'The Herds' begins its journey from central Africa to the Arctic Circle
KINSHASA, Congo — In the Kinshasa Botanical Garden, a troupe of cardboard animals – monkeys, a gorilla, leopards, a giraffe – stand at attention in a clearing. Their handlers, puppeteers dressed in black, begin to move slowly through the woods, eventually picking up speed and breaking out into a run.
These were the first steps of 'The Herds,' a moving theater performance made up of cardboard puppet animals that flee from the Democratic Republic of Congo to the Arctic Circle in a bid to bring attention to the climate crisis.
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The Guardian
25-04-2025
- The Guardian
Lifesize herd of puppet animals begins climate action journey from Africa to Arctic Circle
Hundreds of life-size animal puppets have begun a 20,000km (12,400 mile) journey from central Africa to the Arctic Circle as part of an ambitious project created by the team behind Little Amal, the giant puppet of a Syrian girl that travelled across the world. The public art initiative called The Herds, which has already visited Kinshasa and Lagos, will travel to 20 cities over four months to raise awareness of the climate crisis. It is the second major project from The Walk Productions, which introduced Little Amal, a 12-foot puppet, to the world in Gaziantep, near the Turkey-Syria border, in 2021. The award-winning project, co-founded by the Palestinian playwright and director Amir Nizar Zuabi, reached 2 million people in 17 countries as she travelled from Turkey to the UK. The Herds' journey began in Kinshasa's Botanical Gardens on 10 April, kicking off four days of events. It moved on to Lagos, Nigeria, the following week, where up to 5,000 people attended events performed by more than 60 puppeteers. On Friday the streets of Dakar in Senegal will be filled with more than 40 puppet zebras, wildebeest, monkeys, giraffes and baboons as they run through Médina, one of the busiest neighbourhoods, where they will encounter a creation by Fabrice Monteiro, a Belgium-born artist who lives in Senegal, and is known for his large-scale sculptures. On Saturday the puppets will be part of an event in the fishing village of Ngor. The first set of animal puppets was created by Ukwanda Puppetry and Designs Art Collective in Cape Town using recycled materials, but in each location local volunteers are taught how to make their own animals using prototypes provided by Ukwanda. The project has already attracted huge interest from people keen to get involved. In Dakar more than 300 artists applied for 80 roles as artists and puppet guides. About 2,000 people will be trained to make the puppets over the duration of the project. 'The idea is that we're migrating with an ever-evolving, growing group of animals,' Zuabi told the Guardian last year. Zuabi has spoken of The Herds as a continuation of Little Amal's journey, which was inspired by refugees, who often cite climate disaster as a trigger for forced migration. The Herds will put the environmental emergency centre stage, and will encourage communities to launch their own events to discuss the significance of the project and get involved in climate activism. 'The idea is to put in front of people that there is an emergency – not with scientific facts, but with emotions,' said The Herds' Senegal producer, Sarah Desbois. She expects thousands of people to view the four events being staged over the weekend. 'We don't have a tradition of puppetry in Senegal. As soon as the project started, when people were shown pictures of the puppets, they were going crazy.' Growing as it moves, The Herds will make its way from Dakar to Morocco, then into Europe, including London and Paris, arriving in the Arctic Circle in early August.
Asharq Al-Awsat
13-04-2025
- Asharq Al-Awsat
'The Herds' Begins its Journey from Central Africa to the Arctic Circle
In the Kinshasa Botanical Garden, a troupe of cardboard animals – monkeys, a gorilla, leopards, a giraffe – stand at attention in a clearing. Their handlers, puppeteers dressed in black, begin to move slowly through the woods, eventually picking up speed and breaking out into a run. These were the first steps of 'The Herds,' a moving theater performance made up of cardboard puppet animals that flee from the Democratic Republic of Congo to the Arctic Circle in a bid to bring attention to the climate crisis. This week, the puppet animals started their journey in Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC in central Africa, according to The Associated Press. The story goes that the animals will be forced out of their natural habitats due to global warming and displaced north, stopping in cities along the way and being joined by more animals. Just meters away a real-life example of climate change: Part of the botanical garden lay under floodwaters left over from massive flooding earlier this week that left half the city inaccessible and killed dozens. The sight brought 'The Herds' story to life in a bleak way. The main event planned in the center of Kinshasa on Friday was canceled because of the heavy rain. 'The Herds' comes from the team that was behind 'The Walk' in 2021, in which a 12-foot tall puppet of a refugee girl called Little Amal drew attention to the refugee crisis by traveling to 15 countries — from Türkiye to the UK, Ukraine, Mexico and the US. Tshoper Kabambi, a Congolese filmmaker and producer, is working on 'The Herds' as its DRC producer. He said 'The Herds' main goal is to raise awareness. 'Nature is very important to us. But humans have a tendency to neglect nature,' he said. 'We want to raise awareness among people about everything that is happening. You have seen the floods all over the world, global warming, deforestation.' 'The Herds' will stay in Kinshasa until Saturday before moving onto Lagos, Nigeria, and Dakar, Senegal. 'The Herds' organizers say the significance of starting in Congo lies in the fact that the country is home to the second biggest rainforest in the world. The Congo Basin serves as one of the planet's 'lungs,' the other being the Amazon Rainforest. They say much less attention has been focused on Congo's rainforest, but it is still in dire need of protection. Congolese artists were an integral part of 'The Herds' opening act, just as artists from other countries will be as the project moves north. Amir Nizar Zuabi was on that team and is now the artistic director of 'The Herds.' He was also a part of 'The Walk.' 'I think one of the big impacts of this project is the fact that this project is happening in 20 different cities,' he said. 'It will travel through different cultures, different places, and it accumulates. And it will tell the story of the Congo also in Norway, because we have partners everywhere.'
