A Herd of Life-Size Elephant Sculptures Is Marching Across America
NEWPORT, R.I. – August 8, 2024 – A herd of life-sized elephant sculptures is making its way across America to promote coexistence between humans and animals. Called the Great Elephant Migration, the traveling exhibition features 100 replicas of real-life Indian elephants made by roughly 200 artists in southern India.
The artworks debuted in London in 2021, and some of the sculptures are now permanently on display in the gardens of two royal family residences. After making a stop in India earlier this year, they’ve now made it across the Atlantic.
The herd is spending the summer in Newport, Rhode Island, before moving on to New York City’s Meatpacking District in the fall. From there, it will head to Florida, Montana and California.
The project is a collaboration between Elephant Family USA, a nonprofit working to protect Indian wildlife; the Coexistence Collective, a group of Indigenous artists living at the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve in India; Art&Newport, a visual arts nonprofit; and other organizations.
The elephants are available for purchase, and the funds will go to 22 conservation organizations across the United States. For example, in Newport, the elephant sale proceeds will support Save the Bay, a nonprofit working to protect and restore Narragansett Bay. Already, 30 of the beasts have sold for between $8,000 and $22,000 a piece, depending on their size, reports NPR’s Chloe Veltman…Click here to read the whole article.