THE HERDS will take place between April and August 2025 along a route from Central Africa to Norway.

We are currently in conversation with potential partners in Kinshasa (DRC), Lagos (Nigeria), Dakar (Senegal), Marrakesh and Casablanca (Morocco), Malaga, Madrid and Barcelona (Spain), Marseille and Paris (France), Manchester and London (UK), Copenhagen (Denmark), Malmö and Stockholm (Sweden) and Trondheim and the furthest tip of northern Norway.

THE HERDS is created by The Walk Productions, the international team behind "Little Amal", the 12 foot tall puppet of a refugee child who has journeyed through 17 countries.

Led by Artistic Director Amir Nizar Zuabi, her award winning journeys have been experienced by more than 2 million people live, and millions more online.

Through the image of Little Amal - a solitary refugee child - we endeavoured to give the refugee crisis a face, a name.

THE HERDS will offer audiences across the world a stark artistic image, overwhelming in grandeur and alarm and strives to bring a perspective shift to the climate crisis.

Our intention is that THE HERDS will create a sensory emotional experience that has the power to stimulate action.

We will:

• Reach 500,000 people in live audiences along the route

• Reach a digital audience of millions

• Create 70+ large scale public art performances

• Host dozens of puppetry design and performance workshops

• Embed our education materials in hundreds of classrooms

• Curate a digital platform that will continue to be active long after THE HERDS have finished their journey.

Alongside our large scale public art performances, we will create a one-of-a-kind educational program that engages the minds and captures the imaginations of young people, inspiring to believe that - despite the overwhelming scale of the crisis - change is possible.

Yes. We are having conversations with the international and grassroots climate and environmental organisations to inform our work from its earliest stages, including with world-leading scientists, zoologists, re-wilding conservationists, and climate activists.

A sustainable and responsible approach will be essential for THE HERDS and includes using recyclable and reused materials for the build of our puppet animals and sustainable touring logistics practices.

If you can help us with advice, connections or sustainability please get in touch.

Each of the hundreds of puppets of dozens species will be crafted from recycled materials that are accessible in each town or city.

Our animals will be zoologically accurate in scale and will convey the wildness and beauty of nature. We will create animals that are proud, elegant, frightened and ferociously graceful.

We are dozens of species including elephants, giraffes, big cats, antelopes, wildebeest, apes and wolves. Many of the species will visit every city, but some local iconic species will join for the first time in their local habitats, such as Green Vervet monkeys in Nigeria, lions in Senegal, foxes in the UK and Reindeer in Norway.

THE HERDS puppets are designed in South Africa by Ukwanda Puppets and Designs Art Collective (Luyanda Nogodlwana, Siphokazi Mpofu, Sipho Ngxola), Craig Leo, Simon Dunckley, Hansie Visagie, Tundra Dunckley and Amir Nizar Zuabi.

They came together in 2023 in Cape Town, South Africa and have a background in designing, building and bringing to life some of the world’s most famous puppet creations including Little Amal and the War Horse puppets, both under the leadership of Handspring Puppet Company.

THE HERDS will be propelled by participation.

We are inviting universities, art colleges and groups of many kinds along the route to build and perform with the puppet animals. Our training will be from some of the world’s leading puppeteers and puppet designers.

To register your interest as a participant please get in touch.

We are currently fundraising for the funds needed to make THE HERDS happen.

We welcome introductions from trusts, foundations and private individuals who would like to support us. Please contact us to discuss more.