Cover Mural outside The Zhongshan Building

In a seemingly sleepy corner opposite of one of Kuala Lumpur’s liveliest districts lies a thriving, vibrant community of creatives housed in a renovated 1950s building

I remember feeling emotional the first time I saw The Zhongshan Building: it was April 2021, after interviewing Red Hongyi in her old studio, I stepped out into the narrow hallway and looked down below from where I stood on the mezzanine. There were people in the cosy courtyard on the lower floor, chattering as they waved their glasses of coffee excitedly in their hands, some with their cigarettes pinched precariously between their fingers. I recognise some of them to be tenants of the building.

Before it became known as The Zhongshan Building, this 1950s establishment in Kampung Attap was once a family-owned butchery and a residential space comprising three shophouses. It was also a communal space that hosted the Selangor Zhongshan Association and several small merchants before turning into a hostel for foreign workers in the early 2000s.

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'gallery right' 'gallery right'
'gallery right' 'gallery right'
Photo 1 of 2 Zhongzhan before renovations in 2017
Photo 2 of 2

After getting the building back and a grant from Think City, Rob Tan, Liza Ho and Snow Ng rejuvenated the place with the intent to create a centre that cultivated creativity. While the latter two were art consultants who worked at the Valentine Willie Fine Art Gallery in Bangsar, the former was an entrepreneur who inherited the building from his late grandmother.

Not wanting to build another commercial space, Ho and Ng gave their art consultancy and project platform, OUR Art Projects (OAP), a physical space in Zhongshan. And when OAP closed its doors in 2019, Ho launched The Back Room gallery. According to the founding trio, their tenants were people who could ‘click’ with the building.

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When I met Ho earlier this year, I asked her if they ever intended for this place to become the community it is today. She gave a wry look and said, “We’re in Kampung Attap. It’s not a place you pass by every day, let alone visit. Initially, we wanted a gallery, but we knew that for us to thrive and for that creative energy to sustain itself, we needed more like-minded creatives. We couldn’t just be one thing.”

To keep the building running, Ho emphasises that a sustainable approach is key. Zhongshan wasn’t about exclusivity, elitism and profit maximising. It wasn’t ‘good’ or ‘bad’ art but the story behind the mediums. It was less about the transaction of money and more about human interaction—the knowledge shared between one another, the relationships fostered, and the appreciation for art.

“For me, one of the most satisfying aspects about doing what we do here is simply being able to witness how people just mingle with one another,” she says. “We have a law firm here, and so one day, I saw this young Chinese graduate who just started. Then suddenly, I see her talking with the punks (from Tandang Record Store). And that’s not something you see every day. That diversity is important because that’s how places grow. So, at the end of the day, Zhongshan is a place where people can meet.”

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And though its tenants come and go, the familiarity between the old and the new is unmistakable. The essence of the building itself? It remains unchanged to this day. Let's meet a few of them now.

Malaysia Design Archive

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Above Ezrena Marwan and Jac sm Kee

Founded by a quartet of accomplished creatives, Ezrena Marwan, Jac sm Kee, Simon Soon and Dill Malik, the Malaysia Design Archive (MDA) is an independent archive for visual culture. While it started out as an online repository in 2008, the group joined Zhongshan when the rejuvenation project began in 2017 as they wanted like-minded individuals such as academics and designers alike to have a space where they can experience their impressive collection in person.

For Kee and Ezrena, they described MDA to be a community archive space that examines socio-economic history from the lens of design. “At the heart of it all, we’re nerds who just love history, design and art,” says Kee. “By going from digital to physical, we had to think about the impact that we're doing."

“We chose Zhongshan because it’s a melting pot of creatives,” Ezrena states. “You have people doing different things, so it really feeds into the creative energy of what you’re doing. I feel like [the tenants] challenge each other because everyone’s so different. And that makes us grow as people. That’s what makes Zhongshan so special.”

Tandang Record Store

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Above Wan Azril

Previously situated in Rumah Api, a renowned punk house located in Ampang, Tandang Record Store is an independent DIY records store run by industry veterans Wan Azril and Alak. When Rumah Api was shut down due to the development of SUKE highway, the duo moved into Zhongshan in 2017, making them one of the original tenants.

For those curious about musical subcultures in Malaysia, Tandang is the way to go. And the store’s character was as clear as day: posters and some T-shirts lined the walls, filled to the brim with CDs and records. On some nights, Wan and Alak would do gigs in the building, which, according to the website, were notorious for running late into the night and nearing opening time the next day.

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“People come and go [in Zhongshan],” says Wan. “But there’s always a connection among the tenants so it’s not like a mall when you don’t interact with your neighbours. It’s like a family—and when you have friends around you, it doesn’t feel like you’re slogging through your work. At Zhongshan, we work hard and play hard. “Because everyone specialises in different things, you always get to learn something new. Our neighbour, Bogus Merchandise for example, are silk-screen printers, so we collaborated with them to make our totes and shirts. And that energy of creativity? It’s what keeps us moving.”

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Atelier Fitton

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Above Joshua Fitton

From bespoke menswear, tailoring, costumes for film and theatre, to leatherworking and even ceramics, Joshua Fitton is a multidisciplinary artist who established his eponymous studio in Zhongshan. At the time of our visit, the artist was running his ceramic egg exhibition called What Dreams May Come in The Back Room gallery—he had the ceramics fired up in a rooftop kiln that he had a metalworker in Ampang built specifically to fit the narrow staircases of Zhongshan.

“It’s amazing what I can get away with in this building,” says Fitton. “But that’s just it, there’s a lot of support you can get in Zhongshan. Being in the same space with skilled artists and artisans, I felt comfortable to explore a lot of things—and if I had a question or if I needed help with something, somebody else from a different studio would openly and happily help. It’s really a community that thrives on each other, and builds on each other as well.”

Valen Lim Studio

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Above Valen Lim

A renowned graphic designer and illustrator from George Town, Penang, Valen Lim’s works have a tell-tale boldness in his use of colours and lines. From the little knick-knacks and paraphernalia he’s collected over his travels, Lim’s personality clearly shines through the studio.

“I just moved here in 2019,” says the designer. “I knew Liza (Ho) already, and I’ve been to Zhongshan myself a few times, so when there was a space available, I just took it. Here, the atmosphere is less tense, because everyone’s got their own thing, it’s like you can learn from everyone without stepping on anyone’s toes. You have more freedom to do what you want here.”

Tommy Le Baker

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Above Wan Azril and Tommy Lee

When Tommy Lee set out to establish a bakery, the one thing he wanted was a small, manageable space where he could bake his bread in peace. And bake he did. Famous for his freshly made sourdoughs and his passion for the craft, this French-inspired boulangerie is almost always occupied with the scent of baking bread and the chatter of visitors; some of them were tenants of the building.

“I feel blessed to be surrounded by makers,” says Lee. “I wanted a place where people would create things themselves to sell. People these days only want to do the money-making part of the business, but few want to actually make things to do a business. A maker can be a designer, a musician, a repairperson even—and because I’m a maker myself having an environment such as Zhongshan where artisans can get together and create things gives this prospective energy all around. It sustains both our business as well as our craft.”

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