Elephants spotted across the pond! Life-size elephant sculptures arrive in the USA
Curious about the Indian elephant sculptures taking over America?
Read on…
In the summer of 2021, London was swept up with the excitement of its largest environmental art campaign taking over the city with a herd of a lifelike elephant sculptures. After attracting 5 million spectators and raising millions for conservation, this art for conservation campaign has migrated across the Atlantic, all set for the next phase on their mission to enable coexistence between people and wildlife!
A jumbo-sized American adventure!
Join in on the fun of The Great Elephant Migration, presented by Art & Newport, a nonprofit art organisation that brings international artists and art to Newport, for a one-year tour of the USA, starting on 4 July.
A series of multidisciplinary art installations by artist Hadi Falapishi and curated by Dodie Kazanjian, founder of Art & Newport will accompany the herd on their first time visiting the States.
“The vision of 100 hand-made Indian elephants migrating across America, in my mind, is a monumental, cinematic, and moving work of performance art,” says Kazanjian.
This herd of sculptures will travel coast to coast, from Newport to New York City, Miami, Blackfeet Nation, Buffalo Pastures in Browning, Montana, and Los Angeles.
With each giant footprint, this campaign spread its message and raises vital funds for conservation - NGOs working towards coexistence between humans and the planet’s most vulnerable animals including lions, leopards, and of course, elephants!
Multitasking indigenous artists sculpt elephants and battle weeds at once
The life-size elephants are sculpted by the Coexistence Collective, a community of 200 indigenous artisans from India’s Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve, part of the biodiversity hotspot known as the Western Ghats.
For the community, elephant herds are their neighbours! And this personal relationship with the elephants allows them to sculpt intricate details of form and movement, creating lifelike, majestic elephants that immediately draw you in.
Moreover, these sculptures are made of Lantana camara, one of the world’s top invasive weeds encroaching upon over 40% of India's protected areas, including elephant habitats.
Have you seen a 100-strong elephant herd on the move?
“In the last 40 years, the human population of India has doubled to 1.4 billion, which has coincided with an increase in the number of elephants, rhinos, lions, and tigers in the country,” says Coexistence Collective Co-Founder and Elephant Family Trustee Ruth Ganesh.
“The extraordinary success of this compassionate coexistence is a testament to the power of collective empathy. Our magnificent herd is here to tell its story, inspiring the human race to share space and be part of this transformative movement.”
Want to know more or support conservation by adopting an elephant? Visit https://thegreatelephantmigration.org/
And when you spot the herd, don’t forget to take a photo and share it with us!
