In addition to partying, exploring exhibitions, and savouring heritage foods, visitors can also join Chinatown walking tours during the KL Chinatown Festival. Plan your weekend of exciting activities in the vibrant Petaling Street district. Photo: Filepic
KL CHINATOWN FESTIVAL 2024
Venue: various locations in Chinatown, KL
Date: Nov 29 to Dec 1
The inaugural KL Chinatown Festival 2024 breathes new life into Petaling Street this weekend. Co-organised by community leaders and local partners, including the REXKL management, the festival spans the entire Chinatown district, extending its vibrant activities to tourist spots like Kwai Chai Hong.
With a busy programme - free and ticketed events - that celebrates Chinatown's heritage, the festival merges the past and present, inviting visitors to explore the area's layered history while experiencing its evolving creative energy. From Nov 29 to Dec 1, Chinatown transforms into a bustling party scene, offering a dynamic mix of music, arts, markets, and immersive experiences that showcase its landmarks and creative spaces.
Under the theme “Together Gather,” the festival spans spots like REXKL, Jalan Sultan, and Lorong Panggung.
The main parties of the festival will be hosted at REXKL. On Nov 29, the Sound Fiction session kicks off with performances by Allester Shaun, Backlog, Su San, and Tasneem. On Nov 30, immerse yourself in jazz at Food Fiction, where Ee Jeng Trio, Boys That Swing, and Mars Armstrong take the stage from 8pm to midnight. The grand finale on Dec 1 brings together a mix of vocal performances by Feith Yi Fei, Hao You, How1e, and Straw Lim at Food Fiction from 2pm to 6pm.
Enjoy live music ranging from club deejays to traditional troupes, explore creative workshops and street art murals, and dive into heritage through exhibitions and guided walks. For a spot of shopping, don't forget to check out the pop-up markets featuring handmade goods and creations from local artisans.
More info here.
The Klang River Festival returns this weekend with a community-based programme. Photo: Klang River Festival
KLANG RIVER FESTIVAL
Venues: various locations in Jalan Klang Lama, KL
Date: Nov 29 to Dec 1
Klang River Festival (KRF) is an annual celebration highlighting the cultural, historical, and environmental importance of the Klang River.
By supporting community-based art exhibitions, performances, heritage walks, river clean-ups, and educational workshops, the festival - free and ticket activities - connects artists, environmentalists, and the public to advocate for river conservation and sustainable living.
Recent editions have spotlighted efforts to rejuvenate the river, promoting eco-tourism and community engagement along its banks. This year’s festival, running until Dec 1, unfolds mainly at Millerz Square, and Kongsi House By The River in Jalan Klang Lama , inviting participants to reminisce, reconnect, and rekindle their ties with the Klang River.
In a city defined by its intersection of rivers, KRF aims to raise awareness of the river’s role in urban life. Through creative events and reimagined public spaces, the festival envisions transforming the Klang River Valley into a vibrant, sustainable hub for all.
More info here.
KUALA LUMPUR EXPERIMENTAL FILM, VIDEO & MUSIC FESTIVAL
Venue: Percussion Store, Kota Damansara, Petaling Jaya
Date: ends Dec 1
KLEX, the Kuala Lumpur Experimental Film, Video & Music Festival, returns today after a four-year hiatus, reviving its role as a grassroots hub for experimental arts. Artist- and volunteer-driven, it champions bold creativity. This year's theme – "Being Human" explores the human experience with five experimental film programmes, three nights of music, with legendary Japanese composer Otomo Yoshihide as one of the highlights.
If you’re a fan of short films and video work, KLEX has plenty to offer this weekend, with the KLEX's international open call, the Passage Of Time series (featuring nine female media and multidisciplinary artists) and Canadian filmmaker Scott Miller Berry, part of the re:assemblage collective, who will present the Three Turns series.
The the music programme, the Percussion Store will host 32 local and international musicians across a series of live performances and improv jams over three nights, blending Western and Eastern classical, contemporary, free jazz, improvisation, electronic, and noise music with a bold experimental edge.
Admission to the festival's events is by suggested donation, with special passes available for students.
More info here.
The Kuala Lumpur Railway Station is set to host the Tempatan Festival 2024 this weekend. Photo: The Star/Filepic
TEMPATAN FESTIVAL 2024
Venue: Kuala Lumpur Railway Station
Date: Nov 30 and Dec 1
Tempatan Fest 2024 takes over the grand ol' Kuala Lumpur Railway Station this weekend, offering a celebration of local culture, youthful creativity, and a nod to history.
