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12-Foot Puppet Little Amal To Make Stops in LA
Little Amal, a 12 ft. puppet towers over a group of bystanders at a stop in Nashville
(
Courtesy of Amal Walks America
)
Little Amal may only be 10 years old, but she has a big presence towering over others in the form of a 12-foot-tall puppet. Starting her journey in Syria, Amal is on an international journey to highlight the humanity of refugees, and now she's in Los Angeles.
“We created a very beautiful puppet by working closely with Handspring Puppet Company, which is one of the most acclaimed theater puppet companies in the world,” said Amir Nazar Zouabi, artistic director of Amal Walks Across America. “She's got very big eyes, full of curiosity. She's a mixture of things. She's very resilient, she's very vulnerable. She's very big and she's very small.”
Little Amal admires an indoor carousel while at a stop in Brooklyn
(
Courtesy of Amal Walks America
)
Having already toured Europe, Amal is walking the U.S. with multiple spots now in Los Angeles.
Amal's mission
Little Amal, the 12 foot puppet of a Syrian refugee girl visits the border between Mexico and the US.
(
Sue Dorfman/ZUMA Press
/
ZUMA Wire
)
Zouabi told LAist the project is trying to create a narrative around refugees where they are not seen as a burden.
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“We wanted to kind of think about refugees as potential, as refugees, as people that come with stories and knowledge and different aesthetics and different rhythms,” he said.
The tour is taking the puppet to different spaces, interacting with a variety of communities to spread the Amal’s sense of humanity
“If you're able to feel empathy to a puppet maybe you can extend this to fellow human beings,” Zoubi said.
Where to see Amal in L.A.
Wednesday, Nov. 1
- A walk to school with kids and families: 7:45 a.m., UCLA Community School
- A Visit to the alters for Dia De Los Muertos: 3 p.m., Pueblo Historic Monument at Olvera Street
- A Walk through Pasadena with a group children who are hearing impaired: 5 p.m., Pasadena City Hall
Thursday, Nov. 2
- An art crafting session and a walk through Skid Row: 12 p.m., 7th Street, DTLA
- A performance with Hālau Hula Keali`i O Nālani and more art crafting: 5 p.m., Santa Monica Pier
- An outdoor evening at the Jerry Moss Plaza, The Music Center
Friday, Nov. 3
- A performance director and choreographed by Debbie Allen: 10 a.m., the Kia Forum parking lot
More details here.
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