The Great Elephant Migration

Make way for the elephants! We are excited to announce a stop-you-in-your-tracks public art installation coming to the neighborhood on Sept 6, 2024: The Great Elephant Migration. In partnership with Elephant Family USA, an international non-governmental organization (NGO) dedicated to helping the human race share space with the world's magnificent wildlife, 100 life-sized Indian elephant sculptures will migrate to the Meatpacking District. The head-turning herds, spread across the District, will captivate visitors of all ages while amplifying indigenous knowledge and sharing a message about human-wildlife coexistence and conservation.

One of the largest public art installations in New York City since Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s The Gates in 2005, The Great Elephant Migration marks the first time a “migration” of this scale and purpose will take place. This global fundraising adventure benefits indigenous and community-led conservation efforts—specifically, conservation NGOs supporting remarkable people around the world who have found ways to live alongside lions, leopards, elephants, and some of the planet’s most challenging animals—and inspire peaceful, symbiotic human and animal coexistence. Each elephant is one-of-a-kind in the 100-strong herd on display, created by the Coexistence Collective, a community of 200 indigenous artisans living within India’s Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, who have reclaimed an invasive plant species called Lantana camara that has entangled 300,000 square kilometers of India's forests and diminished food sources for all herbivores. Using Lantana as material, the collective has recreated every elephant they live alongside, known well by name and personality, in intricately detailed sculptural form.

The creation of these elephants provides financial stability, status and pride to 200 members of the Soligas, Bettakurumbas, Kattunayakan and Paniyas tribes, who coexist with the real wild elephants the herd is based on. Already over $500,000 has been generated, making it the biggest sustainable indigenous enterprise in India. This effort celebrates their knowledge of the natural world and rewards a remarkable ability to coexist.

Highline Stages proudly serves as the presenting Meatpacking sponsor for the Great Elephant Migration. Additional supporters include:

• Google
• Gansevoort Hotel
• Jamestown
• Related Companies
• Romanoff Equities
• TF Cornerstone