Until May 11, actual animal puppets will parade in the streets of Marrakech, Casablanca and Salé to alert to the ecological crisis.
World artistic project dedicated to climate emergency, The Herds stages puppets of herds of actual animals that flee the destruction of their ecosystems and start a crossing of more than 20,000 kilometers. Lions, gorillas, giraffes, cheetahs orbounds, all made from recycled materials, parade as a single visual cry for the planet.
From the Congo basin to the Arctic Circle, The Herds will cross 15 countries in 2025, with a Moroccan stopover from March to May. More than 150 participants took part in artistic construction and training workshops. These preparations will give rise to six performance in public space, scheduled in Casablanca, Marrakech and Salé between May 2 and 11.
Climate disturbances have no borders
Imagined by the Palestinian director and playwright, Amir Nizar Zuabi and carried by The Walk Productions, British structure, in collaboration with the South African collective Ukwanda Puppets & Designs Art, the project is carried out in Morocco by the creative producer Othman Nejmeddine.
Through this great crossing, The Herds recalls an essential truth: climate disturbances have no borders, and art can reveal the sensitive dimension. By staging herds of threatened, fragile but powerful animals, the creators of the project offer a strong metaphor: that of flight, adaptation, migration, but also resistance.
The Herds is an unprecedented work that brings together researchers, artists, NGOs, universities, public decision -makers, environmentalists and zoologists, in Africa as in Europe, around the same ambition: to make the art of the climate crisis feel, by the art, the deep impact of the climate crisis.
In Morocco, the project benefits from the support of 10 national partners: High Atlas Foundation, Nomade Theater, Casamemoire, the Turath Association for the Heritage of Marrakech, the Dar Bellarj Foundation, the School of Fine Arts in Casablanca-Esbac, the Esav Marrakech, the Foundation for Culture and the Salé Arts, the Foundation Arts and Cultures Marrakech, Arts and cultures.
Morocco, a major artistic and symbolic stopover
The passage of The Herds by Morocco is fully in line with the spirit of the project. The kingdom, recognized for its commitment to the energy transition and environmental protection, offers a cultural and urban richness conducive to open -air artistic expression.
To make this stage a highlight, the organizers mobilized artists, students, associations and national institutions for the organization of participatory workshops, training, before going to performance in public space. They have created nearly 100 life-size puppets, divided into eight species and made from recycled materials.
The workshops will take over, from April 29 to May 2 at the ESAV in Marrakech and from May 5 to 8 at the Nomade theater in Casablanca. One hundred and twenty participants – theater, dance or puppet lovers – will benefit from a training led by the South -African collective Ukwanda Puppets & Designs Art.
These intensive sessions will allow you to learn to handle the puppets-animals. Public performances will take place in Marrakech, Saturday May 3, Place Jemaa El Fna from 12 p.m. and Sunday 4 May in the Gardens de la Menara, from 4:30 p.m. They will then win Casablanca on Friday 9 and Saturday 10 May from 6 p.m., in the city center and in Ain Sebaa.
Finally, they will parade in Salé on Sunday, May 11, in the old medina, from 6 p.m. These performances will take the form of poetic wanderings, mixing visual power, choreographies, sounds and resonance of public places. An immersive artistic experience designed to challenge young and old on environmental issues.
Murtada Calamy / Eco inspirations
