Public artwork opening: Wall of Tears
Line up: Presented by artist Phil Buehler (NY) and Plein Theater
Tickets: € 0
Wall of Tears
The Wall of Tears by American artist Phil Buehler, is a heartbreaking memorial to 18,457 children killed in Gaza. The installation lists the names of children in the order in which they were killed between October 7th, 2023 and July 19, 2025. First is Wesam Iyad Mohammed Abu Fsaife, a 14-year-old boy. Last is Sabah Omar Saad al-Masri, an eight-year-old girl.
The Wall of Tears installation was first displayed in Brooklyn, New York on the 29th of January 2026 and has been displayed around the world, including Australia, London, San Fransisco, Mexico, New Jersey and is now brought for the first time to Amsterdam. It will be displayed as an public artwork on the 10 meter wide outdoor wall of the Plein Theater. The opening is on October 15th at 17:00 (RSVP here)
The installation has brought visitors from around the world to witness the intersection of art, political commentary and the horrors of genocide.
The rows and rows of names are punctuated by photos and stories of individual children, drawing on reports by the Guardian and Washington Post newspapers.
“If you approach from a distance, it looks like almost an abstract painting and that draws people in to see, what is that?” according to the artist Phil Buehler. “Then you’ll see they’re names of the children killed in Gaza since 7 October and there are thousands of them stretching down the wall.”
“Then you’ll be drawn in further, I hope, to see the faces and read the stories. That’s the part that gets me when I look at it. You see these faces full of joy and hope, snapshots from graduations and birthday parties and family gatherings and knowing that these kids’ lives were just cut short.”
The artist reflects: “You can’t not think about your own kids and your own families. I hope that might lead people to think about how they might help, even if it’s just, take a photo of the mural and pass it along on their social media or to their friends.”
This is a heartbreaking and powerful work that speaks to our shared humanity.
We welcome you to experience it.