Little Amal arrives in Chios by boat. As she approaches the shore, she hears voices singing to her. The music welcomes her from across the sea.

The local communities of Chios welcomed Amal with “Painemata” – traditional songs written especially for Amal – wishing her well as she took her first steps in Europe.

Little Amal begins her journey in the area of ​​Katsikas, where she is welcomed by the Habibi Works organization. As Amal tries to bridge the 8-kilometer gap between the refugee camp of Katsikas and the bustling city center of Ioannina, her path will be illuminated by a participatory installation featuring over 1,500 light boxes.

Through a giant light box, the shadows come to life and accompany Little Amal on a musical journey that starts from Epirus, reaching all the way to the rest of Greece and to the East.

The light boxes were made in creative workshops organized by artists, members of the community, humanitarian organizations, and local institutions.

Our warmest thanks to the Municipality of Ioannina for their invaluable support.

This event was created in participation with: Biennale of Western Balkans (BOWB), Artemis Papageorgiou, Elli Leventaki – artistic installation, Socrates Pappas / Antrala Theater – shadow puppetry, Alexandros Papageorgopoulos – clarinet, Thanasis Axenopoulos – vocals & violin, Stathis Paraskevopoulos – percussion, Stamatis Pasopoulos – accordion, Pantelis Agistriotis – lute, Alexandros Rizopoulos – percussion

Under the auspices of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports.

This is a past event that took place on 27 August 2021

In the city centre, Amal met children and young people from the Youth Center of Epirus, joining them on a treasure hunt designed by the artist and educator Alexandra Zoi. The children led Amal into the Castle where she discovered a special performance of Marigo and Yannos – an infinite passage – created just for her. 

The work is inspired by the traditional, polyphonic song “O Yannos Kai I Marigo” from the Epirus region. The tale discusses the metaphysical connection between love and death. Natural instruments are joined by the echoes of stone and air, in the service of brand new pieces, grafted with modern dance into a single dramaturgical composition. The composition and editing of the work is signed by Alexandros Rizopoulos, with the participation of video artist Kostis Emmanouilidis, the polyphonic ensemble Anassa and the Alenti ensemble.

The event was created in collaboration with: Alexandros Rizopoulos – composition & editing, percussion, keyboards, vocals, dance, Pantelis Agistriotis – lyre, lute, Alenti ensemble, Vassilis Ziggeridis – qanun, Alenti ensemble, Giorgos Polychroniadis – double bass, Alenti ensemble – Marina Liontou-Mochament – oud, Xanthoula Dakovanou – vocals, dance, Athena Kyrousi-Salvucci – vocals, dance, Georgia Vakali – vocals, percussion, Taxiarchis Vasilakos – dance, vocals, accordion, Kostis Emmanouilidis – video art

Our warmest thanks to TVS Audiovisual and Thomas Nastos for providing the event’s technical support.

Under the auspices of the Hellenic Ministry of Sports and Culture.

This is a past event that took place on 28 August 2021

A tired Amal finds shade under the branches of a tall old tree in Trikala.

She was greeted with a garden of handmade flowers held for her by the children who accompanied her to the centre of the city. On her way, passing outside the Tsitsanis Museum, she made a stop at an ancient tree and rests in its shade. The tree told her its story, remembering the people who have visited it over the years – some of them with tenderness and some with difficulty.

When she arrived in the city square, members of the local community offered her a real and rare flower along with all their wishes for the rest of her journey.

Our warmest thanks to the Municipality of Trikala for their invaluable support and aid in all events of The Walk.

This event was created in collaboration with: Antonella Hira: organization – animation, Christina Krithari: animation – aerial show, Maria Gadetsaki: choreography – animation, Vasilena Mitsiadi: communications director, Deputy Mayor of Infrastructure and Technical Services at the Municipality of Trikala, Stelios Karagiorgos: musical supervision – narration, Sonia Dova: movement and coordination, Maria Tahou: construction and costume design, Elmina-Eleftheria Roditi: guitar, Spyros Pan: hand pan, Cecilia Leclerc, Gina Barakou: rainsticks, Paschalis Zafeiriadis, Vassilis Theodorou: technical support of the aerial show, Athena Anagnostopoulou: Body Art Painting, Thanos Floulis: photography coverage.

This is a past event that took place on 29 August 2021

Children from the refugee community and children from the local community of Larissa met on opposite sides of the Pineios river.

