Image Credit: Rehearsal images for THE HERDS. Cape Town. Photographed by Ant Strack
A large-scale public art project titled The Herds is making its way through cities across Africa and Europe, using life-sized animal puppets to raise awareness about the climate crisis. The initiative began on April 10 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and is set to conclude in the Arctic Circle this August, covering a distance of 12,400 miles and visiting 20 cities, including Lagos, Dakar, Casablanca, Paris, and Oslo.
The Herds is organized by The Walk Productions, a London-based nonprofit known for its earlier project featuring Little Amal, a 12-foot puppet symbolizing the plight of refugees. Since its inception, Little Amal has traveled extensively, engaging millions in discussions around human rights and displacement. The new project extends this legacy by combining art with climate activism, aiming to create emotional connections rather than relying solely on scientific data.
Local residents are invited to participate in The Herds, with volunteers trained to build animal puppets using prototypes from the Cape Town-based Ukwanda Puppetry and Designs Art Collective. The project has already seen significant community involvement, with over 5,000 participants in Lagos and a vibrant display of puppets in Dakar’s Médina market.
The Herds also highlights the intersection of climate change and forced migration. Organizers emphasize that climate change is not just a future threat but a current reality that displaces communities worldwide. By focusing on community-created art, The Herds seeks to foster emotional engagement and local ownership, providing an alternative narrative to conventional climate discussions dominated by statistics.
Following its stops in Morocco, The Herds will continue its journey through several European countries, including Spain, France, Italy, and Denmark, before reaching its final destination in Norway. The project aims to inspire dialogue and provoke thought, transforming public spaces into stages for artistic expression and community engagement as it travels northward.
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