THE city of George Town is experiencing something new. A renewed energy and spirit fills the air, giving the island city an edgy sort of personality. Anandhi Gopinath and Jacqueline Toyad breathe in this new air of vitality, while Grace Chin and Elaine Lau speak to local artists on their stake in the creative economy.

** This story first appeared in the September 1, 2008 issue of Options, the lifestyle pullout of The Edge.

RIGHT before the Rent Control Act was repealed in Penang, many of the stately old houses and shophouses in George Town were increasingly derelict. Tenants were finding them difficult to maintain, and landlords themselves saw no reason to do anything as the rent they were receiving was minimal.

But by the turn of the millennium, a new spirit began to permeate many of the old streets in the city. With the repeal of the Act, tenants began to move away. Rich property owners saw new use for their structures, and a younger generation of landowners saw the need to revive some of the built heritage that they had in their possession.

Stroll along Armenian Street, Bangkok Lane and even Muntri Street today and you will no longer see painful images of empty houses and broken-down gates. Now, the walkways are clean and welcoming, with chic boutiques, galleries and swanky homes positioned between older buildings that host residences and businesses such as recycling and hardware shops. People have returned to the city in droves — to work, play and live in — giving the city a brand new feel.

No doubt, its recent listing as a World Heritage Site by Unesco has helped, but it’s clear that this rejuvenation began long before, by forward thinking entrepreneurs who were willing to take up the responsibility.

George Town has been infused with a new personality, something contemporary and filled with vitality. It’s indeed a new and creative economy.

Armenian Street
The gentle curve of Armenian Street begins with a restaurant tucked behind thick, leafy foliage that completely covers its walkway. Right next door is a swanky art gallery; upstairs are tenants — a photographer and a jewellery designer. Next door is Sentuhan, which looks like a lush boutique from the outside with its glass swinging doors.

We duck into the gallery mostly for respite from the glaring heat outside, but what we escape to is something unexpected. Penang-born glass artist Fuan Wong is based here, and has cleverly manipulated the traditionally structured shophouse space to accommodate his wide variety of glass art pieces. The sunken centre courtyard, bathed in the afternoon sunshine, is where we have tea later.

We cannot help but marvel at the fantastic way the place has been done up, courtesy of local engineer Datuk Yap Ching Chau. He owns the first few shoplots on Armenian Street, and has leased them out at low rates only heard of before the Rent Control Act was repealed.

A former chairman of the Yap Kongsi, just opposite, he saw that the area was very quiet at night, especially since the first few lots were unoccupied. “So, I decided that I would do something to spruce up the area. These building are really old, and when I looked up the grant, I realised that its more than 100
years old, at least.”

“Datuk Yap has made it very easy for us by giving this space for very little.In return, we’re very good tenants,” Fuan smiles. “He’s unique because he doesn’t try to squeeze us for every last penny per square foot. Many people who don’t see an income out of a place like this would rather knock the thing to the ground — it’s cheaper. It’s not worth it for many owners, and you can’t blame them.”

When Yap took over the building, it had been razed by fire and needed a great deal of work. Many elements of the building were retained, especially the timber flooring upstairs and the façade outside. Although he didn’t really have a tenant in mind, he reinforced the second level as per the requirements of a commercial outlet and had the spaces restored beautifully.

“My first tenant was a government agency that was very happy to open their space up to other users... many architecture students came here to study the building, which was really nice to watch,” Yap says. “Later on, they found another space, and I was introduced to Fuan through a Hong Kong-based architect of mine named Perry. I was glad to give Fuan the space. I wanted a tenant who would be involved in the arts, something creative that would also support tourism in Penang a little bit. I liked the idea of this street having a fun, lively personality. It’s been a bit quiet for a long time,” he says.

Many others on Armenian Street have moved back, to live as well as to operate businesses, colouring the whole stretch immensely. Narelle McMurtrie, the owner of Langkawi Bon Ton Resort, is opening a boutique hotel a few doors away from Fuan’s gallery, and has begun restoration works already. Opposite, a young couple are also in the midst of restoring a beautifully constructed house that appears to be slightly larger than its neighbours, before moving in. Conservationist Dr Gwynn Jenkins and historian Khoo Salma Nasution are based on this street as well. The Syed Al-Attas Mansion is at the further end of the road — a lot of history and heritage is present here.

As artists, the community people like Fuan operate in has been quite encouraging. While they are able to depend on each other for support, they also send customers to each other’s shops and generally enjoy the camaraderie.

