Elephant Parade Singapore Grand Auction Raises S$1.7 Million

Last Saturday marked the end of the ‘ABN AMRO Elephant Parade Grand Auction’ sessions, where a total of S$1,781,000 was raised from the elephants that were put up for sale. From these proceeds, more than S$445,000 will go to The Asian Elephant Foundation and Wildlife Reserves Singapore Conservation Fund.

The first session of the ‘ABN AMRO Elephant Parade Grand Auction’ kicked off on 12 January 2012 at St. Regis Hotel, where 38 elephants were put under Sotheby’s auction hammer. The remaining elephants were then auctioned off by Sotheby’s on 14 January 2012 at a Champagne Brunch and Champagne Sundowner at Fullerton Hotel.

Fetching the highest bidding price was Elephantasm by renowned Filipino artist, Ronald Ventura, which was sold for S$62,000. Other elephants that were the highlight of the auction were Precious Ties by National University of Singapore Tembusu College, Nature Sound by Luka Boonkerd Kaewdee, Volumn by Gwon Osang, Delightful Durian by Nat Posila and Ed Robinson, Gajah Aswatama by Indieguerillas and Santan by Ben Cabrera.

Mike Spits, co-founder of Elephant Parade said: “I am very pleased that these exceptional and lovable works of art have found new homes. At the same time, we have also managed to raise funds for The Asian Elephant Foundation and the Wildlife Reserves Singapore Conservation Fund, which will be channeled to ensure a sustainable future for our ecosystem and its inhabitants. Through this exhibition in Singapore, I am very happy to see that our Elephant Parade family has grown bigger, which means more people are now aware about the plight of the Asian elephant.”

Even though the life-sized baby elephants have been taken off the streets, fans can still purchase the miniature-sized replicas from the Elephant Parade Gallery Store on Level 4 of TANGS Orchard or online at http://www.elephantparade.com/shop.