Street Art in Miri

I find street art rather fascinating and have made it a point to visit street art venues in places that I visit. I particularly like the street art of Melbourne and Penang but I find the street art on the walls of Ta Kiong Emporium in Sibu rather disappointing.

I drive by Miri Heritage Centre almost every day and have seen the nice street art on the walls on the centre. But I have never actually stopped by to take photos of the artwork. Bulatan Park is another venue where street art has been commissioned. With time of my hand, I decided to visit these two venues today to take photos of the art expressions.

The street art at these two locations in Miri was made possible through the initiative of iM4U, a social non-profit organisation, under its Public Art Movement project in partnership with Nippon Paint. The Miri project was the first ever project in Malaysia under Public Art Movement.

The street art expression illustration at the Miri Heritage Centre is a collaboration of five talented local street artists – Mohd Nasrim, Faiz Yunus, and members of Art Misfits comprising Angel Ng, The Sliz and Chekri. The artwork features some of Miri’s popular icons including the iconic seahorse – the symbol of Miri City, the famous Gua Niah, local ethnic warrior with his blowpipe, the great Hornbill and Rafflesia flower. These beautiful artworks have become very popular for visitors to Miri as they offer great photo opportunities.

The beautiful artworks at Miri Heritage Centre

The beautiful artworks at Miri Handicraft Centre

Gua Niah , hornbill and Malay girl in sampan

Gua Niah , hornbill and Malay girl in sampan

Art expressions at Miri Handicraft Centre

Art expressions at Miri Handicraft Centre

Gua Niah art expression

Gua Niah art expression

local ethnic warrior with his blowpipe

Local ethnic warrior with his blowpipe

Sea horse - Miri's Icon

Sea horse – Miri’s Icon

Malay girl in sampan and hornbill

Malay girl in sampan and hornbill

The last time I actually visited Bulatan Park was many years ago. So I was in for a pleasant surprise today when I visited the park. It has become quite beautiful and is reasonably well-maintained.  I saw a couple of security personnel  too, giving visitors a sense of safety.

Bulatan Park

Bulatan Park

Bulatan Park

Another view of Bulatan Park

Bulatan Park

Another view of Bulatan Park

Bulatan Park

Bulatan Park

A rock & water feature

A rock & water feature

Well, I would classify the street art at Bultan Park into 3 main categories: (1) wall art (2) bench/table art (3) rubbish bin art. I can see that almost all the benches and tables and some of the rubbish bins in the park have been given an artistic makeover.

 

Wall Art

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Wall art

Wall art

 

Bench/Table Art

 

IMG_3768 IMG_3760 IMG_3756 IMG_3755 IMG_3751 IMG_3741 IMG_3738 IMG_3736 IMG_3730 IMG_3727 IMG_3719 IMG_3717 IMG_3714 IMG_3710 IMG_3704 IMG_3701 IMG_3700 IMG_3699 IMG_3695 IMG_3686 IMG_3681 IMG_3674 IMG_3647 IMG_3638

Bench/Table art

Bench/Table art

 

Rubish Bin Art

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I have also seen two beautiful art expressions on the front walls of the Apartment 9 perimeter wall along Jalan Brighton. This building is situated directly opposite the Samling HQ and ParkCity Everly Hotel. Just before I went to pick up my son from work this evening, I stopped at this place to take photos of the artwork there.

Street art at Apartment 9

Street art at Apartment 9

Beautiful artwork

Beautiful artwork

Another beautiful artwork

Another beautiful artwork

My fervent hope is that street art with a vintage theme will be commissioned in Miri, particularly in China Street, Kingsway and High Street. Such art will add an aura of nostalgia for visitors to the old parts of Miri city.