Migration of 100 life-size elephant sculptures stops in New York City

New York’s vibrant Meatpacking District on Manhattan’s West Side is a well known mecca for art lovers. Starting September 6, 2024 and running through October, a captivating outdoor installation entitled “The great elephant migration” might be the world’s newest art offering.

In this district, visitors can immerse themselves in a wealth of gallery exhibitions along the New York High Line to see world-class sculptures, murals and architecture, or visit the impressive collection of recent and contemporary art on the Whitney Museum of Modern Art.

But this unique upcoming exhibition, featuring roughly 100 life-sized elephants spread across various parts of the Meatpacking District, guarantees to be one in every of the biggest and most vital public art exhibitions in New York City since Christo and Jeanne Claude’s famous installation “The Gates” in Central Park in 2005.

A community art project to advertise nature conservation

The exhibit was made possible through a partnership between the Meatpacking District Management Association (whose goal is to advertise the world to businesses, residents and visitors) and Elephant Family USA, a world non-governmental organization, and goals to advertise conservation and coexistence between humans and animals.

Each of the detailed elephants on display here was created by members of the Coexistence Collective, a community of 200 indigenous artisans in India. The environmentally conscious sculptures are constituted of Lantana camara, a fast-growing invasive weed known for displacing animals from their natural habitat.

In addition to its artistic appeal, this family-friendly exhibition offers a singular opportunity to coach young people in regards to the threats facing wildlife and the importance of conservation. Photos of the elephants on this urban setting are expected to spread on social media, reaching more people than those that can see them in person.

The elephants are all offered on the market, with donations starting from $8,000 for a baby elephant to $22,000 for a bigger elephant with tusks. The funds raised through the sale and other donations are used for various activities geared toward promoting coexistence between humans and wild animals.

Follow the herd

The elephant herd is traveling through the United States in order that art lovers, animal lovers and conservationists in different places can Next schedule.

Before visiting New York, the herd might be in Newport, Rhode Island, through the top of August 2024. Additional stops are planned in Miami Beach, Florida, in December 2024, Blackfeet Nation, Buffalo Pastures and Browning, Montana, in May and June 2025, and Los Angeles in July 2025. Be sure to mark these dates in your calendar.

The installation within the Meatpacking District includes multidisciplinary works by artists To Falapishi. Indian fashion house Sabyasachi, one in every of the essential sponsors of the New York visit, will host special events along with Fashion Week (September 6-11, 2024).

“Bringing the Great Elephant Migration to the cobblestones of Meatpacking combines the two and demonstrates the significant role that art plays in New York City, particularly in placemaking, tourism and economic development,” said Jeffrey LeFrancois, executive director of the Meatpacking BID, in a press release.

The curator of the project was a well known art author, editor and critic Dodie Kazanjianwho known as the matriarch of the good elephant migration.