EXHIBITION: 'NIGHT SHIFT'
Venue: APW, Jalan Riong, Bangsar, KL
Date: ends Nov 15
Only a few days remain to catch Night Shift, an exhibition at APW Bangsar revisiting Kuala Lumpur’s clubbing and independent music culture between 1997 and 2003.
Part of Urbanscapes’ return after a seven-year break, the show offers a glimpse into a formative chapter of the city’s nightlife history.
Curated by Roshan Menon of Saturday Selects and Callen Tham, a club scene veteran, the exhibition brings together photographs, flyers, memorabilia and archival material documenting a formative period in KL’s dance music and deejay scene.
For those who remember the era, the displays recall the venues, deejays and independent parties that shaped the scene. Younger visitors get a glimpse of a largely undocumented chapter of the city’s cultural history.
Among the highlights are photographs by deejay and photographer Kelvin Oon, documenting independent rave parties in Kuala Kubu Baru and elsewhere on the outskirts of Selangor around 2000.
Put together in just six months, the Night Shift exhibition also offers an informative account of how KL’s dance and clubbing culture grew to attract some of the biggest international deejays, while retaining its independent roots. The displays trace this balance between a growing mainstream profile and the grassroots communities that sustained the scene.
Exhibition is open noon to 9pm. Free admission.
More info here.
THEATRE: 'THE FAILED ROMANCES'
Venue: The Studio, JCPAC, Bandar Sunway
Date: Nov 12-15
Here’s one for the memory bank – and perhaps a few smiles – this weekend at JCPAC’s experimental venue, The Studio. The Failed Romances, also known as Kaadhal Tholvigal, is a theatrical love letter to Tamil cinema and its grand screen romances, complete with melodrama, music and familiar cinematic tropes.
Created by Govin Ruben and TerryandTheCuz, the hybrid production brings together theatre, music and cabaret. It is co-written and co-directed with Australian theatre-maker Adriano Cortese of Ranters Theatre, adding another perspective to the mix.
Growing up in Sentul, Govin moved between Tamil and English cultural worlds, an experience that informs the production. Tamil cinema’s larger-than-life romances also left their mark on his early imagination. Now, this Malaysian dreamer brings some of those cinematic memories to the stage.
Govin takes the spotlight as he revisits heartbreak, memories and the romantic misadventures that shaped his young adult life.
Singaporean actress Udaya Soundari plays three love interests, singing and dancing along the way, while a six-piece band led by Ashwin Gobinath provides the musical backing.
More info here.
FILM FESTIVAL: SEASHORTS FILM FESTIVAL 2026 - AFTER: IMAGE
Venue: GSC LaLaport BBCC, Kuala Lumpur
Date: Nov 12-15
SeaShorts Film Festival marks its 10th edition with After:Image, running from Nov 12-15 at GSC LaLaport BBCC, in collaboration with the Japan Foundation and Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC).
The festival - ticketed - will showcase short films from all 11 Asean countries in the SeaShorts Competition (SSC), alongside Malaysian entries in the Malaysian Open Competition (MOC).
The SSC jury comprises Indonesian actress and songwriter Mian Tiara (Impetigore, Photocopier); Malaysian filmmaker Emir Ezwan, whose debut feature Roh won Best Film at the 31st Malaysian Film Festival; and Singaporean producer Yuni Hadi, co-producer of Anthony Chen’s Cannes-winning Ilo Ilo.
The MOC jury features Indonesian filmmaker Paul Agusta (Parts Of The Heart), Malaysian curator Qila Gill, formerly of the British Film Institute and London Short Film Festival, and GSC International Screens programmer Kim Ooi.
“SeaShorts celebrates its 10th birthday this year. It’s a testament to the building, support and celebration of Malaysian talents that has achieved great heights towards a global position. This is thanks to our diverse range of talented filmmakers, our sisters and brothers in cinema, to the community, friends and funders in SEA and Nusantara. This year will be even better," says filmmaker Dain Said, the festival director of SeaShorts.
New programmes include a showcase of emerging films from Timor-Leste, the Nusantara Focus on Indigenous and community perspectives, The Filipino-Chinese Experience on diaspora stories, and a Mid-Length Films section.
Returning programmes include Heatseekers for student filmmakers, the women-led Shorts+ and Beyond Indian Shores, which explores South Asian diasporic experiences.
