6 days Ago By Adeyinka Salami
Bennett Oghifo As climate change conversations intensify, waves of initiatives and programmes designed to inspire appropriate actions to curtail the causes and effects of this phenomenon are sweeping across the globe. THE HERDS, a particularly unique and intriguing initiative in this category, blends art with climate advocacy and will visit major cities worldwide in 2025, including Lagos, Nigeria . Produced globally by The Walk Productions, THE HERDS is a public art and climate project featuring life-size puppet animals fleeing their ecosystems in response to a rapidly changing climate that’s adversely affecting their well-being and way of life.
For years, scientists, leading world organisations, and various NGOs have called for meaningful collective climate action. THE HERDS is doing the same, but with a focus on creating experiences and evoking emotions that will make people care enough to take responsibility. As Amir Nizar Zuabi, Artistic Director of THE HERDS, notes: “Our aim is to create an emotional reaction to the climate crisis because we believe this is the only way to make people care.
We believe that awe and beauty is the missing spark that leads us from curiosity to change.” The plan is to construct zoologically accurate puppet animals from recycled materials and then travel with them through major cities across the globe, creating a public spectacle that arouses interest, drives participation, and ultimately inspires change. These puppets will journey 20,000km from the Congo Basin to the Arctic Circle, stopping in 11 countries: the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Nigeria, Senegal, Morocco, Spain, France, the UK, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Norway.
Public engagement is at the heart of THE HERDS. This is why, every step of the way, artistic and engaging educational programs will try to make the reality of the global climate crisis and the need for immediate action as accessible as possible to everyday people. Public events will combine the display of the magnificent puppet animals with stirring and riveting dance and theatrical performances.
Lagos Welcomes THE HERDS The Nigerian edition of THE HERDS is set to fully embody the project’s essence and unique approach to climate advocacy. Lagos’ bustling streets, the heartbeat of commerce in Nigeria, brimming with a potpourri of the country’s diverse cultures and people, will welcome puppets of animals common in the region. From April 18th through 20th, three key artistic events will take place in Lagos: Ejigbo, Yaba, and Lagos Island.
In Ejigbo, a suburb, renowned choreographer Jelili Atiku will welcome THE HERDS to his community with dazzling choreographed dance routines mapped out and executed by him. This public spectacle is designed to attract locals and tap into their existing connection with traditional wildlife like Ekun (the Leopard) to share an important message on climate change. Day two is another artistic showcase happening in Yaba, a Lagos Mainland location that perfectly reflects the energetic and eclectic lifestyle that the South Western state is widely known to support.
Boasting a mix of residential areas, educational institutions, restaurants, markets and startup offices, Yaba provides the kind of vast and diverse demographic pool that would serve THE HERDS well. A similar display of the puppets accompanied by choreographed routines like in Ejigbo will happen in Yaba. Ochai Ogaba, a Kaduna-based choreographer, will work with Northern Nigerian dancers and musicians to present an artistic performance titled An fara, a Hausa phrase that means “it has begun.
” The final artistic event will see THE HERDS head to Lagos Island. There, Qudus Onikekun, a movement artiste will lead an array of dancers and pop-up musicians in visually stunning displays on the streets of Lagos. Like in every other location, the goal remains using striking and engaging means to communicate the reality of climate change to the public and inspire transformative responses.
Accompanying these events, THE HERDS’ tour of Lagos will also pop up at strategic locations and feature a panel session on April 20, 2025 , at the Lekki Conservation Centre (LCC). This LCC pop-event, tagged “THE HERDS Dialogue,” is structured as a conversation driver that will bring together environmental and climate change stakeholders in Nigeria for meaningful discussions on conservation and sustainability. The partners helping to organise this bit of the project include Lekki Urban Forest and Animal Sanctuary Initiative (LUFASI), a privately-owned park and NGO dedicated to enabling people to connect with nature, and the Nigeria Conservation Foundation (NCF), the leading NGO focused on environmental conservation and sustainability in the country.
