The Great Elephant Migration
May 17, 2025 - June 20, 2025
ON VIEW MAY 17, 2025 – JUNE 20, 2025
The Great Elephant Migration is a global fundraising adventure to amplify indigenous knowledge and inspire the human race, to share space. This one-year campaign, that launched in July 2024 in Newport, RI, will see 100 magnificent Indian elephants migrate across the USA to share their coexistence story with the world. The elephants will be coming to the Sculpture Trail at the National Museum of Wildlife Art in June of 2025!
As the elephants travel the world, they will tell the story of Asia’s wild elephants and the indigenous communities living alongside them, where people and elephants coexist in the densest populations in the world.
Under the creative direction of The CoExistence Collective, part of The Real Elephant Collective, a community of 200 indigenous artisans have spent the past six years recreating every elephant they live alongside in Tamil Nadu, South India, in intricately detailed sculptural form. The material they are made from, Lantana camara, is toxic invasive weed which pushes animals from their habitats. The use of lantana to create the sculptures helps clear it from the forests.
A collaboration between indigenous artisans, contemporary artists, and cultural institutions, it will raise millions of dollars to power human-wildlife coexistence projects through partnerships with over 20 conservation NGOs in the USA and around the world.
Learn more about the story of the elephants! Coexistence Chats take place daily amongst the herd on the Sculpture Trail at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 4 p.m. During inclement weather, Coexistence Chats will occur in Sullivan Hall.
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Staff Picks
Through May 10, 2026Curating this exhibit has been an exercise in collaboration, which is one of our core values at the Museum. We began by asking each staff member to make a short list of some of their favorite works in the collection. Then, the curatorial team took them to see a few of those pieces. We asked the staff to look for artworks that were not already on display and would not be part of any upcoming exhibitions. A person’s taste in art is so uniquely personal and individual to who they are. This exhibition is not only an opportunity for you to get to know our staff, but it is also a chance to discover new pieces in the permanent collection—or perhaps to see old favorites in a new light.
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Two of a Kind?
Through April 26, 2026This exhibition is an exercise in comparison. It invites visitors to consider pairs of artworks, drawn primarily from the Museum’s permanent collection, and contemplate the question posed by its title: are these artworks truly Two of a Kind?
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