Little Amal in Manchester (c) The Walk Productions (Manuel Harlan)
Following her 5,000 mile trek around Europe for The Walk Project, Little Amal — a giant puppet representing a 10-year-old Syrian refugee — has arrived in the Big Apple for Little Amal Walks NYC, a “17-day traveling festival of art and hope” during which she will visit 55 locations throughout the five boroughs.
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Little Amal — whose purpose is to spread a “message of hope and solidarity for displaced people everywhere” — arrived at JFK Airport on September 14, where the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra greeted and serenaded her.
She’s already visited landmarks including the New York Public Library, and today she’s in Times Square enjoying some Broadway tunes.
On Saturday, September 17, Little Amal will make her Upper West Side debut. (All of Amal’s appearances are free and suitable for children, according to the event organizers.)
She’ll kick things off at 1:30 p.m. in Columbus Circle, where she’ll begin walking north on Central Park West. At 1:50 p.m., she’ll land in Lincoln Center for a performance called “A Place to Play.” And at 2:30pm, she’ll head towards the American Museum of Natural History.
Little Amal Walks NYC is a co-production between The Walk Productions and St. Ann’s Warehouse in association with Handspring Puppet Company.
To view her route throughout the five boroughs, visit walkwithamal.org/events.
Little Amal at COP26 (c) The Walk Productions (Douglas Robertson)
It is worth noting that Amal is a gender neutral name common in the Middle East, the literal translation is ‘Hope’ The name is also pronounced Ámal, not Amál – a common American mispronunciation.
Thank you for this helpful info. I definitely would have gotten the pronunciation wrong!