Built in 1910, this architectural gem reflects Malaysia's multicultural heritage under British rule and has long served as a key transit hub connecting Kuala Lumpur to destinations across Malaysia and South-East Asia.
Now a cherished heritage site, the station provides the perfect and hip setting for Tempatan Fest, which brings together art, fashion, coffee and music communities.
It's all about spotlighting homegrown talent. Visitors can expect a diverse array of activities, including a live show by indie band Couple, a light showcase titled Cahaya (at the station) and a live drawing series by KL Sketch Nation.
You can also expect cycling and skateboarding vendors, local brands, and a lively atmosphere – all with free entry.
Tempatan Fest is happening from 10am to 10pm this weekend. Supported by KTM Berhad, Think City, Kreatif KL, and DBKL.
More info here.
DANCE: BALLET ILLUMINATIONS 2024
Venue: Pentas 1, KLPac
Date: Nov 29 to Dec 1
If you prefer to avoid the festival crowds this weekend in KL, a show under the dreamy lights at KLPac's main stage could be the perfect escape.
Singapore Ballet returns to KLPac with Ballet Illuminations 2024, which opens tonight, featuring excerpts from Swan Lake and The Nutcracker in a year-end showcase of grace and festive magic.
Swan Lake and The Nutcracker are famously known for their compelling stories, iconic music and rich visual imagery, making them the perfect picks for this year’s Ballet Illuminations.
As many as 40 dancers, aged 20 to their early 30s, from Singapore Ballet will take part in the performance at KLPac.
At the KLPac show, Singapore Ballet will be performing Act 1 and 2 of Swan Lake. Following a 15-minute intermission, the dancers will perform excerpts from the well-loved family classic The Nutcracker.
More info here.
A view of Adam Phong's solo exhibition 'One Of Our Fossils', which showing at A+ Works of Art in KL. Photo: The Star/Yap Chee Hong
EXHIBITION: ADAM PHONG'S 'ONE OF OUR FOSSILS'
Venue: A+ Works of Art, Kuala Lumpur
Date: ends Dec 14
If you've ever wondered whether an art gallery could channel the ambitions of a National History Museum, this exhibition might just be the one to explore.
A+ Works of Art is presenting One of Our Fossils, a solo exhibition by Adam Phong, curated by Bob Edrian in collaboration with Aesop. This thought-provoking exhibition draws inspiration from a scientific paper suggesting that humanity's most enduring remnants will be plastic, nuclear waste, and chicken bones. Through this lens, Phong delves into the legacy we leave behind, using chicken bones as potent symbols of our relentless pursuit of speed and cost-efficiency.
One of Our Fossils invites viewers to imagine how future civilisations might interpret these fragments of our existence. Phong reimagines chicken bones not merely as disposable relics of consumption but as artefacts imbued with narratives, myths, and stories shaped by the choices we make today. This exhibition challenges us to confront the intersections of culture, environment, and history, urging a deeper reflection on how the mundane could one day become the monumental.
This exhibition is also accompanied by a Saturday programme:"What Are We Becoming?", a conversation with Dr Nasha Rodziadi on Nov 30, 2pm.
Free admission exhibition. Make sure to book a time to view.
More info here.
A close-up view of Chang Yoong Chia's 'Hang Li Po Unveiled' (oil on canvas, 2024), a painting from his new exhibition 'Thinking Like A Mountain' at Cult Gallery in KL. Photo: Chang Yoong Chia
EXHIBITION: CHANG YOONG CHIA'S 'THINKING LIKE A MOUNTAIN'
Venue: Cult Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
Date: ends Jan 19, 2025
Step into the enchanting artistic world of Chang Yoong Chia with his long-awaited solo exhibition, Thinking Like A Mountain, now showing at Cult Gallery in KL.
This deeply personal series began when Chang relocated to Tangkak, Johor, where daily glimpses of Gunung Ledang - shifting shapes and moods with the light - sparked his imagination and curiosity. Drawing inspiration from his visits to the mountain and extensive research, Chang weaves together a rich tapestry of influences.
He delves into no fewer than four versions of Sejarah Melayu recounting the Princess of Ledang Mountain, explores Alfred Wallace's The Malay Archipelago and his theories of natural selection, and reflects on the mountain’s symbolic ties to South-East Asia’s mythology, nature, and humanity. The result is a mesmerising mosaic of ideas, blending legends, ecological themes, and comic-like narratives into a series of artworks that explore the dynamic relationship between female icons, mountains, and human interaction with nature.
This exhibition invites viewers to traverse the boundaries of history, myth, and artistic imagination, uncovering layers of meaning at every turn.
More info here.
