The Elephant Family, a leading global charity dedicated to protecting India’s magnificent wildlife, recently began the US phase of “The Great Elephant Migration”.
The Public Art Project aims to raise millions for conservation efforts around the world with its unique traveling exhibition and fundraising initiative. It involves a 3,500-mile symbolic migration of 100 elephant sculptures starting in Newport in July, on to New York City, Miami, Blackfeet Nation, Buffalo Pastures in Browning, Montana, and Los Angeles through 2025. Each elephant in the 100-strong herd has been created by the Coexistence Collective, a community of 200 indigenous artisans from the Bettakurumba, Paniya, Kattunayakan and Soliga communities of India’s Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, Tamil Nadu.
Ruth Ganesh, Coexistence Collective Co-Founder and Elephant Family Trustee, said: “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.
“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.”
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Following an expansive UK tour backed by the British Asian Trust in 2021, which attracted 5 million spectators in total, the herd is now set to embark on a one-year campaign across the United States, spreading joy and wonder, reaching new audiences with its messages, and engaging environmental partners along the way.
The US “migration” is presented by Art&Newport, a non-profit art organisation that brings international artists and art to Newport.
Its Founder Dodie Kazanjian said: “The vision of 100 hand-made Indian elephants migrating across America, in my mind, is a monumental, cinematic, and moving work of performance art.
“I could not think of a project more aligned with the mission and values of Art&Newport, and we are so honoured to be the first location in the US to engage with this work.”
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The Great Elephant Migration is supporting a large-scale initiative to shred vast areas of Lantana from India’s Protected Areas and convert it into biochar. By the end of 2025, they will have sequestered 2,625 tons of carbon and created more than 500 jobs for Indigenous communities through this effort.
*Info: The Great Elephant Migration