Great Elephant Migration (Newport, RI)

Date Of Event: July through August, 2024

Location: Cliff Walk, Newport, RI

Cost: Free

Summary: 100 elephants were placed along the Cliff Walk in Newport, RI.

The elephants have come to Rhode Island.

No, these isn’t a tagline for the next Hollywood blockbuster. The Great Elephant Migration was a display of 100 elephants made from lantana, a plant common in the southern and northeast part of India. It’s truly incredible to think the artists could make such incredible artistic renderings of elephants.

The 100 Indian elephants, which have since been transported to New York City, were displayed at 3 locations along the Cliff Walk in Newport, Rhode Island; The Breaker’s Mansions, Salve Regina University, Doris Duke/Rough Point Mansion and there was a solitary elephant on display a little farther away from the Cliff Walk at the Great Friend’s Meeting House at 21 Farewell Street, Newport, RI, which is posted below.

The elephants were made in the shape of actual elephants. The herd consists of replicas of real-life elephants personally known to The Coexistence Collective. The Coexistence Collective is a community of around 200 artisans in southern India who made them. And, most of the elephants had names and, in some instance a matriarch twin. For instance, Sarah, the Duchess of York, is the matriarchal twin of Mayflower, who had a darker shade than most other elephants because she is a darker shade in real life.

It took 6 to 7 years for the artists to complete each elephant. So, a lot of care was taken to get all of the details right for each elephant.

The first place I visited to photograph the displays was The Breaker’s Mansion. It is a beautiful mansion inside and out. There were 28 elephants at this location. Initially, I was going to photograph every elephant and include their name for each of them. However, that seemed like pure drudgery and not necessarily much fun for people to look at. So I scrapped that idea. I did, however, photograph all of the elephants. Very often, I think I shouldn’t photograph something. Then, after looking at it a second time, I am glad I did. That is one thing I’ve learned from taking so many photographs. There are no shortcuts and you really shouldn’t always go with your gut instinct. Something that looks like a dull or “mid” photo can actually look very nice after a second look.

The elephants were on sale! The sales would go to raise funds for the 22 conservation organizations around the country. The prices ranged from $8,000 for a baby elephant to $22,000 for the largest tusked elephant. I heard from a volunteer that almost all have already been sold.

I particularly liked how they kept the parents and babies together in some of the displays.

They also seemed to show the elephants smiling or possibly talking. As though they were happy to be there.

I couldn’t help myself from taking a few photos of the architecture and art at The Breaker’s. I hope to get more photos another time when I go on a tour.

I made several trips to the exhibits, particularly the elephant display at Salve Regina University because it was easily accessible off the Cliff Walk. My favorite photos were from when I visited just after sunrise. I particularly liked how the sun shone on the elephants. Plus, there were less people there to get in the way of the photos. And, that was the most difficult part of the photo shoot. It was a very popular display and some of the elephants were located at mansions that didn’t open until 10 am. So it was almost impossible to photograph those elephants without people being there. I noticed in many of my photos some of the elephants had a few extra legs and feet. And human at that!

However, my favorite place to photograph the elephants was at The Doris Duje Estate (aka Rough Point). The wide open lawn and scenic background was very pretty. It almost made you feel like you were in India photographing them. Well, sort of.

Elephants weren’t the only animals on display at the Rough Point Mansion. Flowery depictions of Princess and Baby were also on display on the front lawn. Princess and Baby were Doris Duke’s pet camels.

The displays at Salve Regina University were pet friendly. Fiona a 4 year old mixed breed, got in the shade under this elephant.

As I mentioned above, the elephants are now in New York City. They will eventually go on to Miami South Beach, the Buffalo Pastures in Browning, Montana, and Los Angeles.