The UCL Stampede for the Arts on a Heating Planet

About the event
UCL is proud to partner with THE HERDS, a large scale participatory public art project, which brings together artists, researchers and activists on an unprecedented scale. From April to August 2025, life-size puppet animals are traveling a 20,000km route from the Congo Basin to the Arctic Circle, symbolizing their flight from climate disaster. 

On Thursday, 26 June 2025 and Friday, 27 June 2025, artists and researchers will assemble at the UCL Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS) and at the University of London’s Warburg Institute to discuss and share new ways of making the arts matter on a heating planet.

On Saturday, 28 June 2025 and Sunday, 29 June 2025 additional events are planned across London.  

The UCL Stampede will mark the arrival of THE HERDS in London on Friday 27 June 2025. The UCL Stampede for the Arts on a Heating Planet is a collaborative project with contributions from the UCL Faculty of Arts and Humanities,  the UCL Institute of Advanced Studies, the UCL European Institute, the British Comparative Literature Association (BCLA), the London Intercollegiate Network for Comparative Studies (LINKS), UCL Anthropocene, the UCL Faculty of Social and Historical Sciences, the UCL Art Museum, and the UCL Grant Museum of Zoology. 

All events at UCL are open to members of the public.

Programme

Day 1:

Thursday, 26 June 2025
Day 1 events will all take place on South Wing of Wilkins Building: both in the IAS Common Ground and UCL Art Museum, which are right next door to each other.

Guided visits of the UCL Art Museum
11:00-12:00 | UCL Art Museum 
Begin your day with a guided visit of the UCL Art Museum with a display of exhibits relating to THE HERDS.

The Visual Arts on a Heating Planet
12:00-13:45 | IAS Common Ground 
This roundtable, convened by Silvia Vittonatto (UCL) and Daniel Finch-Race (University of Bologna), brings together artists and scholars to explore the role of the arts in responding to the accelerating climate crisis. Addressing the intersections of artistic practice, ecological grief, and environmental action, the event is part of The Stampede for the Arts on a Heating Planet, a collaborative initiative taking place across UCL from 26–27 June 2025 to mark the arrival of THE HERDS in London. The event is supported by UCL Anthropocene and is open to the public.

Drawing The Stampede at the UCL Art Museum
Workshop 1 | 14:00 - 15:00 | UCL Art Museum 
Workshop 2 | 15:00 - 16:00 | UCL Art Museum 
Take a break from academic discussion and get creative at a bookable drawing workshop inspired by THE HERDS and led by artist Lucy McGeown. These workshops are supported by UCL Faculty of Arts and Humanities.

The Performing Arts on a Heating Planet
16:00-17:45 | IAS Common Ground
Presentation of THE HERDS project by members of the project team (David Lan, Producer, THE HERDS and Maryam Pasha, London co-Producer, THE HERDS).
Respondents: Simona Corso (University of Rome), Aarathi Prasad (UCL), Macs Smith (UCL), all tbc.

2025 Rabindranath Tagore Lecture in Comparative Literature
18:00 - 19:00 | IAS Common Ground
Prof. Emma Bond (Oxford University)
Followed by drinks reception

Day 2:

Friday, 27 June 2025

Comparative Literature & Environmental Humanities Colloquium in London
10:00 - 17:00 | Warburg Institute, Woburn Square, Warburg Auditorium, London, WC1H 0AB
You are invited to attend and participate in this BCLA@50 Colloquium on Comparative Literature and Environmental Humanities. The event will feature roundtable discussions and short presentations exploring the nexus between comparative literature and the environmental humanities. The celebration is part of a series of events celebrating the 50 years anniversary of the British Comparative Literature Association leading up to the main conference exploring comparative literature and decoloniality. The colloquium is organised by Rosa Mucignat (King's) and Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen (UCL) in collaboration with and support from the BCLA, ILCS, and LINKS (London Intercollegiate Network for Comparative Studies). 
To view the full programme and attend please visit the booking page

Writers of the Anthropocene
17:30-19:30 | Room G07, North - West Wing
Bernhard Malkmus (Oxford University and author of Flight Paths: Of Avian Lives and Human Survival (2025), in conversation with Marielle Sutherland, Mererid Puw-Davies, and Florian Mussgnug.

Day 3:

Saturday 28 June 2025

All the creatures, big and small 
|10:00 - 12:30 | Coram's Fields
Public performance and workshop by THE HERDS: An invitation to the children of London to come and meet THE HERDS up close, at Coram's Fields, a space dedicated to children's play and exploration. Within the park setting, children will join in puppet making, creative play, and even try some puppetry.‍ In partnership with Bamboozle Theatre Company, Coram’s Fields and the Harmsworth Memorial Playground, GOSH Arts at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, Camden Council, TEDxLondon, Wimbledon College of Arts, UAL.
All welcome. No advance registration required. For details see: https://www.theherds.org/event/corams-fields

Wildebeest in Camden
16:00 | Camden High Street
Public performance by THE HERDS: A hunt breaks out on London's busy Camden High Street. In partnership with Camden Council.
All welcome. No advance registration required. For details see: https://www.theherds.org/event/camden-high-street

Day 4:

Sunday 29 June 2025

SISYPHUS
15:15 - 16:00 | Westfield Stratford City and Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
Public performace and dance intervention: THE HERDS will encounter a dance intervention as they journey through east London. Featuring specially commissioned choreography by Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Alesandra Seutin, dancers try to stop THE HERDS in every possible way. Body to body. Hoof to arm. Horns to head, THE HERDS will travel through Westfield Stratford City to Sadler's Wells East before disappearing into Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. In partnership with Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Sadler's Wells, Stratford Cross, Stratford Shopping, Westfield Stratford City, UCL: University College London.

3.15pm Westfield Stratford City - The Street
3.30pm Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park / Stratford Walk opposite Sadler’s Wells East

All welcome. No advance registration required. For details see: https://www.theherds.org/event/westfield-stratford-city-and-queen-elizabeth-olympic-park