Elephant Parade India was kicked off in November 2017 and is slated to go on till February 2018 as part of the 2017 UK India Year of Culture. The India edition of the Elephant Parade is organised by Elephant Family, a not-for-profit organization working towards the sustenance of the Asian Elephant and its ecosystem.
Following 21 successful Elephant Parades worldwide, Elephant Parade India has engaged leading Indian artists, fashion designers, design institutes, tribal painters & celebrities including Subodh Gupta, Anita Dongre, Ashiesh Shah, Christian Louboutin, G R Iranna, Manish Arora, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Masaba Gupta, Vikram Goyal and many more who will turn 101 elephant sculptures into unique masterpieces creating a striking spectacle of colour to celebrate one of India’s most beloved and endangered animals. These unique artworks will be displayed at a special preview event in Jaipur, New Delhi and Calcutta November 2017 and then let loose on the streets of Mumbai in Feb 2018 as part of what has become recognised as the world’s biggest public art event. After the public display, the elephants will be auctioned to raise funds to help secure 101 elephant corridors across India for the endangered Asian elephant.
Also in attendance were members of the British Royal Family, Prince Charles and The Duchess of Cornwall, who came forth to support and fight for its protection. They are long-time patrons of the Elephant Family organization and officially launched the Asian Elephant Alliance in June 2015. They came together once again for the official preview of the Elephant Parade India, held at the British High Commissioner’s residence in New Delhi.
The last London Elephant Parade, which took place from May to June 2010, became London’s biggest public art exhibition with more than 250 brightly painted elephants located across central London. The sculptures sold for £4.1m and raised awareness for the plight of the endangered Asian elephant with an audience of 25 million people.
