By Mei Kuan
Unveiled in May, Tin Alley is a new curator space located at No. 1 & 3, Lorong Bijeh Timah (Tin Alley), 30000 Ipoh with a series of exciting activities lined up, especially for the weekends.
Aimed to spice up the Ipoh tourism industry, it serves as an ideal platform for talks, music and exhibition.
Ipoh-born Tan Kai Lek, the founder of Tin Alley, explained to Ipoh Echo, “The previous owner was 85-year-old Chew Hock Kuan who did traditional Chinese handcrafted wooden signboards with calligraphy after inheriting the skills from his father. Unfortunately, Chew had a stroke. Thus the ground floor houses a permanent display of his works and tools in order to preserve his art. His siblings and he were all born in that shophouse.”
The two connected, double-storey shophouses are century-old with a size of 20×100 feet each.
“Meanwhile, upstairs is used as a platform for talks and workshops by invited professionals in specialised fields such as arts, among others. For issues which benefit the society such as recycling, the fee is waived. If you are an artist, for instance, looking for a space to sell your pieces, there will be a fee,” he added.
The display downstairs is open from Tuesday till Sunday from 10am till 6pm (closed on Monday). A guided tour is available upon request.
Lot number 3 also offers wood art workshops downstairs which are family-oriented. Walk in anytime with your family or friends. Fees apply.
According to Tan, there will be a massive art event named Art Ipoh 2019 spanning Tin Alley and Market Lane on Saturday, August 17 featuring Phillip Wong from the National Art Gallery and various artists with indoor and outdoor art installations galore. There will be a launch at 8pm.
For more updates, check out Tin Alley’s Instagram and Facebook page.
