Little Amal
Little Amal is a manually operated, partly-animatronic giant puppet and is the centrepiece of the performance art project called The Walk. The project was created by the British production companies The Walk Productions and Good Chance in collaboration with the South African Handspring Puppet Company. With the intention of celebrating human migration and cultural diversity, the puppet initially journeyed for five months from the Syria-Turkey border via Europe to the United Kingdom, and walked and took part in locally arranged events in 65 towns and cities along the way. Little Amal was greeted at some venues by local dignitaries, such as Pope Francis, Vincent Nichols Archbishop of Westminster and Cllr Caroline Makinson, Mayor of Barnsley.
The puppet's Little Amal persona originated as a character in The Jungle, a play created in the former Calais jungle encampment in 2015. The name Amal means "hope" in Arabic. Little Amal represents a nine-year-old Syrian refugee girl who, in The Walk project, travels alone across Europe to find her mother. "Dozens" of designers and craftspeople combined to create the puppet, which is controlled by at least three puppeteers: two to move the hands, and one interior puppeteer who walks on heavily-weighted stilts, and controls the head, eyes and mouth by hand via a mechanism called the harp.
In some areas, Little Amal's reception was mixed, with some racist or even violent responses, but in most towns there was no problem. On the South Bank in London, she walked side by side with Handspring's Joey the War Horse.
The Walk
The Walk is a "travelling art festival ... a celebration of migration and cultural diversity", organised by the British production companies The Walk Productions and Good Chance in collaboration with the South African Handspring Puppet Company. The artistic director was Amir Nizar Zuabi, and the producers were Stephen Daldry, David Lan, Tracey Seaward and Naomi Webb. The project involved "celebrated artists, major cultural institutions, community groups and humanitarian organisations". The event consisted primarily of a puppet representing a displaced refugee child who was fleeing from war and separated from her family, walking across Europe to find her mother, and wishing to attend school: "The puppet represent displaced children, who been separated from their families, and by travelling over they hope that Little Amal share the urgent message from all young refugees Don't forget about us".The founders of Handspring Puppet Company, Basil Jones and Adrian Kohler, have said, "The story of refugees is so important for the whole world. Many countries are on the move because of conflict, climate change, farmers that can't work anymore through lack of rain. It's the big story of our time. Because it's an outdoor event, The Walk has the potential of bringing people together again. At a moment when theatres are struggling to re-open this is something everyone can be a part of". Project director Amir Nizar Zuabi said, "The purpose of The Walk is to highlight the potential of the refugee, not just their dire circumstances".
2021 itinerary
Note: The dates below cover not only the dates of Little Amal's passage via 65 towns and cities across Europe and the UK, but also those of other events organised in connection with The Walk project.- Turkey 27 July – 8 August. In Gaziantep, Little Amal followed a path of lanterns to a dance with live music and a suitcase of gifts for the journey. In Çeşme, she followed a path of shoes to the sea, where many refugees had lost their lives.
- Greece, 9 August – 5 September. In Chios there were songs in Little Amal's honour, and in Ioannina, light boxes illuminated words of encouragement. At Katsikas refugee camp, Amal was greeted by refugee children.
- Italy, 7 – 19 September. In Sanremo there were artistic installations and musical events. In Bari, Amal was met by a nonna, or grandmother-figure, who imparted words of wisdom. In Rome she was greeted by Pope Francis, who took her hand.
- France, 21 September – 17 October. In Marseille an epic dance, titled When the Waves Have Come and Gone, took place.
- Switzerland, 28–29 September. Little Amal was photographed outside the United Nations building in Geneva, and visited CERN.
- Germany 1 – 4 October. In Stuttgart Little Amal was entertained by the 5-metre-tall puppets of Dundu.
- Belgium, 6–10 October. Here, Little Amal handed over "a mountain of letters to the European Parliament in the Belgian capital, all drawing attention to the difficulties experienced by uprooted refugee children". She visited Antwerp, where she met the Reuskens van Borgerhout, Brussels and Bouillon.
- United Kingdom, 18 July – 3 November.
2022 itinerary
- Ukraine and Poland, 10 –14 May. Little Amal visited Lviv, Ukraine, where she met displaced children and families fleeing the war. She then went to Poland, where she visited Lublin, Kraków, and Przemyśl, which is near the border to Ukraine.
- United Kingdom 19 – 27 June 2022. In 2022, Amal revisited the UK for World Refugee Week. She visited Manchester, Bradford, Leeds, Liverpool, Bristol, Stonehenge, London, Canterbury, and Folkestone.
- New York, USA, 14 September – 2 October. In NYC, Amal visited all five boroughs, where she attended 55 events during the 17 days she was in NYC. She came to NYC to find her uncle Samir.
- * Queens: Little Amal arrived at JFK International Airport on September 14th, where she was welcomed by the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and children’s chorus. Amal returned to Queens on September 21st for three events. Starting at Corona Queens with an event called “In the garden of hope,” where she danced with the indigenous dance group Cetiliztli Nauchcamp at the community garden. Then she went to Flushing Meadows, Corona Park, where she met an unexpected friend, and that event was called “When I find an unexpected friend.” Amal went to Jackson Heights in an event called “Beating heart” where the drumming echoed her heartbeat, because she was afraid. Some of the other events she attended in Queens were: "All alone in the dark" in Astoria, and "Lost in Jamaica, Queens."
- * Bronx: In the Bronx, Amal attended three events. On September 25th, she and the Mott Haven community searched for the waterfront so that they could breathe some fresh air. The event was titled “In search of the waterfront.” On the same day, Amal participated in hip hop at the “Streets of Hip Hop, streets of home” event. In the event “A really, really high bridge,” the community helped Amal cross the High Bridge, which frightened her.
- * Brooklyn: In Brooklyn Amal attended eleven events: “When Coney Island is closed,” “Listen to my story,” “Listen and you will hear,” “Nowhere to sleep,” “Connections” “Bed Stuy is buzzing” “A quiet refuge” “Almost like home,” “Time to fly,” “When the pigeons flock,” and “All the friends I have made.” “All the friends I have made” took place on Amal’s last day in NYC near St. Ann’s Warehouse, the partnership that brought her to NYC.
- * Manhattan: In Manhattan, Amal attended twenty events. Some of those were: "When everyone knows where they are going", "A dream we hold in our hands", "Flashing Lights", "When afraid hum a song", "Dazzled, A place to play", "When you find your rhythm", "A big building full of wonders", "A moment to rest, Amal… Park… Cake!", "I felt really lonely and just had to dance", "When the world sounds like a prayer", "Embrace the tangle", "Fiesta at The Clemente", "Kindness is a journey".
- * Staten Island: In Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden, Amal attended “Little butterfly, don’t be afraid.” She was welcomed there with craft and a parade.
- Amsterdam, 9 – 10 October 2022: Little Amal was invited to Amsterdam by Bloomberg CityLab. She walked from Dam Square and passed by Anne Frank House, where the general director of Anne Frank House received Amal Anne's diary in Arabic.
Puppet
There are three identical Little Amal puppets, created to allow simultaneous events at different locations. They were constructed for the 2021 passage and carried between venues. They were presented as one puppet and were not seen together. Separately, they performed short walks in each location, taking part in events arranged locally. The puppet design represents a nine-year-old Syrian female refugee named Little Amal, amal being Arabic for "hope".