Creative Communities Reinvigorate the City

ANN MARIE CHANDY | 20 February 2026

Sketch artists came out in full force for Sketchnation’s 70th sketchwalk to Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad last weekend. – Photo: Sketchnation

KUALA Lumpur has started the year at full pace. With tourist arrivals visibly on the rise and long weekends drawing steady footfall into the city’s historic quarters, KL city feels reawakened – not just as a destination, but as a shared civic stage. From riverbanks to repurposed studios, from public flats to heritage halls, creative communities are stepping up with renewed energy.

This Playback and Preview edition of WarisanKL.my captures that momentum. We see grassroots initiatives such as Puduan Art nurturing enterprise within neighbourhood spaces; new platforms like matlab deepening conversations around material innovation; the ever-evolving Kuala Lumpur Alternative Bookfest (KLAB) pulling record crowds into Central Market; and KL Riverbank transforming the city’s birthplace into a living marketplace for independent makers.

Together, these stories point to something larger: creatives going the extra mile to reinvigorate the city – not through spectacle alone, but through participation, collaboration and a belief that culture belongs in everyday spaces. If the early months are any indication, 2026 promises a year where heritage, enterprise and experimentation meet in meaningful ways across Kuala Lumpur.

Puduan Art
A three-month programme by Hanuni Lifestyle for the Puduan Art community recently concluded with a public showcase. Aptly themed From Craft to Cash, the initiative brought together 12 participants aged between 12 and 60 across two sessions in December and January, culminating in a trial booth at Central Market’s Hari Kantin from Jan 23 to 25 – a precursor to their upcoming Raya sale in March.

Rooted in the spirit of Malaysia’s Rukun Negara and community contribution, the programme – held as part of KRT activities at the Sri Sarawak flats in Pudu – made purposeful use of shared halls and common spaces for hands-on enterprise building. A comprehensive workbook developed by Khadijatul Azada guided participants through branding, pricing and business modelling, taking them from discussion-based learning to practical production.

“I really liked the craft-making. I have never been to a workshop like this before, so it was very refreshing,” said 16-year-old student Nor Adrina Elyssa (pic left, above). For Norliza Ahmad (pic right, above), 60, a part-time Sekolah Ugama teacher, the experience went beyond craft-making. “It was exciting for me to learn how to make candles from scratch, but also the strategy of marketing it. If the opportunity arises, I would definitely want to team up with others and sell the products that we make.”

Hanuni Ab Halim, founder of Hanuni Lifestyle, said her mission is “to empower the community with skills that can translate into income, while strengthening bonds across generations.” The longer-term vision, she added, is to see residents grow confident not just as makers, but as brand owners contributing back to their community.

“The workshop participants are no longer shy, and their self-esteem has improved,” said Hanuni. “They pick things up fast and are now full of enthusiasm – you can really see their semangat.”

Catch Puduan Art at the Bazram (read: Bazaar Ramadan) Merdeka at Stadium Merdeka from Feb 21 to March 5.

The women at Sri Sarawak flats in Pudu with their workshop mentors.

Hanuni (centre) at the Puduan Art booth in Central Market in January. Look out for these enterprising ladies at Bazram Merdeka.

Matlab

Also in January, matlab opened its new home at High Street Studios, marking a significant step for the material resource centre founded by spatial design studio POW Ideas. Supported by the Kreatif KL Grants Programme under Think City and co-funded by POW Ideas, the space serves as a physical hub for designers, makers and creatives to explore a curated material library spanning bio-materials like mycelium blocks and coconut fibres, waste innovations such as coffee bean tiles and recycled plastic sheets, alongside hardwood, tiles and concrete.

The opening was celebrated through matfest – KL’s first material festival – a five-part programme running from September 2025 to January 2026 that featured the Huruf Urban Tour, an immersive dining collaboration with Bono Dining, a lamp-making workshop with Dương Gia Hiếu of Ném Space, a clay talk by Singapore ceramicist Genevieve Ang, and a roundtable moderated by Sarah Merican of GDP Architects alongside Joanne Chew of Fictionist Studio.

