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“The Great Elephant Migration: A Family Gathering” is on display through Dec. 6 at the Bankhead Plaza (seen here) and Stockmen’s Park in Livermore. (Photo by Chuck Deckert) 
The elephant sculptures are adorned with artwork from the Indian American Artists Association. Seen here (front) is “The Elephant Warrior’s Bandana” by Abhishek Nigam. (Photo by Chuck Deckert) 
The elephant sculptures are adorned with artwork from the Indian American Artists Association. Seen here is “Mamta’s Mantle: Armored in Love” by Charmaine Hussain. (Photo by Chuck Deckert) 
The elephant sculptures are adorned with artwork from the Indian American Artists Association. Seen here is “Lakshmi Ganesh” by Pragati Sharma Mohanty. (Photo by Chuck Deckert) 
The elephant sculptures are adorned with artwork from the Indian American Artists Association. Seen here is “Thriving with Nature” by Deepti Saraswat. (Photo by Chuck Deckert) 
“The Great Elephant Migration: A Family Gathering” is on display through Dec. 6 at the Bankhead Plaza (seen here) and Stockmen’s Park in Livermore. (Photo by Chuck Deckert)
A herd of 30 elephants arrived in downtown Livermore last week on a mission to amplify Indigenous culture and inspire the coexistence of people and wildlife.
The life-size sculptures on display in Stockmen’s Park and Bankhead Plaza are part of “The Great Elephant Migration: A Family Gathering”, a traveling outdoor art exhibition.
Each sculpture resembles a specific wild elephant from Nilgiri Hills in southern India and was created by members of the Real Elephant Collective, Indigenous artisans from the Bettakurumba, Paniya, Kattunayakan and Soliga communities of India’s Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.
The exhibition opened Oct. 10 and runs through Dec. 6, marking the elephants’ first trek to the Bay Area since the traveling project began in 2024. The Livermore installation is considered a mini-migration, with 30 of the project’s 100 elephants on display, and is the only West Coast stop planned for this year.
The sculptures in Livermore are adorned with original work by visual artists from the Indian American Artists Association.
“This temporary installation is truly unique,” Livermore Mayor John Marchand said in a statement. “It has fired the imaginations throughout our community.”
The installation is co-hosted by Livermore Valley Arts. Anne Giancola, the organization’s visual arts and education manager, pitched the idea after seeing the elephants on the East Coast about two years ago.
“I was blown away by how amazing this exhibit was,” she said. “You feel like you’re part of this elephant herd.”
The artisan creators walk among elephants, as the humans and elephants in the Nilgiri Hills of Southern India “share space more closely than anywhere else on Earth”, according to the Great Elephant Migration website.
The elephant sculptures are made from lantana camara, a flowering plant and one of the world’s most invasive weeds, according to the Great Elephant Migration website. Lantana camara has taken over 40% of forests in India, so using the plant to make the sculptures contributes to restoration efforts.
Additionally, the project helps provide the artisans with financial stability and brings recognition to the Bettakurumba, Paniya, Kattunayakan and Soliga communities.
Funds generated by the installation go toward Indigenous-led and community-based projects in conservation, sustainable livelihoods and habitat restoration that support the coexistence of humans and wildlife. Since 2024, the Great Elephant Migration has granted more than $1.4 million to such projects.
Adding to the installation in Livermore is the art from members of the Indian American Artists Association.
“We were inspired to create something that was culturally relevant and also something that inspired other artists to join our group and become part of this movement of bringing together Indian American artists,” said artist Abhishek Nigam of Danville, the association’s co-founder.
Artist Charmaine Hussain, an executive board member for the Indian American Artists Association, contributed two works, including the 16-foot by 8-foot “Mamta’s Mantle: Armored in Love”. The piece was made from industrial house wrap and drapes over one elephant’s back.
While making it, she considered, “What would happen if every mother extends the love she feels for her child to children of all species or all living things?”
Nigam created a replica of a headdress called nettipattam.
“One of the traditional ways of decorating an elephant in India, especially an elephant that is part of a Hindu temple, is a head covering that essentially covers the head and part of the trunk of the elephant,” he explained.
Nigam’s replica, called “The Elephant Warrior’s Bandana”, is made of plastic filaments and peacock feathers.
“It’s a representation of the mentality that the next generation needs to bring to the table, and that is the warrior mentality. There are these difficult fights to be fought,” Nigam said of conservation efforts.