Government institutions will also be present at the LCC engagement, including the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), and the Office of Climate Change and Circular Economy, Lagos. Joining these agencies to lead the conversations are ambassadors from NGOs like Youth Sustainable Development Network (YSDN), International Climate Change Development Initiative (ICCDI), and Green Club. Bringing all of these moving parts together to create a cohesive experience is a task that the Nigeria-based A Whitespace Creative Arts Foundation (AWCA) has taken on.
The foundation is leading the production of the Nigerian edition of THE HERDS by providing creative direction, forging partnerships with local stakeholders, managing logistics, and overseeing the assembly of the puppets with partners like Yaba College of Technology and Yaba Art Museum. To get this done, AWCA is leaning into years of experience in organising various artistic programs and providing a platform for Nigerian artists to showcase their creations. Central to AWCA’s goal of overseeing a successful project is the creation of alliances with key partners, some of whom have already been mentioned.
Other current partners include WILD AFRICA, MUDART Company, MADHouse by Tikera, SustyVibes, Global Environmental and Climate Conservation Initiative (GECCI), and others. “We are incredibly proud to be leading the production of THE HERDS in Nigeria,” said Papa Omotayo, CEO of A Whitespace Creative Arts Foundation (AWCA). “Our approach involves securing strong partnerships with local stakeholders.
This is because we recognise that THE HERDS is a community endeavour, and its success hinges on the active participation and ownership of local stakeholders. We believe that by fostering these partnerships, we can truly amplify the project’s message and ensure it resonates deeply with our community,” he added. Nigeria — One Stop on a Global Journey The Nigerian edition is a critical part of a wider movement that has secured support from climate advocacy, art, and public service organisations all over the globe.
THE HERDS is produced by The Walk Productions in association with: Tshoper Kabambi (Kinshasa); A Whitespace Creative Arts Foundation (Lagos); Sarah Desbois (Dakar); Othman Nejmeddine (Morocco); Monica Hamill (Spain); Au Contraire Productions (France); Manchester International Festival (Manchester, UK); Ulrika Josephsson (Sweden) and Olavsfest International (Trondheim, Norway). Like AWCA in Nigeria, key partners and backers in other locations include TED Countdown; Save the Elephants, Ukwanda Puppets and Designs Art Collective; Académie des Beaux-Arts (DRC); Blaise Senghor Cultural Center, Fabrice Monteiro, Senegal; High Atlas Foundation, Morocco; La Fura Del Baus, Merlin Producciones, Compañia Nacional de Danza (Spain); Chaillot Théâtre National de la Danse, Studio A+E: Étienne Guiol (France); Art Fund, Factory International, Sadler’s Wells, UAL: Wimbledon College of Arts (UK); The Royal Danish Theater (Denmark); Parkteatern – Kulturhuset Stadsteatern, Riksteatern (Sweden) and Olavsfest International, Rosendal Teater, (Norway). World-class artists and creatives are behind the design of THE HERDS puppets, including Ukwanda Puppets and Designs Art Collective in South Africa (Luyanda Nogodlwana, Siphokazi Mpofu, Sipho Ngxola), Craig Leo, Simon Dunckley, Hansie Visagie, Tundra Dunckley and Artistic Director Amir Nizar Zuabi.
Hope Solutions and Renew Culture: Theatre Green Book are the partners helping with the development of THE HERDS sustainability practices. THE HERDS is a product of a combination of public and private financial assistance. Public funding is sourced from the National Lottery via Arts Council England, The Backstage Trust, and Bloomberg Philanthropies, as well as Art Fund, ArtYard, Frederick Mulder Foundation, JKW Foundation, and Maria Björnson Memorial Fund.
Notable private contributions have been made by James Armstrong, the Hacking Family, Cheryl Henson, Danielle Lambert, Alexander Leff, Valerie Dillon and Daniel Lewis, Melony and Adam Lewis, Patrick McKenna, and Paul Zuckerman. With such an extensive support system, THE HERDS is set to take the world by storm. From the humid streets of Lagos to the chilly walkways of Oslo, its message is simple: the climate change crisis is real, and the world needs to take more serious action.
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