The walls of a former prison in Johor Baru were transformed into a vibrant canvas for graffiti artists during the Graff For Nation (GFN) 2.0 event held from September 25 to 27. The festival brought together 24 artists from Malaysia and six other countries in Asia and Europe, showcasing the potential of street art to revitalize neglected spaces and foster creative expression.
GFN, launched in 2024 by the National Art Gallery with support from the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry, aims to connect local graffiti artists with their international counterparts. Beyond promoting graffiti as an art form, the event seeks to change public perceptions by highlighting its creative and cultural significance, distancing it from associations with vandalism. The festival also encourages youth engagement, positioning graffiti as a viable artistic and career avenue.
This year’s edition took place at Kota Jail, a former correctional facility that has since become an independent creative hub. Organizers emphasized the location’s symbolic value in turning underutilized spaces into community assets. Previous iterations of GFN included a pilot project in Langkawi in 2024, which repurposed an abandoned hospital into a graffiti gallery before it was demolished due to land ownership issues.
Participants such as Fatah Sahari, a 33-year-old graffiti artist from Kedah, expressed enthusiasm for the event’s role in incorporating Malaysian cultural elements—like wau bulan (traditional kites) and wayang kulit (shadow puppetry)—into urban art. Another artist, Abdul Qoyyum Mohd Nadzri from Penang, highlighted the value of the 12-hour intensive painting sessions that allowed artists to refine their techniques collectively.
Alongside GFN 2.0, the inaugural Ren Faire was held at the Tunku Mahkota Ismail Youth Centre in Johor Baru. Unlike GFN’s urban art focus, the Ren Faire invited visitors into an imaginative world inspired by the Renaissance and the Melaka Sultanate era, featuring live-action role-playing, costumes, workshops, and performances. Both events aimed to cultivate creative communities and provide alternative spaces for self-expression.
Johor’s unity, heritage and culture committee chairman, P. Pannir Selvam, underscored the significance of such initiatives in bringing together people from diverse backgrounds through shared artistic appreciation. He noted that murals and graffiti are increasingly becoming defining features of Johor Baru’s cityscape and are recognized by local government and tourism agencies as valuable attractions that enhance visitors’ experiences.
Pannir also linked GFN 2.0 to broader state and national development goals, including the Visit Malaysia Year 2026-2027 and Visit Johor Year 2026 campaigns, emphasizing the creative sector’s potential as an economic driver. He highlighted the importance of continued collaboration between the Johor government, federal agencies, local authorities, and creative communities to build a sustainable and inclusive creative ecosystem that supports economic, social, and environmental objectives.
The combined efforts illustrate how arts programming in Johor is evolving to embrace diverse forms of expression, revitalize underused spaces, and foster cultural exchange, contributing to both the local community and the state’s cultural economy.