THE HEAD OF THE HERD IS CALLING – BID NOW!

ON LINE AUCTION LIVE FOR ELEPHANTS ON PARADE.  Elephant Parade and intu have launched an on-line auction for the 35 Elephant Parade art pieces that have been touring the UK since July 2013. The tour presented at intu venues around the UK , including intu Metrocentre and intu Eldon Square , has been a first in so many ways, with a mission to raise lasting awareness through art of the future of the Asian elephant. More than 8,000 people have submitted design ideas, 75 schools have created half sized elephants that have joined the tour, a digital show reel has taken the art online and many people have taken part in live painting workshops with UK tour artists. The exposition has justifiably been referred to many times as ‘the people’s parade,’ having connected directly with many millions of people. To coincide with the final three stops of the UK tour, the 80-day online auction offers people the opportunity to own one of the original tour art pieces. The auction is being run by givinglive.com and money raised with be presented by intu to the Asian Elephant Foundation when the UK tour concludes at intu Bromley this July. The auction will be live for 80 days from 7th May, and bids can be placed  via the tour website at www.intuelephantparade.co.uk/elephants Carmen Rademaker, Director of The Asian Elephant Foundation, said: “Thank you to our friends and supporters in the United Kingdom and to the customers and staff at intu who have brought the magic into this ground-breaking tour. The proceeds from the auction of the beautiful full size sculptures will make a significant contribution to the work and projects that we support. For your understanding of the issues in respect of elephant conservation and your support for the work of TAEF, we are eternally grateful.” Trevor Pereira, Commercial Director at intu commented: “It goes without saying the heart of the parade’s success has been the enduring appeal of the touring elephants - each a fine art piece created by a top artist. From the outset, we made a conscious decision for a national tour to draw on artistic talent from all corners of the UK to create a truly unique public art exhibition. From York Minster Cathedral to a Devon fishing village, the tour exposition captured the spirit of a national tour with local character. With the auction going live, we are now giving members of the public the opportunity to own one of these unique art pieces. We have capped the ‘buy now’ price on the elephants and introduced a pledge option to give the broadest possible audience the chance to be part of an auction that invests in the future of the Asian elephant.”