EXHIBITION ARCHIVE / The Cat That Slept for a Thousand Years

Interior of the exhibition The Cat That Slept for a Thousand Years at Manchester Museum showing visitors stroking and interacting with a giant, colourful inflatable cat, lit from the inside.

The Cat That Slept for a Thousand Years

19 July – 14 September 2025

Somewhere in the Museum a cat is sleeping. But not the kind that curls up in a windowsill or knocks your mug off the table. No, this feline is 10 metres long, robotic, inflatable, and takes up an entire gallery.

The Cat That Slept for a Thousand Years is a dreamlike, light-soaked installation that invites visitors of all ages to do the most crazy, radical thing of all – slow down. In this beautiful mix of theatre, robotics, and imagination, you’re not expected to learn ten facts, complete a quiz sheet, or even understand what’s going on. You’re just meant to feel something and perhaps, for a moment, breathe.

The Cat That Slept for a Thousand Years is not just an exhibition; it’s a collective pause. An invitation to watch and connect.

Created in partnership with the acclaimed creative robotics studio Air Giants, this world-premiere exhibition is mesmerising and mysterious. As the cat shifts gently in response to your presence, it projects its dreams across the space. It beckons little ones to play, and grown-ups to briefly forget about emails, laundry, and whether or not they remembered the packed lunch.

Interior of the exhibition The Cat That Slept for a Thousand Years at Manchester Museum showing the face of a giant, colourful inflatable cat, lit from the inside.
Interior of the exhibition The Cat That Slept for a Thousand Years at Manchester Museum showing visitors smiling and interacting with a giant, colourful inflatable cat, lit from the inside.

In the cat’s three month exhibition run, over 24,000 visitors experienced, first hand, the playful, gentle storytelling, the relaxing sensory environment, and the sense of wonder it evokes, with particular appreciation for the interactive elements like the cat's purring and touchable fur.  

Interior of the exhibition The Cat That Slept for a Thousand Years at Manchester Museum, showing a young boy with curly red hair wearing a striped shirt looks at a camera in his hand.
Skeletons of two feline species, a large mountain lion and a small domestic cat, displayed in the exhibition The Cat That Slept for a Thousand Years at Manchester Museum
Interior of the exhibition The Cat That Slept for a Thousand Years at Manchester Museum showing visitors stroking and interacting with a giant, colourful inflatable cat, lit from the inside.
A woman smiles while resting her face on a giant, colourful inflatable cat, lit from the inside, in the exhibition The Cat That Slept for a Thousand Years at Manchester Museum
A gallery wall with multiple framed pictures of cats on a dark blue wall.