Three hundred small dolls made by the children themselves accompanied Amal on her way through the city to the Mill of Pappas where the Burger Project presented a concert for young people and children.

Artistic Director of the Thessalian Theatre: Kyriaki Spanou, Head of Educational & Artistic Programming: Fotini Kaloudi, Music: Burger Project, Coordinator: Katerina Bekou.

This is a past event that took place on 31 August 2021

A theatrical encounter between Amal and the city of Elefsina, the European Capital of Culture 2023.

This is a past event that took place on 1 September 2021.

“One Step Forward”: An Interactive Exhibition of Children’s Works created for Amal.

The Exhibition of art works created through the Walk’s Education Program in Greece in collaboration with at the Children’s Museum in Athens. As part of the one of the many legacy projects taking place after Amal’s visit, creative workshops ran all year, from January to December 2021.

Inspired by the story of Little Amal, children and young adults from all over Greece prepared exceptional creations consisting of words, puppets, photographs, constructions, drawings, designs and videos as a creative welcoming act.

Alone in an unknown city, a land steeped in legends of the old gods, Little Amal becomes afraid. Which direction should she go in? What if she loses her way forever?

Amal ties a thread of bright red yarn to a lamp post leaving a trail as she walks through the city. Soon others join her, all holding their own thread of yarn. The whole city were invited to join her, to create a living, collaborative work of public art. An old myth in a new form led by the Kinitiras Artistic Network for Performing Arts.

The red yarn procession made its way through the city centre toward Technopolis where Amal came face to face with a minotaur, inspired by the bull of Picasso’s Guernica and created by members UNIMA Hellas accompanied by the music of QUILOMBO.

Amal’s fear rises and she wishes she could escape but there is no way. She faces the beast. Now the minotaur is afraid of Amal. Can the two negotiate their fear and befriend each other?

Created in collaboration with:

Kinitiras Artistic Network: Antigoni Gyra, Afroditi Vervenioti, Christos Theodorou, Artemis Lampiri, Sania Strimpakou, Katerina Skiada, Kostas Giaxoglou, Joe Tornabene, Aliki Avdelopoulou, et al.

UNIMA Hellas: Stathis Markopoulos, Eleni Panagiotou – direction, the entire company – constructions, Erato Sioropoulou, Alexandros Monokandilos, Zeta Sakelariou, Giorgis Iordanidis Grammatikou, Babis Kostidakis, Despina Karouta, Stefania Avramidou, Evi Aresti, Christina Stouraiti, Danae Tombrou, Kiki Maltsaki, Nikos Michopoulos – puppeteers, Quilombo – music, Melina Mascha – lighting.

This is a past event that took place on 2 September 2021

Amal is looking for a safe space to sleep as she arrives at the square in front of the Municipal Theatre of Piraeus. She sees beds. Upon each bed, sits a child with their parents.

The children don’t want to sleep, but to play and dance to the music of Giorgis Christodoulou. Their parents try everything until slowly they start falling asleep one by one. All except Amal. She is tired but more than anything she is alone.

The children gather around her one by one offering comfort and finally Amal can sleep to the sound of the lullabies provided by Marina Satti’s chórès choir.

This event took place in front of the Municipal Theater of Piraeus, one of Greece’s pre-eminent theatres, which has served as a safe haven for displaced people who arrived in Greece.

Created in collaboration with: Giannis Panagopoulos – direction, Maria Stamataki & the teachers of Chorologie: Myrto Katsou, Aggeliki Mouzaki and Christina Bitou – children’s choreography, Dimos Klimenof – set and costume design, Evina Vasilakopoulou – lighting, Yannis Damianos – sound engineering, Aristeidis Marantos – lyrics to the songs of Giorgis Christodoulou. With the participation of students from the Piraeus Association School of Dramatic Art.

This is a past event that took place on 4 September 2021.

From the Municipal Theatre of Piraeus, a grand procession of city dignitaries and representatives of local communities guided Amal toward their local port.

A large procession of of the many friends that she has made in Greece, accompanied Amal from the Municipal Theater of Piraeus to the port with sounds that remind her of her journey here.

A thousand birds said goodbye to her, wishing her well on her long voyage as it continues in Italy.

Created in collaboration with: Kostas Gakis, Natassa Kosmidou – music, Anastasia Koumidou, Nadina Christopoulou, Nikos Agapakis, Fotini Papachatzi – creative coordination.

This is a past event that took place on 5 September 2021