The Cat That Slept for a Thousand Years

This summer, Manchester Museum invites visitors to enter a fantastical world inhabited by a huge, snoozing cosmic cat. The Cat That Slept for a Thousand Years, created in collaboration with creative robotics studio Air Giants, represents a bold new step in the Museum’s approach to temporary exhibitions.

Blending artistic imagination and family fun, it’s a world-first experience unlike anything the Museum has shown before.

The free exhibition invites visitors into a world inhabited by a giant, inflatable, robotic cat. This 10-metre-long feline is not only enormous but also full of personality. As the cat peacefully naps, soft lights shimmer across its body, and it moves in response to the activity around it. Visitors of all ages are invited to get up close to the cat, get to know it better, give it a stoke or just peacefully sit and watch.

It is Air Giants’ biggest and boldest work to date. Known for transforming spaces with giant, pneumatically-controlled creatures, Air Giants are at the forefront of combining robotics with storytelling to create immersive, emotive experiences. Their work, blending cutting-edge technology with handcrafted artistry, is like nothing else in the world today.

Blurring the lines between museum, theatre and dreamscape, The Cat That Slept for a Thousand Years invites visitors to wander among intriguing environments and see curious objects from Manchester Museum’s collections. Inspired by humanity’s age-old fascination with cats, the exhibition gently encourages reflection on care, empathy and the connections we form, even with life forms beyond our usual understanding. “We’re beyond excited to introduce this immense, dreamlike creature to Manchester Museum. We’re used to looking after animals, but this is truly unlike anything we’ve ever cared for before,” said Georgina Young, Head of Exhibitions and Collections at Manchester Museum. “Created in collaboration with Air Giants, this is their most  ambitious work to date and offers a chance for us to reimagine once again what a museum experience can be. The exhibition invites visitors into a playful, imaginative world and offers a gentler kind of storytelling, one rooted in curiosity, wonder and care. We can’t wait to see how people respond to this extraordinary being and we hope visitors of all ages feel a sense of connection and leave feeling moved, surprised and maybe even a little changed.”

Emma Powell, Creative Director at Air Giants, added: “It has been a joy to work closely with the museum to develop this project. The collections have been a strong inspiration to the story we’ve created, as have the museum’s values of care and imagination.

“Our work uses a lot of technology, but the most important thing for us is the experience people have when meeting one of our creatures. It is awesome in the old-fashioned sense of the word! We’re hoping audiences will have a joyful connection to the cat and the story around it. We can’t wait for people to experience this magical and gentle exhibition in Manchester this summer.”