Exploring Local Art 4.0 at The Gardens Mall

What happens when traditional craft meets modern light, sound, and spatial design? This Merdeka and Malaysia Day season, The Gardens Mall invites art lovers, families, and culture enthusiasts to embark on a transformative sensory voyage with Exploring Local Art 4.0.

Exploring Local Art 4.0 at The Gardens Mall 

Posing the intriguing question, “What if batik lived beyond fabric?”, the mall has joined forces with homegrown heritage label Kapten Batik and acclaimed local artist Jun Ong for their second major artistic collaboration. The outcome? A breathtaking, multi-sensory reimagining of Malaysian batik into kinetic sculptures, interactive installations, ambient soundscapes, and nostalgic games.

Traversing Time: From "The Past" to "The Future"

The exhibition takes visitors on a time-travel narrative across the Ground Floor of The Gardens Mall, seamlessly bridging traditional craft techniques with futuristic technologies.

1. Five Monumental Installations by Jun Ong (South Palm)

Located at the South Palm, Jun Ong breaks down the five traditional stages of batik craft into five monumental, light-filled installations:

Forge & Imprint: Step into the origin of batik. Kinetic sculptures and architectural framing re-create the precision of bending copper into intricate stamps and pressing hot wax onto cloth.

Spectrum & Melt: Dynamic projection mapping and responsive lighting bring the fluid beauty of color dyeing and hot-water dewaxing to life before your eyes.

Canopy & "Echoes" Fabric Tunnel: Walk beneath hand-stamped batik fabric structures into Echoes, a 10-layer fabric tunnel where whispered heritage memories emerge via light projection.

To complete the sensory experience, award-winning multidisciplinary artist Kamal Sabran has composed “Resonance”—an ambient electronic and gamelan soundtrack that floats through the displays, letting heritage and technology coexist as a living symphony.

2. An Interactive Cultural Playground (North Palm)

Heading over to North Palm, batik evolves beyond textiles into interactive, nostalgia-fueled installations celebrating Malaysian childhood traditions:

Ascend (Dam Ular): The classic Snakes and Ladders game is upscaled into an architectural, multi-level landscape.

Gather (Batu Seremban): Traditional cloth game pouches are transformed into oversized, sculptural living room furniture, inviting visitors of all ages to connect and rest.

Weekend Hands-On Craft Workshops

Want to create your own piece of heritage art? Join the weekend workshops held directly at the installation area.

Workshop Details:

Dates: 29, 30, 31 August, and 5, 6, 12, 13, 16, 19, 20 September 2026

1:00PM: Perler Beads DIY Workshop

4:00PM: Batu Seremban Workshop

How to Join: Spend a minimum of RM30 with a Maybank Card (or RM50 via other payment modes) in a single receipt at any store in The Gardens Mall. Register via the MVClub App starting 30 minutes before each session. Limited slots available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Exclusive Shopper Rewards & Social Contest

Gift Redemption: Designer Batik Umbrella

Spend RM600 (Maybank Cardmembers* / The Gardens Club Members) or RM700 (other payment modes) in a single receipt at specialty stores in The Gardens Mall to redeem an exclusively designed automatic foldable umbrella.

Maybank Cards issued in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Cambodia, and Brunei.

Social Rewards Contest: Win RM100 Gift Vouchers

Show off your creativity from 26 August – 20 September 2026:

Follow @thegardensmallmy on Instagram.

Snap creative shadow-themed photos or videos featuring the art installations and upload them to your public IG feed.

Complete the caption sentence: “Reimagining art at The Gardens Mall through…”

Tag @thegardensmallmy and use #thegardensmallmy #tgmxlocalart2026. (Must be a registered user of the MVClub app).

Art with a Second Life: Commitment to Sustainability

Sustainability is central to Exploring Local Art 4.0. The exhibition utilizes energy-efficient, programmable LED lighting and modular steel frameworks built for future reuse. Most importantly, the hand-stamped batik fabric canopies will be dismantled post-exhibition and upcycled into functional lifestyle products, ensuring zero textile waste.--

Plan Your Visit

📍 Venue: Ground Floor (South & North Palm), The Gardens Mall, Kuala Lumpur

🗓️ Dates: 26 August – 20 September 2026

⏰ Operating Hours: 10:00 AM – 10:00 PM daily

🎟️ Admission: Free