Macclesfield Silk Museum joins The Herds

The Silk Museum will present a series of workshops and an exhibition inspired by the international public art and climate action project THE HERDS.

From April to August 2025, herds of life-size puppet animals will stampede into cities across Africa and Europe dramatising the changing climate.

The Silk Museum, supported by the Art Fund, will join forty-three museums, galleries and historic houses across the UK, bringing artistic events, workshops and educational activities to local communities to inspire the next generation and deepen connections with the natural world.

THE HERDS will engage with audiences along a 20,000km route with UK performances in London 27 – 29 June, and Greater Manchester 3 – 5 July. All events are free.

An accompanying learning resource ‘Let The Wildness In’, will be available to engage schools, families and communities across the world with free downloadable resources, education and activity packs, reading lists, lesson plans and open-source puppetry design kits.

The Silk Museum, on Park Lane in Macclesfield, will be hosting two free workshops; Threads of Nature – From Silk to Swifts: A Hands-On Workshop led by Babbling Vagabonds.

The workshop will help you understand the incredible journey of the swift and its connection to the silk industry. Discover how the cultivation of mulberry trees and the silk trade influenced local eco systems and the bird habitats in this fun hands-on workshop. Get creative with puppet making and storytelling. The work created will form part of a visual display to help highlight the migration of the swift and how we can come together and connect to the natural world.