On April 30, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration introduced its inaugural public artwork, commemorating the city's first Arabic-speaking neighborhood, known as "Little Syria."
The installation, titled "Al Qalam (The Pen): Poets in the Park," is a mosaic and sculpture crafted by French-Moroccan artist Sara Ouhaddou over the past ten years. It pays tribute to nine influential figures from the area's vibrant literary scene, including the esteemed Lebanese-American poet Khalil Gibran, who helped establish the local writers' association, Pen Bond (al Rabitah al Qalamiyyah), in 1920.
Located in Elizabeth H. Berger Plaza within Manhattan's Financial District, this $1.6 million monument occupies the historic site where immigrants from Greater Syria, encompassing modern-day Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine, settled in the late 19th century. By 1900, the enclave housed approximately 1,500 residents, who were later displaced during the construction of the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel in the 1940s.
Ouhaddou's artwork is the latest addition to New York City's commemorative monuments, following the unveiling of the "Women's Rights Pioneers Monument" in Central Park in 2020. After delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Parks Department finally revealed the long-anticipated tribute to Little Syria, attended by city officials including the new cultural affairs commissioner, Diya Vij. The project received substantial support from the Mellon Foundation, alongside a partnership with the Washington Street Historical Society.
In an interview, Ouhaddou explained that her mosaics reflect the literary and cultural translations that these immigrant writers undertook upon arriving in New York City. The artwork features quotes from the works of nine writers from Little Syria, transformed into a unique geometric script inspired by Islamic architecture, displayed on two curved mosaic benches. A prominent yellow sculpture in the park spells out "al Qalam" (meaning "the pen").
Ouhaddou, born in France to a Moroccan family, utilized her multilingual background to inform her design. Though she cannot write in Arabic, she understands the challenges of navigating a new language and culture. "When [Little Syria's writers] arrived in America, they faced the significant question of translation," she remarked.
Among the honored writers is Elia Abu Madi, a Lebanese poet and journalist. His grandson, Bob Madey, attended the unveiling, where a selection from Madi's poem "Be a Balm" is featured in Ouhaddou's geometric alphabet. Madi, who fled British colonial Egypt around 1910, later became the editor of the Arabic-language newspaper Meraat-ul-Gharb (Mirror of the West) in Little Syria.
Madey expressed his appreciation for the abstract nature of the new monument, stating, "The graphicness of it makes it accessible and may provoke an understanding of what it actually is."
This monument not only honors the rich literary heritage of Little Syria but also serves as a reminder of the cultural contributions immigrants make to the fabric of society, inspiring future generations to appreciate and celebrate diversity.