A new 24-hour art “museum” is opening in Petaling Street on 6 May, but don’t expect walls, tickets or a set route. Museum of Disappearance, part of KL Festival 2026, turns the busy Chinatown strip into a city-scale treasure hunt that runs day and night.
Instead of traditional displays, the exhibition features 25 text- and sound-based works by Malaysian artist OOOH, each hidden in plain sight. Visitors are encouraged to explore the area without a fixed route, relying instead on clues released via social media. The result is less a guided tour and more an urban treasure hunt, where discovery becomes part of the artwork itself.
At its core, the project explores themes of memory, loss and the marks left behind by rapid urban change. Petaling Street, long known for its vibrant mix of heritage and commerce, provides a fitting backdrop. As redevelopment continues to reshape the city, the exhibition invites visitors to pause and consider what disappears and what remains in the process.
There’s also an incentive to keep your eyes open. The first person to find each artwork gets to take home a special edition version. It adds just enough competition to keep people coming back, especially as new clues drop.
For OOOH, the project is personal. She grew up around Petaling Street and has watched it shift over time, returning to find places she remembers no longer there. This work is her way of holding on to those changes, even as they continue.
The exhibition runs until 31 May and isn’t meant to stay put. Organisers see it as a flexible, repeatable idea that can pop up in different locations with new artists. This first edition, supported by the Krishen Jit Fund, sets the pace. If nothing else, it gives you a reason to look at a familiar part of Kuala Lumpur a little differently.
