Kedah State Art Gallery, Art gallery in Kedah, Malaysia

The Kedah State Art Gallery (Balai Seni Negeri Kedah) occupies a building begun on 21 January 1893 and completed in 1912, designed by Muhammad bin Lebai Thambi of the Kedah Public Works Department. It mixes neoclassical and Sino-Portuguese architecture: Palladian colonnades and Baroque ornament, with the Kedah shield above every arch. An open court with a public square and park fronts it.

Construction began on 21 January 1893 and was completed in 1912; Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim opened the building as Alor Setar's first modern government building, housing the high court. By 1931 the court had moved beside the Federal Building, and the Audit Department, State Treasury and British Advisory Office took over, later followed by the Public Works and Sewerage and Drainage departments. It became the state art gallery on 25 July 1983, the silver jubilee of Sultan Abdul Halim.

The gallery sits in the middle of Medan Budaya, Alor Setar's cultural square, and is run by the State Museum Board, which makes it the centre of Kedah's cultural and artistic activity. Its Malay name, Balai Seni Negeri Kedah, simply means Kedah State Art Hall. The works on show are by Kedah people: painting, wood carving and calligraphy.

The gallery stands in the Medan Budaya cultural square, a short walk northwest of Alor Setar railway station. The building is fronted by an open court with a public square and park, so you can approach it on foot from the station side.

Every arch on the facade carries the Kedah shield in its ornamentation, a detail easy to miss at street level. The building was designed by Muhammad bin Lebai Thambi of the Kedah Public Works Department, who combined Palladian colonnades with Baroque arches. In June to September 1904 it was closed and turned into a special banquet hall for VIPs during the three-month wedding of five of Sultan Abdul Hamid Shah's children.