Elephant sculptures visit Newport to spread message

Starting July 4, visit Newport to see the start of the 3,500-mile “Great Elephant Migration” across America, featuring about 100 elephants young and old. The fun part? These elephants are made from an invasive weed, Lantana camera, and they’re an art exhibit by The Coexistence Collective. The exhibit will be at four locations in Newport: Rough Point, the Great Friends Meeting House, Salve Regina University along the Cliff Walk, and the Breakers. The elephants will be on display through September 7.

Rough Point, The Breakers and Great Friends Meeting House will feature an outdoor exhibit of the elephants, as well as an indoor exhibit featuring artwork by Hadi Falapishi. Fifty-two of the elephants will reside at Salve Regina University, while the remainder will be spread across the other three sites.

Newport is the first stop on the elephants’ journey across America. After Newport, they will be transported to New York, Miami, Blackfeet Nation in Virginia, Buffalo Pastures in Montana, before finally landing in Los Angeles. This exhibit will last for one year and one month. They chose The Matriarchy, a group of influential women in many fields who rally around conservation, to transport the herd as the elephants follow a matriarchal structure.

Elephants roam near Rough Point. Photo by Kat Sheridan.

“Whether you’re coexisting with elephants in the Nilgiri Hills of India or with your fellow human beings here in Newport, finding ways to live better together is the ultimate goal,” says Dodie Kazanjian, founder of Art&Newport, a nonprofit that brings international art and artists to Newport.

This exhibit aims to inspire people to share space with animals. In India, when the human population doubled, the native animal population also increased. Throughout the exhibit, LOVE BRAND & CO. sculptures and merchandise will be on sale to support human-animal coexistence and nature conservation. Each of the Lantana camera elephants is a recreation of an elephant that the Coexistence Collective lives near, and sales will directly benefit the elephants.

“In the last forty years, India’s human population has doubled to 1.4 billion, coinciding with an increase in the number of elephants, rhinos, lions and tigers in the country,” said Ruth Ganesh, Co-Founder of the Coexistence Collective and Trustee of the Elephant Family. “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.”

Up close with elephants at Rough Point. Photo by Kat Sheridan.

The Coexistence Collective is a community of two hundred indigenous artists. The artists come from different communities in Tamil Nadu, the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve in India; Bettakurumba, Paniya, Kattunayakan and Soliga.

The travelling exhibition toured the UK in 2021, attracting five million visitors. The project has been in the works in Newport for ten years and has been approved by Frankie Vagnone, Chairman of the Newport Restoration Foundation, for this year.

To learn more about this exhibit, visit thegreatelephantmigration.org.