LITTLE AMAL WALKS NYC Announces Full 55-Event Schedule

St. Ann's Warehouse and The Walk Productions with Handspring Puppet Company have announced the full schedule for Little Amal Walks NYC, a staggering 55 unique events welcoming Amal to America. Details can be found at walkwithamal.org and stannswarehouse.org; on Amal's social platforms Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok accounts; and on Bloomberg Connects.

Amal is a 12-foot-tall puppet of a 10-year-old Syrian refugee girl designed by Handspring Puppet Company (War Horse). She walks for millions of refugees and marginalized people roaming the world in search of safety, more than half of whom are children. She has traveled 5,000 miles across 12 countries-including, most recently, Ukraine-and been welcomed by mayors of Capital Cities, world-renowned artists, and also His Holiness Pope Francis, touching people deeply everywhere she goes. Over a million people-and tens of millions online-have engaged with her on her journey. She is now a globally recognized symbol of human rights, especially those of immigrants, refugees, and other marginalized people. In New York City, she will embark on a 17-day journey in all 5 boroughs in search of her uncle Samir.

Playwright/director Amir Nizar Zuabi serves as Artistic Director of The Walk Productions, and Yazmany Arboleda, New York City's first "People's Artist," is the Creative Producer of the New York visit. To devise the colossal, collective Little Amal Walks NYC, they are collaborating with artists, arts and civil society organizations, and schools across all five boroughs.

Amal arrives September 14 at JFK Terminal 4 where she will be welcomed by the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and its Children's Chorus under the direction of Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Her walk concludes with a special surprise event honoring refugees and immigrants who have made an impact on the life of New York. In between, Amal will be welcomed by:

• Artists including choreographer Elizabeth Streb; dance company Cetiliztli Nauchcampa; multidisciplinary artist Swoon; designers Machine Dazzle, I-Chen Wang and Ant Ma; playwright, puppet designer, and visual artist Robin Frohardt; Bronx-born artist and art educator Dennis Redmoon Darkeem; Queens-based dancer, choreographer, and producer Karesia Batan, Great Small Works' Jenny Romaine; New York City's most powerful women, trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming community musical group Fogo Azul NYC; Syrian clarinet player and composer Kinan Azmeh; Frank London's Klezmer Brass Allstars; directors ​​Bartlett Sher, Laurie Woolery, Tea Alagić and Sammi Cannold; choreographer Samar Haddad King; writer, director, designer Nehprii Amenii; Queens-based interdisciplinary artist Natalia Nakazawa; prolific visual artist, graphic designer, muralist Lina Montoya; Puerto Rican poet, journalist and activist Quintin Rivera-Toro; processional artists Alex Kahn and Sophia Michahelles, puppet director Enrico Wey and NYC's Puppet Community; and a large cohort of Broadway performers;

• At NYC landmarks such as Times Square, Central Park, Grand Central, the New York Public Library, Brooklyn Bridge, City Hall, the African Burial Ground, The Bronx High Bridge, Green-Wood Cemetery, and Coney Island;

• With cultural institutions including BAM, Lincoln Center, St. Ann's Warehouse, Carnegie Hall, The Public Theater's Public Works, the American Museum of Natural History, Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, New Victory / New 42nd, La MaMa, The Billie Holiday Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Mark Morris Dance Group, Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden, Clemente Soto Veléz; the Queens Museum, The National Black Theater, The Classical Theater of Harlem, the Brooklyn Children's Museum, Queens Theater;

• With organizations such as Choose Love, Mujeres en Movimiento, Materials for the Arts, the NYC Civic Engagement Commission, The Laundromat Project, Remote Theater Project, Notch Theatre Company, The Tank NYC; National Queer Theatre; Queensboro Dance Festival, Arab American Family Support Center, South Bronx Unite, Korea Art Forum, Human First Coalition, Peaceful Tomorrows and Teatro Sea, to name a few.

Amir Nizar Zuabi said, "For immigrants and refugees around the world, New York is a place of opportunity and promise-but there's a tension running through U.S. history that suggests not everyone is welcome here. This is a crucial moment to explore these themes. We're moved and grateful that so many artists and organizations have wholeheartedly joined us to bring Amal's message of hope and shared humanity to the people of New York."

Yazmany Arboleda said, "As a young, unaccompanied minor arriving in NYC, Amal is excited and fearful. She comes to a city built by immigrants from all over the world, hoping to share stories of her journey through Europe and to learn about life here. We're working with some of the city's most innovative artists and diverse communities to create moments of welcome for an immigrant child. One beautiful example: Amal will plant a tree in El Jardin de la Esperanza, 'a garden of hope' in Corona Park, which is being created in collaboration with Mujeres en Movimiento and Micropolitan Studio, and will remain long after she has gone."

"Everything Little Amal stands for, New York City stands for, and we are proud to welcome her to the international capital of immigrants," said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. "Amal's journey brings awareness to all the displaced children of the world who need our help, as well as all the work that remains to do. Her visit to our landmarks and cultural institutions throughout the five boroughs elevates the message that New York City will continue to show compassion to those that seek it."

"The welcoming of Amal shows the power of art and culture to build bridges and bring global awareness to an issue," said NYC Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Laurie Cumbo. "New York is an extraordinary symphony of people and cultures, and Amal's incredible journey represents our city's long-standing commitment to welcoming immigrants and refugees."

Little Amal Walks NYC is a co-production of St. Ann's Warehouse (Susan Feldman, Artistic Director) and The Walk Productions (David Lan, Tracey Seaward and Stephen Daldry, Producers). Little Amal was designed and created by South Africa's Handspring Puppet Company (War Horse). Karen Brooks Hopkins serves as Executive Producer. Amal is inspired by a character in Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson's play The Jungle. The Walk 2021 was a co-production with Good Chance Theatre.

Bloomberg Connects

The Walk Productions and St Ann's Warehouse also announces the return of Little Amal's Bloomberg Connects free digital guide, which will be re-launched in September to celebrate Little Amal's arrival in New York City.

Audio guides, videos, and special content about Little Amal Walks NYC and Amal's travels through Europe will be available on Bloomberg Connects - the free arts and cultural app powered by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Building on Bloomberg Philanthropies' support for The Walk, users of Bloomberg Connects - will be able to access more than 20 new audio guides featuring a diverse group of New Yorkers from across all five boroughs sharing their unique take on some of NYC's best kept secrets and unknown gems, alongside videos and other content.

The New York City audio guides will be produced by F.Y. Eye - a nonprofit media agency dedicated to ensuring that nonprofit voices, along with true and trusted information, makes its way into the public square - and Abigail Montes, an award-winning photographer whose work captures the vibrancy of communities across the South Bronx and beyond.

Photo credit: Manuel Harlan