Kuala Lumpur Gets New Art Fair and Nonprofit Space
A new art fair opens in Kuala Lumpur on 15 October, with a new nonprofit art venue to follow in November.
Art KL runs from 15 to 18 October at A Place Where (APW) in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur, a heritage printing factory turned creative complex. The fair, where galleries hire stands to sell work directly, brings together ten regional galleries presenting Southeast Asian artists born after 1990, according to The Art Newspaper.
Art KL is co-founded by the advisory of gallerist Richard Koh with APW and Art Anonymous, a platform for young artists. It includes a curated section devoted to eight Malaysian artists, including Farhan Rizuwan, Lee Mok Yee, Najib Ahmad Bamadhaj and Samantha Lee. Proceeds from the fair will go to The Lighthouse Children’s Welfare Home. The fair operates under the handle Art.KL.Official on Facebook and lists its 2026 venue as APW Bangsar in Kuala Lumpur, according to Art KL on Facebook.
For visitors, this means a small fair with a tight focus. Ten galleries. One building. All artists aged about 35 and under.
The second opening is Muara Arts in Kuala Lumpur, a nonprofit space that stages exhibitions without operating as a commercial gallery. It opens in November in a renovated shophouse, the narrow street-front buildings common in Malaysia and Singapore. The space sits within a redevelopment of more than 50 shoplots in the Medan Pasar market neighbourhood in downtown Kuala Lumpur, led by investment firm Creador Group.
Its artistic director is Lydia Yee, who previously held senior curatorial roles at the Whitechapel Gallery in London, the Barbican in London and The Bronx Museum of the Arts in New York. Yee was formerly chief curator at the Whitechapel, according to Artforum. Her opening programme is a survey of Southeast Asian art with more than 40 artists, including Pacita Abad and Marcos Kueh. An adjacent theatre is planned to open in 2029, next to the shophouse gallery.
What makes this stand out is the pairing. One short selling event for young regional work. One long-term public venue for broader surveys. Both set in reused older buildings in the Malaysian capital.