Arab News
12-04-2025
- Arab News
Herd of animal puppets treks from Africa to arctic Circle in climate action
KINSHASA, Congo: In the Kinshasa Botanical Garden, a troupe of cardboard animals stand at attention in a clearing. Their handlers, puppeteers dressed in black, begin to move slowly through the woods, eventually picking up speed and breaking out into a run. These were the first steps of 'The Herds,' a moving theater performance made up of cardboard puppet animals that flee from the Democratic Republic of Congo to the Arctic Circle in a bid to bring attention to the climate crisis. This week, the puppet animals started their journey in Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC in central Africa. The story goes that the animals will be forced out of their natural habitats due to global warming and displaced north, stopping in cities along the way and being joined by more animals. Just meters away a real-life example of climate change: Part of the botanical garden lay under floodwaters left over from massive flooding earlier this week that left half the city inaccessible and killed dozens. The sight brought 'The Herds' story to life in a bleak way. The main event planned in the center of Kinshasa on Friday was canceled because of the heavy rain. A wildebeest, a gorilla and a giraffe were among the life-size puppets to begin the 20,000-kilometer (12,400-mile) trek that will cross about 10 countries between central Africa and the Arctic by August. Their journey will take them through Nigeria, Senegal, Morocco, France and Norway, among other countries. 'This project tries to give the public a powerful emotional sense of what's happening to the planet,' project producer David Lan said. The trek includes 'now 20, later 40, later 70 animals from all over west Africa, Morocco, Europe who are traveling to escape from the damage done to their ecosystem,' he added. It is financed by several European countries as well as private foundations. The puppets are made of mostly recycled materials: cardboard for the skin and rubber for the joints, according to Siphokazi Mpofu, of the South African collective, Ukwanda Puppets, which created the first puppets. 'Some animals will die on the way,' due to high humidity for instance, 'just like in real life,' Mpofu said. As it travels, the herd will be joined by new puppets representing local species, such as vervet monkeys in Nigeria, wolves and red deer in Europe, and reindeer in Norway. 'The Herds' comes from the team that was behind 'The Walk' in 2021, in which a 12-foot tall puppet of a refugee girl called Little Amal drew attention to the refugee crisis by traveling to 15 countries — from Turkiye to the UK, Ukraine, Mexico and the US. Tshoper Kabambi, a Congolese filmmaker and producer, is working on 'The Herds' as its DRC producer. He said 'The Herds' main goal is to raise awareness. 'Nature is very important to us. But humans have a tendency to neglect nature,' he said. 'We want to raise awareness among people about everything that is happening. You have seen the floods all over the world, global warming, deforestation.' 'The Herds' will stay in Kinshasa until Saturday before moving onto Lagos, Nigeria, and Dakar, Senegal. 'The Herds' organizers say the significance of starting in Congo lies in the fact that the country is home to the second biggest rainforest in the world. The Congo Basin serves as one of the planet's 'lungs,' the other being the Amazon Rainforest. They say much less attention has been focused on Congo's rainforest, but it is still in dire need of protection. Congolese artists were an integral part of 'The Herds' opening act, just as artists from other countries will be as the project moves north. Amir Nizar Zuabi was on that team and is now the artistic director of 'The Herds.' He was also a part of 'The Walk.' 'I think one of the big impacts of this project is the fact that this project is happening in 20 different cities,' he said. 'It will travel through different cultures, different places, and it accumulates. And it will tell the story of the Congo also in Norway, because we have partners everywhere.'
