From murals to memories: KL’s first augmented reality festival happening now till Nov 30 offers whimsy and nostalgia to touch your heart

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 24 — Think you know Petaling Street well? The next time you go there, take a look at the many murals on its walls through your mobile phone camera and you might be pleasantly surprised to see a different scene.

Augmented reality (AR) artists have reworked some of the often-overlooked street art in the area to recreate images from the city’s past.

This initiative, called StreetARt, is the first in Malaysia’s national capital and is one of the four core programmes under the Augmented Reality Festival Kuala Lumpur (AR Fest KL).

The programme offers over 30 AR activations at 10 locations across downtown Kuala Lumpur

A visitor capturing AR elements of a street mural through their smartphone at Petaling Street in Kuala Lumpur. — Picture by Raymond Manuel

AR Fest KL founder Fariz Hanapiah said the project seeks to reimagine the city’s rich heritage and turn it into a vibrant digital playground that appeals not just to the eyes with its whimsical pictures, but also the ears through sound.

Among the street arts that got a digital facelift is a mural at Kwai Chai Hong depicting a girl watching two boys playing marbles.

The painting by veteran artist Chan Kok Sing, who does children’s art and street art, was reimagined with AR by Seeing Artelier graphic designer duo Wong Si Ying and Chia Yuan Hong.

In conjunction with the Mid-Autumn Festival (which actually fell on September 17), the duo added colourful digital images of lanterns and mooncakes and the ukelele melody of a traditional Cantonese nursery rhyme, Yuet Guong Guong.

“This AR piece stirs nostalgic memories of our grandparents’ house, bathed in the sunset's warm glow, where kids played marbles and other traditional games on the streets.

“We also reimagined the interior of the house to show how Malaysian Chinese homes typically were in the olden days,” Wong said.

A visitor viewing a mural through AR-activated mode on her mobile phone at Kwai Chai Hong in Petaling Street, Kuala Lumpur. — Picture courtesy of AR Fest KL

Besides StreetARt, Fariz said there are three other core programmes that will run until the end of November: ARca, ARtworks and CheritAR.

ARca offers a geolocation-based adventure, where visitors can view larger-than-life digital sculptures – from the iconic Wau Bulan, to the Kancil car, lush rainforests, Batik motifs, orangutans as well as nostalgic childhood mementos – set against the lively backdrop of The Starhill.

Artworks overlays interactive elements using AR on five iconic works on display at the National Art Gallery: Pago-Pago by Abdul Latiff Mohidin, Night in Langkawi by AJ Rahman, Camera View of a Group of Laughing School Children by Kok Yew Puah, Malaysian Life by Chuah Thean Teng and Enrique de Malacca by Ahmad Fuad Osman.

AR Fest KL founder Fariz Hanapiah (centre) with street art artists and AR artists who contributed towards reimagining murals for the inaugural festival. — Picture by Raymond Manuel

Under CheritAR, AI-powered avatars named Thomas, Pak Mat and Victoria will take visitors on a tour to three historical landmarks in KL: the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, National Textile Museum and the Victoria Fountain.

“Imagine a future where untold stories of KL are brought to life through AR animation and you can explore the city with AR glasses.

“The day is coming. We just have to wait for the hardware to catch up and KL will be ready,” Fariz said.

The AR Fest KL started on August 30 and will run until November 30, 2024.