to realise works they might not have pursued otherwise.
While the exhibition isn’t tied to a theme, recurring ideas emerge: reflecting on history, exploring the fragility of nature, the fluidity of identity, and shifting social and familial ties.
Launched in 2022, the triennial Ilham Art Show continues to champion contemporary voices in Malaysia and beyond.
More info here.
