A monumental puppet migration through Manchester and beyond – where public art meets planetary emergency
What happens when animals can no longer stay in the places they’ve called home for generations? What does climate displacement look like, not in headlines or graphs, but on our streets?
This summer, THE HERDS arrives—an extraordinary public art event that blends puppetry, performance and protest to bring the global climate crisis directly into the heart of our cities. Spanning a 20,000km route from the Congo Basin to the Arctic Circle, THE HERDS stages a powerful fictional migration of animals fleeing environmental collapse—transforming public space into a stage for imagination, urgency and change.
It begins in Manchester City Centre, opening MIF25 with a dramatic encounter that disrupts both the city and our sense of normal. Seventy life-sized animal puppets—giraffes, elephants, antelope and more—descend upon the city, mid-journey and mid-chaos. Their arrival collides with a performance by the Manchester Camerata, pulling the music into a wild, unscripted symphony of movement and noise. Wander between Cathedral Gardens and Market Street and you might just find yourself in the midst of it: a trumpet’s call, a rustling crowd, a giraffe’s silhouette emerging through the din.
On 4 July, the animals continue their journey into the residential streets of Heywood, bringing their haunting procession to doorsteps and pavements. Then, on 5 July, they seek refuge in Pennington Flash Country Park—a place that still echoes with the sounds and stillness of the wild. Here, the story deepens as THE HERDS reconnect with nature, and perhaps, the possibility of sanctuary.
Made in the spirit of international collaboration, THE HERDS is a creative undertaking of vast scale and vision. Directed by Amir Nizar Zuabi, and brought to life by The Walk Productions (the team behind Little Amal), the project unites artists, activists, schools and communities across Africa and Europe. At its heart are local participants and volunteers, who animate the puppets and propel the migration forward—a moving testament to the collective power we hold in the face of crisis.
THE HERDS is a warning. A wonder. A wake-up call. It asks us to look up from our routines and face the reality of displacement, extinction and environmental justice. To move beyond empathy and into action.
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