Factory International

MIF25 Opening Event

THE HERDS: Manchester City Centre

Free to attend – no booking required
A woman in a cap touches the head of a life-sized giraffe puppet made from cardboard and wood, as part of The Herds. The background shows an urban environment with people watching and a scenic view of trees and mountains.
Date
3 Jul 2025
Venue
Manchester City Centre: Cathedral Gardens, Corporation Street and Market Street
Tickets

6pm

Free to attend – no booking required

Public art meets climate action in THE HERDS – a monumental migration of puppet animals on a 20,000km journey from the Congo basin to the Arctic Circle.

Is that a giraffe on Market Street? An elephant in Heywood? An antelope in Pennington Flash? THE HERDS are on the move…

For the opening event of MIF25, the displaced herd arrives in Manchester City Centre, set on interrupting an orchestral performance by Manchester Camerata.

Encounter THE HERDS as they scatter through the city, sweeping the music into their frenzy. Wander between Cathedral Gardens and Market Street, and you might just stumble upon them. Is that the sound of music or something wild approaching?

Seeking sanctuary in nature, THE HERDS then leaves the city centre for the residential streets of Heywood (4 July) before finding a glimmer of the wild in Pennington Flash Country Park (5 July).

Featuring 70 life-sized puppets operated by local participants and volunteers, THE HERDS is a public art project on a scale never attempted before – a testament to both the scale of the crisis and the collective effort needed to fight it.

Bringing searing questions about the climate crisis to our streets, THE HERDS is a call to action that cannot be ignored.

THE HERDS

Roaming through cities in West Africa and Europe, the animals are fleeing north to escape climate disaster. THE HERDS is a visual dramatisation of the climate crisis and a stark warning of what may come if animals are forced to flee their natural habitats.

THE HERDS is brought to life by the international team behind Little Amal created by The Walk Productions and led by Artistic Director Amir Nizar Zuabi, and brings together leading artists and arts and educational institutions across Africa and Europe.

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Credits

THE HERDS Greater Manchester is produced by The Walk Productions in partnership with Factory International.

Greater Manchester events delivered in association with Rochdale Borough Council and Rochdale Development Agency, and Wigan Council.

MIF25 Opening Event created in partnership with Manchester Camerata. With support from Landsec U+I.

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

Image: Ant Strack

Access information

THE HERDS takes place in Manchester City Centre between Cathedral Gardens, Corporation Street and Market Street.

This is an event which reflects on the current climate crisis. It may include scenes which some might find upsetting.

Assistance dogs are welcome at these events.

We will be producing a What To Expect Guide for this event. It will be available from 5 June.

One-on-one audio description is available for the MIF25 Opening Event on 3 July, and will be delivered by our trained volunteers. If you have any questions about audio description for this event, please call our team on 0161 817 4531 (Monday-Saturday, 10am-6pm) or email access@factoryinternational.org.

Travel information

THE HERDS takes place in Manchester City Centre between Cathedral Gardens, Market Street and Corporation Street.

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