Stanwick Lakes is proud to be part of THE HERDS, a groundbreaking public art and climate initiative.
Since April, life-size puppet animals have been sweeping through city centres on a 20,000km journey from the Congo Basin to the Arctic Circle, fleeing climate disaster. Events and performances by world-class artists respond as the herds move, bringing together the worlds of arts and science in an urgent call for climate action. THE HERDS arrives in the UK soon, with exciting processions and creative arts happenings in London and Manchester.
For more information, visit https://www.theherds.org/
Stanwick Lakes is one of 43 museums, galleries and historic houses across the UK to be supported by Art Fund to bring artistic events, workshops and educational activities to local communities to inspire the next generation and deepen connections with the natural world. With the funding we recived from Art Fund, we created a larger than life-sized Kestrel puppet, an Animals Travels Exhibition and Trail. And as part of this partnership our Heriatge Museum, which can be found on the mezzanine floor of the Visitor Centre has become part of Art Fund network.
MEET KESSANDRA:
Inspired by THE HERDS, we really wanted to create our own puppet to be the centrepiece of our activities, and thanks to a generous donation by a professional puppet maker we were able to! In 2016, Deborah Mingham from Entify, made a larger than life-sized kestrel puppet, which was walked down the Mall to see the Queen as part of her Patreons lunch.
Since then the puppet has been stored in the Entify workshop, until she found a new lease of life at Stanwick Lakes.
We gathered teams of young people from the local community, led by Deborah, to make hundreds of feathers and transform Kessandra to be part of THE HERDS. And by repurposing a previously made puppet body and using cardboard from ice cream packaging , we minimised our environmental impact – and our puppet matches those which will be part of THE HERDS.
A very big thank you to everyone who helped us, including members of Maple Class from Woodford CE Primary School, Stanwick Lakes Junior Ranger Team, Grow Wild Outreach and Hospital Outreach and Education pupils for and a special thank you to Grow Wild Outreach for delivering Kessandra to us in their minibus.
Once she was complete, Kessandra made a short flight around the nature reserve then landed in the Visitor Centre where she spent the May half term overseeing THE HERDS activities. You can also see a video of her flight on the Stanwick Lakes You Tube channel.
During the half term, families were able to depen theior connection to the natural world by discovering the amazing journeys that animals make, and have made in the past, to get to Stanwick Lakes. The Animal Travels exhibition showcased prehistoric animal artefacts including woolly mammoth teeth and auroch horns found in the Nene Valley. We also created an Animal Travels Trail for visitors to follow around Solstice Lake, while along the way learning how different species, including cuckoos, eels and butterflies travel across land, sea and sky to reach Stanwick Lakes. There were also animal puppet crafts on offer, bringing in lots of visitors.
TAKE ACTION!
• Kessandra will spend the rest of the summer at Stanwick Lakes, make sure you pop in and see her next time you visit… and if you’re inspired, why not make your own puppet! THE HERDS has a dynamic education programme which is designed to connect young minds with the wonders of nature and the urgent need for climate action.
Click here to download free resources, including puppet designs: www.theherds.org/education
• THE HERDS is engaging with with audiences along the 20,000km route with special UK performances in London 27th – 29th June, and Greater Manchester 3rd – 5th July. All events are free and have been designed in collaboration with local partners to create a hugely powerful participatory event. www.theherds.org/events
• As THE HERDS journey 20,000km from the Congo Basin to the Arctic, they unite artists, scientists and communities in a powerful response to our climate emergency. These magnificent creatures sweep through cities, fleeing climate disaster, while inspiring urgent conversations about our relationship with nature.
