ALREADY HOME

It's World Cup Time Everyone! For someone who likes sport, but isn't that invested in teams (other than The Springboks, number one world ranked men's rugby team, MY BLOOD IS GREEN & GOLD), I am partial to the World Cup ever since South Africa hosted this tournament in 2010. It feels wonderful to be back in a host nation for a World Cup, there is something in the air when the beautiful game is happening and NYC has come alive with football fever.

New York City is hosting a wonderful event alongside the World Cup called ALREADY HOME World Cup '26 - the NYC Neighborhood Passport & National Storytelling Initiative. It's great and AMT is a proud passport stamp venue. The core idea is that every team coming to play in the World Cup already has a home in immigrant communities that have been building, connecting, and moving NYC for generations. At AMT we have always wanted everyone to feel welcome, as though you are already in your artistic home.

NYC is inviting everyone to participate in a citywide scavenger hunt and cultural adventure tied to the World Cup. Pick up a free NYC Neighborhood Passport at any library branch around the city. Collect stamps by visiting cultural institutions and community events, including at AMT Theater during the run of The Listies. Each of the 12 stamps was designed by NYC-based artists with roots in countries represented in the World Cup and beyond. From Colombia to Ghana, India to Mexico, Korea to the Dominican Republic, Iran to Ukraine. 

As an immigrant myself I resonate with this initiative and the feeling of belonging that comes from this cosmopolitan city. I have my official passport (obviously), but with the advent of e gates there are less stamps involved which is disappointing quite frankly, but then I got a National Parks Passport and it is SO MUCH FUN visiting national parks and collecting stamps. I can highly recommend getting one, there are a bunch of national parks and monuments in NYC alone, so you get the thrills right here before you venture out into the beautiful wilderness. But I digress, this is meant to be about the Neighborhood Passports which are equally fun at the moment - which I know to be true because a father and son came to AMT this week to get their stamps and they were PUMPED. They had spent the day going from Brooklyn through Manhattan getting as many Neighborhood Passport stamps as possible. Their passports were heaving with stamps and it was wonderful. Obviously I told them about the National Parks Passport and boy were they excited to learn that this is something they can keep doing across the country.

My passport adventure will start this weekend when I get my one from my local library and start the hunt for all the stamps! it's a fun way to explore new parts of the city and make memories.

I have a World Cup story of my own. 2010 was really special in South Africa and the build up to the opening was wonderful. Every government institution was given a budget to buy a Bafana Bafana jersey for their staff members and I was luckily working at a museum at the time so I got my jersey and every Friday was designated the proudly South Africa day, Football Fever Friday, and the nation wore their jerseys. It was awesome, especially because the private sector got involved too so thousands of people wore their gold and green jerseys every Friday.

I was working on an exhibition focused on the long and beautiful history of soccer in my home city, so I got to spend months researching and meeting all the local teams and going to their games and documenting their players and history. We created a gorgeous exhibition and fell in love with soccer. My mom loved the experience so much that she suddenly decided to get last minute tickets to see England vs Slovenia in one of their first round games at the Port Elizabeth stadium. IT WAS INCREDIBLE and England won the game, woohoo! It was especially memorable for the two of us because I was moving to Korea the next month, so it was our big special moment together before I spread my little wings and headed to Asia.

Jermain Defoe celebrates scoring for England v Slovenia. Photograph: Tom Jenkins for the Guardian

This year I will creating more World Cup memories supporting Bafana Bafana at Kaia Wine Bar on the Upper East Side because they are a South African restaurant with great food, wine and vibes. Everyone is welcome to join me next Wednesday!