It’s Raining Artsy Elephants In Bangkok!

December 3, 2015 Not Your Typical Tourist

Central Group has 999 elephants, by 999 artists, click here if you missed my earlier post on The Journey of 999 Elephants.

I thought that is a lot …but (hell) no! The more, the merrier in the Land of Smiles.

Another 88 elephants have been unveiled by Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas. The Elephant Parade, an art exhibition in Bangkok, consists of 88 elephants which have been decorated and hand painted by artists and celebrities. These elephants will be exhibited, and then auctioned off. The proceeds will go to The Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation. Why 88? It is to honour the 88th birthday of Thai’s beloved King, H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

I managed to stop by earlier this week, and as expected, it attracted a throng of crowds, locals and tourists alike. I wished that people remember that it is an art exhibition, and there are meanings behind the design. Photo-aside, do take a moment to understand what went behind the painter’s mind … why this design, why this and that … and sometimes, the statues are good enough by themselves, and might not warrant your face together in the photo.

The Elephant Parade, despite with smaller numbers of elephant statues, definitely left its marks on me. The replicas are available for sale at Siam Paragon at 699 baht each or 1,495 baht for a set of 3, but I didn’t purchase any. Artbox set is also available at 1,195 baht. You can join the Artbox Contest, paint your elephant and send pictures of your design to artboxcontest@elephantparade.com, for a chance to become the next Elephant Parade artist.

Here are my few favorite statues .. in fact, there are many more! For more photos, please check it out on my Facebook page here.

The art exhibition will be held at Siam Paragon, Asiatique and Lumpini Park as per dates below:

SIAM PARAGON: DECEMBER 1 – DECEMBER 18, 2015

ASIATIQUE: DECEMBER 20,2015 – JANUARY 11, 2016

LUMPINI PARK: JANUARY 18 – JANUARY 29, 2016

There is also an Instagram contest with following mechanics:Take a photo of your favorite elephant sculpture at one, or all of the locations, and then upload it to Instagram following these steps:

Hashtag #elephantparadebangkok and #[elephant name that is displayed on its platform]
Tag @anantara_hotels and @elephantparadefan
Check in at the Elephant Parade location (i.e. “Elephant Parade at Siam Paragon, Elephant Parade at Asiatique or Elephant Parade at Lumphini Park”)

Judging criteria: The most liked Instagram from each location, and these 3 winners will go into the lucky draw to win.