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The Lawrence community and Algerian soccer fans gathered around worldwide artist Stan Herd's earthwork of an Algerian flag on Friday outside the Lied Center.
The Algeria men's national team made Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence its base camp for the duration of its World Cup run. The team is staying and training in Lawrence, and the town has adopted the team and its fans.
RELATED | Lawrence resident welcomes Algerian fan into her home
“My feeling is when they all show up here, this becomes little Algeria — this is their homeland here in Lawrence," Herd said of the field where his earthwork is on display.
Herd and Algerian University of Kansas student Sajedah Andalsi first held a celebration at the flag ahead of Algeria's match against Argentina on June 16. Friday, the duo returned with another crowd ahead of the Algeria v. Austria match at Kansas City Stadium on Saturday.
Hundreds of Algerians and Lawrence residents gathered in green, red and white to celebrate at the earthwork. The unity of two communities was on display as the crowd sang Algerian chants and "Rock Chalk."
“A lot of people have been talking about the love story between Lawrence and Algeria," Andalsi said.
RELATED | Lawrence small businesses sell more Algeria World Cup gear than USA gear
The Ammi family heard about that love story — specifically Herd's earthwork — through social media. The family of four traveled from the Twin Cities area of Minnesota to attend Algeria's World Cup match Saturday, and they decided to stay in Lawrence.
“We came yesterday, I was like, 'Is this an Algerian city that I didn’t know about?' It was so exciting," Nabil Ammi said. "I kept driving, there’s a flag over there, there’s a flag over there, there’s a sign up there. Oh my god, we love it.”
Nabil Ammi was born in Algeria and has passed his love for soccer down to his two children, Zain and Sabrina. The family checked out Herd's earthwork before the evening celebration on Friday.
“When I walked in and saw our flag symbol, my skin has goosebumps just to see this," Nabil Ammi said. "I mean it’s so emotional, thank you."
While Andalsi was born and raised in the Kansas City area, she refers to Algeria as home. Through her mother, she is connected to her heritage there, and said Algerians who live thousands of miles away and have never visited Lawrence are calling the Midwest town their second home.
“My worlds have been colliding, essentially, as a KU student and then as an Algerian," Andalsi said.
For Herd, the community his art helps build is what is most important to him. He calls Lawrence home, and he has been looking forward to welcoming visitors to town.
RELATED | Lawrence artist rolls out the green carpet for team Algeria with giant earthwork
"The art’s great, the art’s a platform, it’s always been a platform," Herd said. "Music, art, film brings people to the table, but it’s the people that come to the table and share their experiences and embrace each other’s cultures.”
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