Penang State Museum and Art Gallery

Penang State Museum and Art Gallery

Penang State Museum and Art Gallery
4
About
Penang State Museum and Art Gallery Officially open in 1962, the Museum houses a fine collection of old photographs, maps, charts and other historical relics. There are also Malay daggers (keris), Chinese furniture, embroidery and paintings of old Penang. At the Penang State Museum there are also interesting sections which recounts the bloody nine days of rioting between Chinese secret societies in 1867, attributed by bewildered British authorities to a rambutan-throwing incident. Georgetown suffered a near civil war before the administrators took a firm hand. The societies were heavily fined and the proceeds used to build police stations which subsequently kept the peace. The Penang State Art Gallery on the other hand is situated at a different premise which is at Dewan Sri Pinang, Light Street, a stone thrown away from the Museum premise . There are two Art Galleries which is situated in Dewan Sri Pinang. The Art Gallery on the Ground floor displays the works of local artists and is the venue for special exhibitions meanwhile the exhibition hall at the 3rd Floor housed the Permanent Collection which comprises of paintings donated or bought from the artists.
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4.0
4.0 of 5 bubbles257 reviews
Excellent
56
Very good
125
Average
54
Poor
12
Terrible
10

Heli P
Helsinki, Finland6,406 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2023
All the animals in this educational and interesting exhibition had encountered an accidental death, the big tapir skeleton was a roadkill. The specimens are on loan from Kuala Lumpur till March 2023. Downstairs another gallery shows the permanent collection with decades of modern works by local artists. Both exhibitions are free to enter in the 1970's building with a gated court yard next to the yellow Town Hall.
Written 12 February 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

B T
London, UK1,216 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2022
It seems to say online that it is open, but you turn up to the museum and it is boarded up and there is nothing to see. I think it is being renovated, but can't see any information there about a reopening date or temporary location.
Written 17 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

saronic
Zurich, Switzerland26,274 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2019
Going west from Fort Cornwallis one will encounter several grand buildings from British Colonial times, often in Palladian style and all of them quite attractive, now included as part of George Town's UNESCO World Heritage. They can be seen at the roads Esplanade, Light and Farquhar, the last two named after the first governors of the Prince of Wales island, as Penang was then called.

One of these town palaces is the Penang State Museum and Art Gallery. It used to house as of 1821 the famous Free School, open to all ethnicities, which had been founded 5 years earlier, as the oldest English medium-school in Southeast Asia. Having become overcrowded a new wing was constructed in 1896, another in 1906. In the 1920's already the school building was too small again, so the Free School was moved to the suburbs, at Green Lane, where it still stands today.

The building on Farquhar Street became a primary school for over 30 years, but in the 1960's it was turned into the town's main museum. Never having been restored since its beginnings, it was time for a renovation and in 2017 it closed temporarily, as it says on a board by the museum. The exhibition was moved for this period to a Penang State Museum building at Macalister Road No 57.
Written 14 October 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

macedonboy
Glasgow, UK179,691 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020
This is an interesting museum documenting the history of Penang with an eclectic mix of exhibits. It’s not the most fascinating museum in the world, but the exhibits are good quality and mostly come with descriptions. I especially liked the mock-up of traditional Chinese houses.
Written 19 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Wayne M
Durban, South Africa201 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2019 • Couples
It was interesting to walk around the museum for a few hours to see the history of the island of Penang.
Written 19 October 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Nomadman411978
London, UK3,169 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2019 • Solo
The Penang State museum is currently in the the old hospital building in McAllister Road whilst the main museum building is being renovated which I was told could take several years.
So the current museum is really makeshift with just a fraction of the items of the museum being exhibited in McAlister Road. There is something of the history of the island and some historical exhibits relating to the various communities. Entrance is only one RM and will take around 30 minutes.
Written 28 June 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Perry Grinate
Ashby de la Zouch, UK725 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2019 • Solo
A really weird mixture of stuff which will not detain you for long, but this is still a very interesting place to while away 45 minutes away from the beaten Georgetown track
Written 7 March 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Lesley L
George Town, Malaysia98 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2019 • Solo
I very nearly passed on this one but so glad I didn’t. It shows the cultural diversity & history of Penang in fascinating room displays with clear explanations, not great long essays!
There are few objects but they are beautifully displayed and it wouldn’t take long to rush round if you are on a tight schedule. That would be a shame, as the building (former King Edward VII Hospital) is worth enjoying for the cool breezes filtering through.
There was a temporary Art Exhibition when I was there with some fascinating works. Oh, and the best bit? The beautiful free fans available next to the visitors book.
Written 5 March 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

jeanchu09
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia24 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2019 • Solo
Was having a lot of high hopes for Penang Museum as Penang is a heritage site and even the hotel I was staying at charged me additional RM2 per night just because it's in the heritage area. So that's a lot to say about their local Government and preserving the history.

Entrance fee is RM1 - meagre in comparison to the National Museum in KL. But felt the content could have been well curated, tell the story of Penang in a more engaging way. I did get to know bout Francis Light, his last will etc but I'm still left with questions like why did Kedah royalty gave up Penang to him? What did Light see in Penang? How and when did the Britsih control ended? Why didn't Kedah take back Penang?

There are different rooms telling the story of different races (weird that they have Nyonya elements in there) and their arrival to Penang but felt that it could be told as one integrated story altogether.
Written 12 January 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

ayllim
Adelaide, Australia115 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2019 • Solo
According to the Star newspaper dated 25 March 2017, the museum will remain closed for 3 years for major renovation works.
There is a temp museum at 57 Macalister Rd but nowhere as good.
Pity the Musuem staff cannot be bothered to update their website and Facebook to clearly state this basic bit of information!
Or to correctly say that they are closed during Public Holidays!
Written 1 January 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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