COMMUNITY ARTS EVENT: 'RASA PASAR'
Venue: Old Klang Road Market, Kuala Lumpur
Date: March 27 to April 1
"Rasa Pasar," presented by Gap_Space Pasar and organised by Colllab, is a community exhibition that invites visitors to rediscover the Old Klang Road market not merely as a hub of commerce, but as a living archive of "rasa" – taste, memory, and culture.
The exhibition, featuring research and archival material, explores the KL market through multi-sensory experiences, showcasing ingredients, aromas and flavours, alongside documentation of pasar recipes.
This project documents five pasar recipes shared by the vendors, highlighting traditional dishes, local flavours and Indian spices.
Each video follows the journey from sourcing fresh ingredients to cooking, showing how everyday meals are shaped by the market. Beyond the recipes, it captures the vendors’ knowledge and stories, presenting the pasar as a living kitchen of culture, memory and human connection.
Open from this Friday to next Wednesday, 7am to noon daily, Rasa Pasar (free admission, walk-in event) offers a unique window into the rhythms of the market and the stories embedded in its food.
Through its informative exhibits, the exhibition also offers the public an opportunity to learn about the market's history.
Complementing the exhibition is the ticketed Natural Dyes Silkscreen Workshop presented by the Pasar Palette Collective this Saturday at 9.30am, where participants can experiment with colour dyeing using pigments extracted from food ingredients and take home a personalised tote bag.
Colllab is an NGO that focuses on architectural research, documentation, innovation and fabrication lab. The exhibition is supported by UCSI University, School of Architecture and Built Environment.
More info here.
CONCERT: 'SYMPHONY OF MEMORIES: A JOURNEY THROUGH MANDARIN CLASSICS'
Venue: Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS, KL
Date: March 28
Closing out March, Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS presents a night of sweeping orchestral pop music, offering audiences a chance to experience the power and beauty of a live symphony up close.
Symphony Of Memories: A Journey Through Mandarin Classics on this Saturday promises a feast for the eyes and ears, blending the drama of Mandarin pop with the grandeur of classical music.
Under the baton of conductor Francis Kan, the orchestra will reimagine classics – My Heart Is An Open Book, Night After Night, Olive Tree, Histoire d'un amour and A Hymn To Spring Night.
Vocalists Layla Sania, Izen Kong, Janet Lee, and Daniel – familiar faces in the pop scene – will bring these beloved songs to life, creating a heartfelt celebration of both Mandarin music and orchestral artistry.
The evening also features classical crossover pieces, including selections from Bizet’s Carmen and others.
More info here.
EXHIBITION: 'NANYANG NEW FRONTIERS'
Venue: Wisma Kebudayaan Soka Gakkai Malaysia (SGM), Kuala Lumpur
Date: ends April 12
Celebrating 20 years of creativity, the Cao Tang Men Eastern Arts Society - a Malaysian Chinese ink painting and calligraphy community - presents Nanyang New Frontiers. Spread across three floors of the Wisma Kebudayaan SGM building, the exhibition immerses visitors in a world of expressive ink works that reflect the spirit and evolution of Nanyang art.
Curated by calligrapher Ong Chia Koon, the exhibition reflects the society’s ongoing commitment to evolving ink painting, calligraphy and seal engraving, accompanied by a commemorative catalogue.
The month-long show, featuring weekend walkthroughs and workshop events, brings together 54 artists presenting 134 works – 81 ink paintings and 53 seal carvings – reflecting the diversity and creativity of its members.
Founded by the late Dr Cheah Thien Soong and now led by Chong Choy, Cao Tang Men Eastern Arts Society has become a highly recognised name in Malaysia’s art community.
The exhibition also features a tribute to Dr Cheah, with a section dedicated to his artworks.
Over the years, the society has organised exhibitions, workshops, overseas sketching programmes, seal-carving sessions and lectures, significantly contributing to the advocacy, education, and development of traditional and contemporary Nanyang art forms.
Free admission exhibition. Closed on Mondays.
More info here.
EXHIBITION: HAMIDI HADI'S 'TRACING STILLNESS (MENJEJAK HENING)'
Venue: Wei-Ling Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
Date: ends March 28
It’s the last few days to see Hamidi Hadi’s Tracing Stillness exhibition. The Seri Iskandar, Perak-based artist and educator marks his 10th solo show with a quieter, more contemplative chapter in his practice.
His previous exhibition at Wei Ling Gallery, Trembling In Silence, was charged with emotion, a response to humanitarian crises that weighed heavily on him. This time, the energy shifts. Tracing Stillness explores calm and the search for peace amid uncertainty.
What sets Hamidi’s abstract works apart is how he approaches his surfaces – or, more precisely, how he doesn’t.
Rather than layering, he folds, tears, and peels materials away. Working with Chinese ink, enamel, acrylic, and oil, he creates depth and texture that invite viewers to engage on multiple levels.
From a distance, some pieces evoke the ambiguity of a Rorschach test, revealing more than meets the eye.
More info here.
EXHIBITION: ILHAM ART SHOW 2025
Venue: Ilham Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
Date: ends April 5
There are less than 10 days left to catch the Ilham Art Show 2025. Featuring contemporary artists and collectives, the show brings together new works in painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, installation, textile, film, and video. Don’t miss the chance to see one of the year’s most exciting exhibitions - plan your visit soon!
The exhibition, which attracted thousands since it opened last November, includes established names and newcomers such as 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, Umar Sharif, Hieng and Afiza Abubakar.
Last March, 20 artists and collectives were selected by a regional panel (Gridthiya Gaweewong, Sharmini Pereira, Wong Hoy Cheong, and Rahel Joseph). Each recipient received a production grant to realise their proposed work – projects they might not have otherwise pursued.
Though not bound by a theme, shared ideas emerged: the mining of history to reflect on the present, the fragility of nature, the fluidity of identity and shifting social and familial ties.
The triennial Ilham Art Show series was established in 2022.
More info here.
