Downtown Livermore · September – October 2026

The Great Elephant Migration is coming to Livermore.

Thirty life-size elephant sculptures. The herd’s only West Coast stop in 2026. Free to everyone, in the heart of downtown.

Donate to bring them here

Fact 1 of 15In the mid-1980s, the hills above town generated nearly half the world's wind power, in a pass first named Livermore's Pass. Fact 2 of 15All African elephants grow tusks. Only some male Asian elephants do. Fact 3 of 15Tusks are ivory incisor teeth, and they keep growing for life.

What’s arriving

Have you heard about the herd?

The Great Elephant Migration is a public art exhibition of life-size Indian elephants, each modeled on a real animal in southern India’s Nilgiri Hills. Around 200 Indigenous artisans of the Coexistence Collective built them by hand from lantana camara, an invasive weed that crowds elephants out of the forests they depend on.

Harvesting the weed to make the sculptures clears the habitat. Selling the sculptures funds the work. Across the tour, proceeds support more than 20 conservation groups working on human and wildlife coexistence. Thirty of these elephants travel to downtown Livermore this fall.

A life-size elephant sculpture woven from dried lantana, on a public lawn — Each elephant is anatomically accurate, down to hand-painted eyes that match the real animal.

Engaging. Endearing. Educational. Environmental.

Fact 4 of 15Element 116, livermorium, is named for this town's national lab. Berkeley is the only other U.S. city with an element of its own. Fact 5 of 15An excited elephant flaps its ears wide and lets out a trumpet. Fact 6 of 15Break a tusk and it is gone for good, just like an adult human tooth. Fact 7 of 15Those giant ears work like radiators, fanning away body heat.

Trekking the country

Have you seen them on the scene?

Visitor photographing a herd of life-size lantana elephant sculptures in a park — Life-size, and built to be walked among.

An elephant sculpture on a flatbed truck with the Great Elephant Migration banner — The herd rolls into town. This was its last California stop, in Beverly Hills in 2025.

Elephant sculptures draped in ceremonial patterned blankets on a lawn — In Beverly Hills, the herd wore ceremonial blankets designed by artists around the world. We’re hoping for this to happen in Livermore. Contact us if you can help with this.

Fact 8 of 15Two Livermore wineries kept running through Prohibition by selling sacramental wine to churches, the one loophole the law allowed. Fact 9 of 15Young males strike out on their own around age 12 to 15. Fact 10 of 15Their sense of smell and hearing is superb, but their eyesight is poor. Fact 11 of 15Elephants cry, play, and laugh. They are deeply emotional animals.

Who’s bringing it

Local Edition Creative

A strategic public art studio. Consulting, program development, and the kind of large public installations that turn a downtown into a destination.

Livermore Valley Arts

The independent 501(c)(3) behind the Bankhead Theater and the Bothwell Arts Center, offering a broad range of arts experiences to the community.

333Arts

A 501(c)(3) affiliated with Local Edition Creative, focused on community murals, public art education, and inclusive arts programming. Donations are made to 333Arts.

Fact 12 of 15A bulb hanging in a Livermore fire station has burned since 1901, the longest-running light bulb on record. Fact 13 of 15They can eat up to 16 hours a day, hundreds of pounds of food. Fact 14 of 15They greet each other with hug-like gestures, winding their trunks together. Fact 15 of 15In 2022, scientists in Livermore briefly recreated the conditions inside a star, the first fusion reaction ever to produce more energy than it used.

Bring the herd to Livermore.

A free, once-here public art event for the entire Bay Area. Your gift helps land it, and helps fund conservation work through awareness and sales of the elephants.

Donate now

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