Hey, Penangites. We are sure that you have heard about the incident that happened to 262 坊. If you haven’t, here’s the gist. 262 坊 was established a few months ago and it was housing several notable cafes in Penang including Forest Bottle, Moonshop Gallery, Kota Express, Plan C, and Botanical Art. It was demolished all of a sudden on the 2nd of July 2019.
Why was it demolished?
Naturally, it took the Internet by storm, and everyone was wondering why it was being demolished. Soon, we have found out the cafe was built without a proper permit, and it was demolished by the government. Considering the fact that the junction between Beach Street and Armenian Street are part of a heritage site in Penang, building new structures are not allowed.
Here’s what Ernest Zacharevic has to say.
Ernest Zacharevic is a famous mural artist from Lithuania. When he was based in Penang, he painted several murals around Georgetown, including “Children On Bicycle”. Strategically placed along Jalan Armenian, the now faded mural has garnered many locals and tourists. Even on the weekdays, you will find a long queue as everyone is waiting to take a snap of it.
Considering that “Children On Bicycle” is located next to 262 坊, here’s what he said,
“The fading kids on a bike are still there, the people are still lining up for pictures, but today is not a regular day at Armenian Street. The street has not been the same as it used to when I first moved there, quiet heritage street with few local residents offering antiques or 6RM haircut on a ground floor of their family home has been replaced with souvenir shops, restaurants, and all kind of Insta friendly quickly consumable concept stores to satisfy ever-increasing traffic of holiday goers looking for ‘authentic Penang experience’.”
One of those had been torn to ground this morning, just weeks since its grand opening. Not exactly sure of reasons but local goss says they had no proper building permits for such construction and did not cooperate with the council to address that. As much as I feel for the business owners who put their money and effort to open this shop I can’t hide the joy of seeing council actually acting on its promises and enforcing the regulations that they established. It looks brutal but I don’t think there is a polite way of demolishing a building.
He continued,
This part of Georgetown is a UNESCO heritage, and it has been threatened with the removal from UNESCO list due to failure to protect its culture, architecture and the community. Myself and many others blame my work for Armenian Street being a center of the tourist route in Penang and honestly, I’ve been contemplating of simply painting over it in hopes to put an end to that circus. But I think the time where it would make any difference has passed. You can barely see the artwork anymore but people are still lining up there. And if not kids on bicycle people will line up for something else.
End of the day art does not issue construction permits, sell entire row of heritage houses to foreign investors, give out business licenses, docking permits to cruise boats or opens new flight routes. It’s something to be strictly regulated especially in culturally fragile places like Georgetown. We can only hope that what happened today will make business owners think twice before they open another bubble tea shop or 3d art museum in this town.”
Words have been altered for clarity.
What do you think of the incident?
Apart from Ernest Zacharevic, 262 坊 has also responded via Facebook post. With a very plain post, the cafe mentioned that they are undergoing a renovation, and further notice will be given. So, what do you think of this incident? Do you agree with the mural artist, or you have other thoughts? Let us know in the comments, and we will see you soon!
Read the original post here.
Check out Breaking: 262坊 That’s Next To Kids on Bicycle Mural Is Torn Down
Cover Photo: @ernestzacharevic & Eddie Foo
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I swear. Tourism is out of control in Penang as the artist said. Think twice and things aren’t the way they used to be.