“What’s really nice about this street is that people live here too,” says Ambiga Devy, who runs the Little Penang Street Market. “My family is moving back here to live as well, which is really nice. Businesses that have been going on here for years still go on, the recycling shop is still going strong.”

“There are a lot of pockets in George Town where this sort of rejuvenationis happening, but on Armenian Street, it’s especially interesting because a lot of it has been left alone, while some parts are new,” adds Fuan. “It’s not all gentrified, a lot of it is still real. That’s what makes it so great.”

Bangkok Lane
This street is most picturesque, with white double-storey townhouses lined on both sides. These houses were built in 1928 by entrepreneur Cheah Leong Keah JP, founder of Chin Seng & Co, the first importer of motorcars in Penang. It was his intention that these houses would be lived in by his descendants.

Today, his dream has come true; there are 131 residential and commercial properties on Bangkok Lane, which are rented out or lived in by his descendants. One of them is David Cheah, his grandson, who has unofficially been appointed the overseer of this conservation programme.

“I have a real estate business in Sydney, so I became the so-called expert in this area,” says David. He returned from Australia in 2000, when the Rent Control Act was repealed. According to him, it was then that the family collectively decided that they had to do something, fast.

After doing up the street, the family recruited a real estate agent to manage the leasing. Meanwhile, the Cheahs set strict conditions for tenants, particularly about street façade. They are also particular about the tenants — house-proud types who are looking for residences and cottage industries for those looking to open businesses.

“We currently have two art galleries and a few one-off, homegrown boutiques… We didn’t want any restaurants or pubs. We wanted things that keep people occupied while on Bangkok Lane, not congest. Ideally, we would have liked to have trades of the old, but there’s not too many of those around anymore,” shares David. “Rent is reasonable compared with anywhere else, but we’re trading cheap rent for quality tenants.”

As each unit has its own patch of garden, the tenants are encouraged to green up as much as possible. David’s own garden is an awe-inspiring botanical symphony. It’s a testament to Cheah’s efforts in leading the neighbourhood by example. “If any of our tenants need help with maintenance, we will come in. We’re quite involved with our tenants and keep in close contact with them. We need to if we want to make it work.”

As Bangkok Lane has become such a pleasant street to walk on, the next phase is to make it friendly for pedestrians and cyclist. Says David, “We’re applying to the government to make this street one-way and also to have it lined with trees.”

Muntri Street
This street began as a trading hub for the Chinese mercantile class. Then, with the huge commodities boom in the 1820s and 1830s, the upper-middle class began to move into the street, renovating the shophouses into ornate Peranakan houses. Christopher Ong, who has invested in and lives in a restored shophouse on Muntri Street, says, “They wanted to display their wealth. They put in more embellishments, particularly British-style embellishments, such as tiles, imported bathroom fittings and lamps from the Victorian era; there was quite a bit of colonial influence there as well.”

Ong is on a mission to restore these shophouses back into residential spaces. “The price of apartments these days are about RM400 to RM500 psf, and for a mid-range apartment, you’d probably get about 1,200 sq ft. A shophouse is about RM250 to RM300 psf, and a typical one measures about 20ft by 100ft, and it’s double-storey — you’ll get about 4,000 sq ft for half the price,” says Ong. “Restoration is affordable, and it’s up to you how you want to restore it. What’s important is that the façade and the roofscape are maintained. Inside, you have a free hand to adapt the space to the lifestyle you’re accustomed to.”

Ong has four more shophouses along the street, which are in the process of restoration. He’s considering leasing them out or using one or two as examples to prospective investors. Muntri Street has become backpacker central, and some have cleverly renovated the shophouses to become charming eateries or travellers’ lodges. One of the most talked about places is a restored shophouse-turned-café run by an Australian couple (who live upstairs) at the end of the street. Called Green House, the café is decorated with collectible items and antiques, and serves decent home-cooked meals.

Tan, 34, took up photography as a hobby a decade ago, but only started exhibiting and selling his photos in 2006. He started his own gallery in a space shared with fellow artist and friend Jonathan Yun at Armenian Street two years ago, when commercial demand for his artwork grew. “Scenes of Penang are more saleable than other scenes so far. My favourite would be old buildings, there’s just something about them. It’s natural to me,” says the native Penangite, who is a full-time software engineer.

It is refreshing to absorb Tan’s perspective of his kampung, a beautiful and sentimental look at the cityscape from a native point of view. Tourist attractions are well and good, but the soul of the city is not often captured the way Tan would — his cat series evokes a silent charm, a reserved but lively energy of feline splendour.