Together, the events underscored matlab’s mission to spark deeper material inquiry and cross-disciplinary dialogue, positioning the new High Street Studios base as a meeting ground for experimentation, collaboration and material-led practice in Kuala Lumpur.

You can visit matlab at Unit G4, High Street Studios, 34 Jalan Tun HS Lee; Visits are by appointment only for now.

KL Alt Bookfest

The 17th edition of the Kuala Lumpur Alternative Bookfest (KLAB) 2026 opened to a strong crowd at Central Market at the end of January – a timely long weekend for Thaipusam and Federal Territory Day – with both locals and tourists streaming through to browse titles.

Organised by the Malaysian Book Publishers Association (MABOPA) with support from indie publisher Buku Fixi and The Patriots Asia, the five-day fair featured over 80 vendors, with booths spilling over into the outdoor areas around the heritage venue.

“We were able to surpass last year’s record and had over 106,000 visitors this time,” said Amir Muhammad, managing director of Buku Fixi and co-organiser.

Now firmly re-established at Central Market since 2022, KLAB has evolved beyond its indie beginnings. “Central Market is such a convenient location – we don’t even have to explain to people where it is,” he said. “It’s accessible and attractive, and there is always a steady flow of people from all walks of life. Some people come without even knowing there’s a book fair on, which is a great opportunity to convert the uninitiated into book buyers.”

What keeps KLAB relevant and exciting for readers year after year? Amir says: “The mix of publishers has changed somewhat over the years, and this reflects what people are buying right now. So the curation itself ensures that it will stay relevant to the book crowd of today, while always keeping an eye on what next year could bring.”

KL Riverbank: Artistic Communities in Confluence

Set along the historic riverbanks where Kuala Lumpur first found its footing, KL Riverbank: Artistic Communities in Confluence proves that the city’s birthplace still knows how to throw a good creative party. Artists, illustrators, designers and crafty entrepreneurs are happy to set up shop by the water, turning the river corridor into an open-air playground of ideas, colour and conversation.

Last weekend was a case in point. KL Sketchnation marked its 70th outing with a lively gathering at the beautifully restored Sultan Abdul Samad Building, drawing 130 sketchers armed with pens, paint and plenty of enthusiasm. Around them, caricature artists sketched grinning faces, art and craft workshops hummed, cameras clicked at photo shoots, and buskers supplied the soundtrack. Down by the River of Life, it felt less like a formal programme and more like a cheerful, creative kampung by the water.

There are two more sessions to catch the action – Feb 28 to March 1, and March 28–29. Expect art prints, handmade crafts, zines, illustrations, design objects and all manner of delightful finds. But KL Riverbank is more than a marketplace. It’s where strangers become collaborators, visitors become supporters, and the river becomes a front-row seat to the city’s creative pulse.

KL Prosperity Walk

From Feb 13 to 15, the KL Prosperity Festival offered moments of celebration both on the streets and, unexpectedly, inside a train carriage.The excitement began at MRT Pasar Seni, where Malaysia Rapid Transit Corporation Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp), as event partner, transformed the station into a festive meeting point for the KL Prosperity Walk. Together with KL Society and LOCCO Malaysia, the public arrived in traditional wear, batik and bold red, turning the station into a mini cultural carnival before boarding the MRT en route to Bukit Bintang and TRX.

Along the way, small but meaningful touches stood out. The public piano – contributed by Think City under the Arts on the Move programme – drew eager players, while YouTuber and Spotify artist Ray Mak made a guest appearance. The highlight was a spontaneous singalong in true Keretapi Sarong style, with LOCCO’s Fiza leading Gemilang and Standing in the Eyes of the World as the train carriage became a rolling choir for two stops.

The celebration continued on the streets, where over 100 drums, alongside lion and dragon dance groups, filled the city centre with rhythm and colour. Behind it all, Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur co-created the programme with partners, culminating in a lively Chinese New Year bazaar at Raintree Plaza, TRX, graced by Federal Territories Minister Hannah Yeoh – a spirited reminder that the city thrives when its communities come together.

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