Little Amal team launch climate change puppet project

The project was launched at Wimbledon College of Arts

The team behind the 12ft (3.7m) puppet of a 10-year-old Syrian refugee have now launched a new public art project to raise awareness of climate change.

Called The Herds, the latest offering from The Walk Productions is of a growing herd of life-size puppet animals.

Next year they will travel north along a 20,000km (12,427 mile) route from the Congo Basin in central Africa to the Arctic Circle in Norway to represent migration due to climate change.

Their previous project, Little Amal, has now travelled to 15 countries since it was launched in 2021.

The puppets are made from recycled materials

As the Herd project travels across two continents, the production company said it would be "invaded" by herds of puppet animals fleeing to escape climate disaster.

It will grow in scale and variety, with new species characteristic of each region added, organisers said.

The first puppets, which are made from recycled materials including wood and cardboard, have been built and tested by students at the Wimbledon College of Arts, part of University of the Arts London.

Prototypes were designed and developed by Ukwanda Puppets and Designs Art Collective in South Africa and the project's artistic director, Amir Nizar Zuabi.

Students at Wimbledon College of Arts have made the puppets according to these specifications.

Little Amal was made to raise awareness of refugees escaping war

Mr Nizar Zuabi said it would "offer audiences across the world a stark artistic image, overwhelming in grandeur and alarm".

It also "strives to bring a perspective shift to the climate crisis”, he added.

Jayne Knowles, dean of performance arts at the college, said: "The climate crisis is real for all of us and as an arts university we have our part to play by raising awareness through creative storytelling, by utilising our expertise in performance, puppetry, design, making and animatronics."