WRE News: The Great Elephant Migration: Where To Next?

Miami, FL – December 11, 2024 – A herd of life-sized wooden elephants made its way to Miami Beach, offering a stunning visual spectacle during this year’s Art Basel Miami Beach. 

Part of “The Great Elephant Migration,” the installation features 100 sculptures crafted by 200 Indigenous artisans from South India, using lantana camara, an invasive weed threatening elephant habitats.

The elephants have been traveling across the U.S., first appearing in Newport, Rhode Island, before moving to Manhattan and making their final stop of the year in Miami Beach, where they stood in stark contrast to the sparkling teal waters and bright skies before them.

This traveling art project, organized by Ruth Ganesh, promotes coexistence between humans and nature, with proceeds benefiting wildlife conservation efforts. “It’s so nice, people in bare feet with the herd,” Ruth shared with ArtNet. “And elephants are nature’s greatest masterpiece — They are like a Surrealist dream.”

Throughout the course of its stop in Miami Beach, the herd attracted attention — not just for its beauty, but also for some “cheeky” behavior, including a reported incident involving a couple on one of the sculptures. Although no arrests were made, Miami Beach Police kept watch over the installation, ensuring the thousands of visitors flocking to experience it behaved accordingly.

What’s next for the herd? Great Elephant Migration will head back on the road next year, continuing their journey across the U.S., with their next stop in Hermann Park in Houston, Texas, in April. Specific dates have not been announced yet but additional stops for 2025 include Blackfeet Nation in Browning, Montana in May, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in June, and a final stop in July in Los Angeles.