Public art meets climate action as students take part in major global art project

Manchester Metropolitan students have taken part in a global project which combines striking art with an initiative to inspire people to take action against climate change, as part of Manchester International Festival.

The Herds is a public art and climate change initiative designed to inspire action and a connection to the natural world, as a herd of wooden animal puppets head north, symbolising animals fleeing climate disaster as the world’s temperatures rise.

Beginning in April in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Herds has swept through city centres throughout the year, with animals joining the herd in each location it visits as it moves north on its 20,000km journey to the Arctic Circle.

For the opening event of Manchester International Festival (MIF25), the displaced herd arrived in Manchester city centre on July 3 to an orchestral performance by Manchester Camerata, with 80 puppets and 120 puppeteers, before heading to Heywood on July 4 and Pennington Flash Country Park on July 5.

Manchester Met students took part in workshops to create large puppets of wolves to join the herd. The puppets were made of sustainable wood and laser-cut with leather straps, with textile pockets for the poles. They are agile and flexible, allowing the puppeteers to recreate lifelike animal movements. 

The workshops were held at the University over the Easter holidays, where up to 30 students a day from disciplines from Textiles to Fine Art and beyond worked with lead builder Alison Duddle and Manchester Met illustrator Charlie Black.

Kate Egan, Employability Lead for the Department of Art and Design at Manchester Met, said: “The Herds was a fantastic opportunity for students across a range of disciplines to come together to collaborate on this global project, showing their skills and knowledge in sustainability and creative excellence

“There was a wonderful atmosphere throughout the workshops as students used their skills, exchanged ideas and learned from experts such as lead builder Alison Duddle to create incredible, lifelike puppets, expertly brought to life by puppeteers during the performance at the opening event of MIF25. The way the animals move was an important consideration, and that challenge encouraged real creativity and thought.

“Not only was it a wonderful opportunity to take part in a global collaboration, it also allowed the students to consider jobs and opportunities as makers of the future, with some them already going on to facilitate making workshops for the Herds for members of the public. We are very proud of the high standard of work that was produced and of the role our students played in this important art initiative.”

The Herds has been put together by The Walk Productions, which in 2019 created the journey of Little Amal, a 12ft high puppet of a Syrian refugee child.

The Herds, including the wolves made at Manchester Met, will now head to Aarhus, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Trondheim, before reaching the final destination in the Arctic Circle.