Note: This venue is now closed
Somewhere along the quiet hills of Damansara Heights is a corner-lot bungalow that is part gallery, part café – altogether a cool hangout spot. Lorong Kekabu describe themselves as a collective, which we'll take to mean that this is also their headquarters. The collective consists of 12.1 Gallery, Malaysian Artist Intention Experiment (MAIX), Kecil by Kedai, and visual artists Anwar Suhaimi and Izat Arif. What it really is is a bunch of friends who just wanted to have a space to call their own and share it with others.
Local artist Shooshie Sulaiman is the person behind 12.1 Gallery and MAIX, a platform that offers research, exhibition and discussion facilities for artists. She’s also the former occupant of the bungalow; she had good memories living here a few years back, so she hopes that its good vibes will live on with Lorong Kekabu. Meanwhile, Izat Arif is the man behind gallery and woodshop, Kedai. As Kedai is currently focusing more on woodwork and furniture-related ventures, Lorong Kekabu is a place for Izat to experiment with other things. Anwar Suhaimi manages the space for now, playing the role of curator as well.
Located in the bungalow's backyard is Kecil by Kedai, an al fresco café which serves coffee, tea, hot chocolate, yoghurt drinks, and snacks fit for teatime (it's only open from 4pm). The snacks menu is still in its experimental stages, and by experiment we mean you’ll have to ask them what’s available, although we predict that the s’mores we had on our visit will be a crowd favourite. Seats are limited, but if all are occupied, they’ll gladly roll out a picnic mat for you.
The gallery’s first exhibition is the Otak Jepun series by Japanese artist Yutaka Inagawa in collaboration with Japanese Foundation KL. Besides exhibitions and workshops, there are also plans to host film screenings, and the venue is available to rent for small parties. May we suggest a Mad Hatter tea party?