Cultkids’ 'Jiran Tetangga' pop-up weekends at Else KL will showcase his latest works through risograph printing. Photo: Cultkids
ART POP-UP: CULTKIDS' 'JIRAN TETANGGA'
Venue: Smth, Else Hotel KL, Jalan Tun HS Lee, Kuala Lumpur
Date: Feb 7 and 8, Feb 14 and 15, and Feb 21 and 22
There is always a buzz whenever pop culture illustrator Cultkids announces a special art and wares weekend. This month, he is raising the stakes by stretching it across three consecutive weekends.
Step into the spirit of old Malaya through Cultkids' latest whimsically nostalgic designs, now on display at the "Jiran Tetangga" pop-up at Smth, a rotating retail space within boutique hotel Else. The hotel itself is housed in the historic Lee Rubber Building in downtown Kuala Lumpur, adding another layer of heritage to the experience.
The showcases three new designs to the "Jiran Tetangga" series by Cultkids, who is known for his colourful retro aesthetic that evokes the golden days of Malaya.
In collaboration with Singapore-based design studio FIN Crafted Goods, the series translates Cultkids’ illustrations onto T-shirts, A4 risograph prints, postcards and other collectables. The designs spotlight key personalities and landmarks that helped shape Malaysia’s artistic, historical and cultural landscape.
Free admission. The pop-up is open: 10am to 6pm.
More info here.
'Kami Penipu Tapi Kami Tak Menipu' is a full-length contemporary dance work that blends movement, text, multimedia and live music. Photo: Iqram Experimental Lab
DANCE: 'KAMI PENIPU TAPI KAMI TAK MENIPU'
Venue: Five Arts Centre, Level 9, GMBB, KL
Date: ends Feb 8
Here is a production that reflects the fast-paced, short-form content culture of our time. Kami Penipu Tapi Kami Tak Menipu is a full-length contemporary dance work that blends movement, text, multimedia and live music. Performed by dancers, actors and a singer, it unfolds with the restless rhythm of scrolling through TikTok.
Choreographers Nur Faillul Adam and Mohd Nuriqram Azhar took to the streets of Kuala Lumpur last year, conducting spontaneous interviews in Pasar Seni, Bukit Bintang, Masjid Jamek and beyond. These were not staged encounters, but rapid, unfiltered exchanges with strangers from across Malaysia.
The responses form a layered chorus of voices — shaped by bias, emotion, conviction, doubt and refusal — each rooted in lived experience rather than polished rhetoric.
Presented by Iqram Experimental Lab and the Centre for Foundation Studies in Creative Arts, Aswara, with support from the Krishen Jit Fund, the production – running through the weekend – has been described as “60 units of organised chaos.”
More info here.
Faizal Suhif's 'Disebalik Batu' (aluminography on paper, 2026). Photo: Chetak 17
EXHIBITION: CHETAK 17: EDITION VII 2026
Venue: Chetak 17, Taman Wangsa Melawati, Kuala Lumpur
Date: Feb 8-28
At the artist-run Chetak 17 studio and gallery, community shapes every exhibition. Each show highlights the close bonds between veteran, established and emerging printmakers who share the space and its spirit.
This Sunday marks the launch of its annual members’ exhibition - Edition VII 2026, featuring works by Azam Aris, Faizal Suhif, Haslin Ismail, Bayu Utomo Radjikin, Fadhli Ariffin, Fadli Mokhtar, Iwadh Mahadi and Luqman Yusry.
At Chetak 17, the studio floor is as important as the gallery wall. It is a space where visitors can view art and learn about diverse printmaking techniques and stories from the participating artists. The result is a dynamic cross-pollination of styles on display - from the tactile grain of traditional woodcuts to the crisp immediacy of contemporary linocuts.
Presented in an informal, welcoming setting, Edition VII 2026 invites conversation with printmakers often on hand to speak about the processes behind each work - the carving, inking and careful pull of the press.
The exhibition will be launched at 3pm this Sunday. Free admission.
More info here.
Cantonese opera master Madam Kam Sin Kiew set to light up the Bobo KL club stage this weekend. Photo:: Kam Sin Kiew
THEATRE/CANTONESE OPERA: 'LOVE UNFINISHED'
Venue: Bobo KL, Bangsar
Date: ends Feb 7
With Chinese New Year approaching, this weekend offers a rare chance to encounter the living heritage of Cantonese opera. Love Unfinished stages the traditional art form in an intimate setting at Bobo KL, bringing audiences up close to its craft and emotion.
Anchored by legendary Madam Kam Sin Kiew, the performance is a masterclass in tradition. She is joined by Jean Lee, Joyce Chan and Ken Lee, completing a seasoned ensemble.
Madam Kam and her accomplished art crew present four classic tales of love, loyalty and heartache: Tears of Hujia: A Farewell to Mun Kei, The Dainty Gallant, The Unfinished Love of the Phoenix Pavilion, and Pavilion of Hundred Flowers.
The experience is heightened by full traditional costumes, symbolic makeup and a songbook steeped in history. Narration will be presented in both English and Cantonese.
More info here.
On weekends, visitors can catch a live crocheting demonstration by artist Xeem Noor, presented alongside her installation for 'Balai Di Balai (Tatemonologue 2.0)'. Photo: The Star/Raja Faisal Hishan
EXHIBITION: XEEM NOOR’S 'BALAI DI BALAI” (TATEMONOLOGUE 2.0)
Venue: National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
Date: ends April 8
Artist Xeem Noor brings a piece of Japan back to Kuala Lumpur with her installation Balai Di Balai (Tatemonologue 2.0), which kickstarts the Hanya Satu (Singles) spotlight series in the foyer of the National Art Gallery this year.
The work is a life-sized, soft recreation of the apartment she lived in during an artist residency in Yokohama. Constructed from knitted poles and printed fabric, it offers a cozy, walk-in memory of her time abroad, accompanied by photos and personal letters.
But the installation isn’t just a display. Xeem will host live crochet performances every Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday from 11am to 3pm throughout the exhibition, demonstrating her craft and gradually building a large collaborative crochet that grows layer by layer over time.
Visitors are invited to join in: the artist will provide needles and yarn, encouraging hands-on participation alongside the artist.
Ideal for lovers of textile art and "craftivism", this interactive exhibition blends memory, material, and community into a tactile experience.
More info here.
Hoo's painting 'The Crying Man (acrylic on cardboard, 2021). Photo: The Back Room
EXHIBITION: HOO KIEW HANG'S 'ECSTASY'
Venue: The Back Room, Zhongshan building, KL
Date: ends Feb 8
This is the last weekend to catch Ecstasy, a solo exhibition by painter Hoo Kiew Hang at The Back Room in KL. It marks his return to the local art scene after a near-decade hiatus since 2017.
Known for his long-standing fascination with American pop art and pop culture, Hoo now loosens his grip on the movement’s trademark cool detachment. In Ecstasy, he frees the brush from pop art’s formal restraint, reworking its visual language through a more intuitive, expressive approach. The result is a practice that feels less about precision and irony, and more about impulse, emotion, and release.
Colour, symbols and cultural icons spill freely across the exhibition, which comprises several large-scale works on canvas and rice paper, alongside a substantial selection of smaller paintings on cardboard.
Together, they form a vivid, unguarded return - one that suggests an artist rediscovering both his materials and himself, with renewed urgency and confidence.
More info here.
