Your grandmother taking you along to the pasar; The common question of “later eat what?”; The habits we picked up without quite remembering where we learned them, or simply the sights and sounds we have grown so accustomed to that we barely think about them.
This September, Kuala Lumpur’s creative community mall GMBB brings these familiar slices of Malaysian life into focus with Rentak MalaysiaKu 2026: Slice of Life, its annual Malaysia Day celebration featuring exhibitions, performances, workshops, films, poetry, city walks, pop-ups and other cultural experiences. Programmes will unfold throughout the weeks leading up to Malaysia Day, culminating in a packed weekend on 12th and 13th September 2026.
Curated by GMBB together with its creative community, this year’s Rentak MalaysiaKu looks beyond the milestones and symbols to celebrate the practices and experiences that are woven into Malaysian life – what we eat, the places we gather, the things we make, the traditions passed down to us and the little habits we share. Through these different slices of life, GMBB invites visitors to look again at the things we often take for granted, tracing where they come from and how they have become part of who we are.
“At GMBB, we have always believed that one of the most meaningful ways to understand Malaysia is through each other. Slice of Life celebrates the little things, habits and traditions that may feel familiar to some of us, but completely new to someone else. Through Rentak MalaysiaKu, we hope Malaysians can recognise a little of themselves, while experiencing how others live, create and carry their traditions. It is through these different slices of life that we begin to appreciate just how diverse, yet connected we really are,” said Lim Ying Hui, Senior General Manager of GMBB.
The highlights of Rentak MalaysiaKu: Slice of Life 2026 include:
Snippets of Malaysian Life, As We Know It
Rentak MalaysiaKu offers different ways of seeing, hearing and experiencing the moments that colour Malaysian life. Footnote: Reading KL on Foot by Briana Leong takes visitors on four specially themed walks focusing on food, objects, signs and spaces around Kuala Lumpur, encouraging them to slow down and observe the everyday details that give our streets their character. The Mini Show Gallery captures the sights, sounds, flavours and experiences of life across Malaysia in miniature, while visitors can also embark on GMBB’s Slice of Life Limited Edition Sticker Rally, hunting for specially designed collectibles across its tenant stores from 12 to 16 September.
From Pasar to Pantry
The pasar means different things across generations, from memories of tagging along with our grandparents to where the ingredients for our favourite dishes begin. Rasa Pasar explores the market as a living archive of taste, while IMMERSIO 2026: PASAR, organised by new media art collective Filamen from 11th to 27th September, draws on the beautiful chaos of the market as a place of trade, exchange and constant movement, interpreted through art installations, projection mapping and digital works by artists across Southeast Asia.
Play Play Asia’s What Should We Have Tomorrow? turns meal planning for loved ones into a guided solo journaling game. Visitors can also turn their favourite pasar finds into art with Ingredients from the Market: Mengkuang Bag Painting, adding their own personal touch to the traditional woven bag.
Borneo, In Its Own Words
In a special collaboration with GMBB, HAUS KCH brings contemporary Bornean voices to Rentak MalaysiaKu through poetry, film and artisan pop-ups. Browse locally inspired perfumes, beaded accessories and more from five Bornean makers; experience six Slice of Life-inspired poetry works and a live performance by Wordsmiths of Kuching; and catch a selection of short films and documentaries by Bornean filmmakers.
Running from 2nd to 30th September, Inheritance: Borneo Women by Undercurrent adds another perspective by bringing together contemporary East Malaysian artists and collectives to explore Borneo’s matriarchal legacy through indigenous identity, memory and labour.
What We Inherit, What We Keep Alive
Traditions live on when they are practised, shared and reinterpreted. On 13th September, Luheiw Renaweij’s Sewang Ne’asik brings the instruments, singing and dancing of Perak’s Orang Asli Semai community to GMBB, while a Bharatanatyam performance and lecture demonstration offers audiences a glimpse at the artistry behind the Indian classical dance form. Fusion Wayang Kulit gives the centuries-old art of shadow puppetry a contemporary spin, while visitors can get hands-on with heritage through Mini Songket Weaving and designing their own Peranakan-inspired ceramic tiles.
A Malaysia Day Tradition at GMBB
For GMBB, Malaysia Day has always been an annual opportunity to explore the country through the people, stories and creative communities that shape it. Since Malaysiaku in 2019 which featured Yasmin 10 Years On, GMBB has continued to curate its own annual programmes, evolving through Let’s Sustain MalaysiaKu to Rasa Sayang and Rentak MalaysiaKu, each exploring Malaysia through a different lens.
With programmes beginning from 22nd August and continuing throughout September 2026, visitors can experience Rentak MalaysiaKu 2026: Slice of Life at GMBB, with its main weekend taking place on 12th and 13th September 2026. For the full programme schedule and latest updates, follow @gmbb.kl on Facebook and Instagram or visit https://gmbb.com.my/.