More info here.
URBAN TOURS: 'JALAN TIKUS'
Venue: Multiple locations in KL
Date: Nov 13 to Dec 6 (weekends)
Taking its name from the familiar Malay phrase “jalan tikus”, meaning a back lane or unofficial shortcut, this ticketed programme – limited pax only, register online to secure your slot – explores the less obvious routes through Kuala Lumpur and the stories they hold.
Jalan Tikus is a series of participatory urban tours led by five artists and communities whose work is rooted in the city: Alvin Lau, ‘notime towaste’, Paul Atia, Syuhada Sapno and Velo Express KL.
Running across 10 sessions from Nov 13 to Dec 6, the programme opens tomorrow (Friday, 4pm) with Kayuh Terus Tour, led by Velo Express KL, a team of bicycle couriers who navigate the city daily.
Along the way, participants will visit a pop-up bike kitchen for basic maintenance tips and contribute to a growing community project collecting cyclists’ stories about riding in KL for a zine, which will be exhibited at Sang Wot Coffee Shop.
Each tour, from The Godown Arts Centre to Pasar Besar TTDI, offers a different perspective on a city shaped not only by plans and policies, but also by the everyday adaptations of its residents.
The tours range from an urban and architectural walk led by artist and educator Paul Atia to a waste-design lab examining how market goods are packed, labelled and discarded.
Jalan Tikus is a satellite programme of the Malaysia Art Ecosystem Fair 2026, organised by the National Art Gallery.
More info here.
EXHIBITION: LOW CHEE PENG'S 'SE-KARANG: BETWEEN SKY AND SILENCE'
Venue: National Art Gallery, KL
Date: ends Dec 31
Clusters of clouds and a sleeping baby form the centrepiece of Se-Karang, an exhibition at the National Art Gallery featuring a suspended installation that visitors can view from different angles.
Titled Between Sky And Silence, the large-scale work by Penang-born artist Low Chee Peng brings together ideas of clouds, dreams and the inner child in the gallery’s central atrium.
The National Art Gallery’s Se-Karang series explores connections between different elements, from the artworks and their surroundings to the relationship between artists, their creations and visitors.
He spent six months creating the floating sculpture in his studio. The installation comprises 20 cloud-like forms, with the largest measuring 3m long and 2.4m high.
“The strength of Se-Karang lies in its interaction with space, offering visitors a 360-degree view of the artwork. I deliberately avoided creating uniform cloud shapes, instead allowing them to form randomly so that visitors can explore and appreciate the sculpture’s different forms,” he said.
The Se-Karang: Between Sky And Silence exhibition, at Greyzone in the National Art Gallery, is free admission.
More info here.
EXHIBITION: NATEE UTARIT’S 'A MIDSUMMER NIGHT DREAM / THE ARTIFICIAL LUNATIC DIARY: THE SUPERIOR'
Venue: Richard Koh Fine Art, APW, Bangsar, KL
Date: ends Nov 14
A Kuala Lumpur exhibition by Thai contemporary artist Natee Utarit is always worth noting. His latest, A Midsummer Night Dream / The Artificial Lunatic Diary: The Superior, brings a three-part series to a close, examining human nature, power and the contradictions of the world we inhabit.
Following two earlier presentations in Bangkok and Singapore, each featuring a distinct body of work, the Kuala Lumpur show introduces an entirely new series centred on the horse. These include nine small paintings, a selection of larger works and a single piece titled Wild Horse.
Drawing on English sporting art and 18th-century equestrian portraiture, Natee depicts horses, jockeys and riders in pastoral settings, with the stillness and precision of old engravings. Familiar scenes are quietly disrupted by incongruous objects: a raised glove, a beach ball, an ordinary chair and a vivid red form replacing a hedge or horizon. These interventions unsettle the conventions of the genre without abandoning its visual language.
The horse serves as a lens through which Natee examines hierarchy, taste and the power to define what is considered normal. As a symbol of pedigree and status, the racehorse points to wider systems of cultural judgement that determine what is valued and what is excluded.
The oil paintings also draw on Natee's practice of keeping a visual diary, translating dreams, private thoughts and everyday irritations into images. Their ambiguity resists a single interpretation, leaving viewers to make their own connections.
Free admission exhibition.
More info here.