“When I ask about Penang’s heritage and its architecture, sadly, not many people appreciate this kind of environment. An old shophouse is not always the most comfortable place to live in, which is understandable. But Penang is my home and I feel like I will always belong here,” he says.

Tan mainly takes photos of architecture, cats and plants, as he wanders around his home ground. The fact that his gallery is near his fellow artists has helped his sales. “People actually do come in here to buy photographs, which I consider very good. I think it’s also because all the artists are clustered together. We are also in a rather central tourist location,” he says. The gallery is situated on the same street as the Yap Kongsi Temple, the Syed Al-Attas Mansion and Dr Sun Yat Sen’s Penang base. The Cheah Kongsi Temple is just around the corner.

Jonathan Yun, artist and jeweller
Jonathan Yun’s approach to producing his art is by casting a memory from the past into sterling silver. “I used to do a fair bit of diving, and I saw the fragility of corals and other natural beauty, which are being threatened by humans or nature. I produce my work in remembrance of them. It is the beauty of nature that inspires me,” says Yun, 43, of his coral and fauna-inspired range, which incorporates colourful precious stones.

The results are tropical and native floral motifs, with slender stalks of gleaming magnificence in perpetual bloom. Gorgonian corals are seen with extended skeletal polyps fanned out in sprightly finery, cast as brooches, pendants and earrings. He also gives a modern adaptation of the traditional kerongsang used to secure kebaya lapels. Gorgeous pendant and earring sets are styled from the original form of kerongsang kebaya, which are conventionally three brooches linked together in a chain, two “anaks” and an “ibu”. Yun’s interest in jewellery started when he was pursuing his art education in Singapore. “We got to dabble in everything in art school, but my interest was in sculpture. I didn’t like large pieces of sculpture, so I focused on creating silver sculptures like jewellery,” says Yun. His customers are made up of both locals and tourists, although the tourist business has increased by 30 to 40 per cent, in just one month, since the announcement of George Town’s Unesco Heritage Listing.

He started his own store last year on Armenian Street with more than a decade’s experience in jewellery and accessory design and production in Singapore and Malaysia. Like fellow artist Fuan’s glass art, Yun, a native Penangite, is engaging in a craft of age-old techniques — they are very rare in George Town.

“There is a small community of craftsmen whom I work with, but there aren’t any craftsmen of my generation or of a younger generation. We have artists who paint, then there are artists like myself and Fuan. We basically have to help each other out.” says Yun.

“It’s all about using new applications and putting a spin on traditional approaches and crafts,” he says. “The setting of (our galleries) in an old neighbourhood is also a perfect match for our work. This place (Armenian Street) is like a new canvas where artists can display their work to the public.”

Joe Rosli Sidek, owner of Séntuhan
Located next to Fuan Wong, The Gallery on Armenian Street is a cosy little place called Séntuhan. A faint scent of soap greets you when you walk in, and lining the shelves on one side of the shop are weaved baskets and pouches tied with bulbous ribbons that contain soaps from Tanamera, a homegrown spa products company. A mannequin with batik items and other artsylooking knick-knacks sit by the counter, while towards the back of the shop hang several paintings of profiles of women.

Joe Rosli Sidek, the proprietor, says the paintings are by a transsexual artist, whose works he helped launch two years ago. Joe discovered this artist by chance and took it upon himself to nurture her and is now helping to sell her works at the shop.

And that is essentially why Séntuhan was set up — to provide a venue for amateur artists to sell their artworks, as well as to sell goods made by underprivileged members of society. The store is really an extension of Community_Works (CW), an initiative started by Joe and four others.

CW was founded to help “empower the marginalised and challenged through creative employment”. CW has worked with St Nicholas Home and Penang Prison, but is currently focusing on helping individual women through a project called Positive Women, which was established to help single mothers, abused wives, women from low-income households and those affected by life-threatening diseases.

Joe, whose day job is managing director of Chemdyes, a company that manufactures and distributes textile chemicals, aims to help at least three women a year, to get them standing on their own feet by teaching them skills that they can live on. “It’s not helping them with crutches. I want them to have the skills to make and develop products that are good enough to be sold. Supposing this shop closes or this business stops and they are out there, I want to make sure that they can survive and not remain dependent.”

The items in the store are made by such women, like the baskets and pouches that hold the soaps, which Joe says are made by a 65-year-old woman. He runs the store very much like a business, which enables it to achieve sustainability.

At Joe’s discretion, proceeds from the shop go back to supporting CW projects, sponsoring stalls for artists or organisations at the Little Penang Street Market held once a month in George Town or to women who need financial support.

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