Wrapped in History, Vikram Goyal's Ode To His Love For The Elephant Family

Elephants have always been more than just majestic animals in India—they're powerful symbols of strength, wisdom, and a deep connection to nature. Despite rapid urban growth and a booming population, India has managed to protect elephants, tigers, lions, and rhinos. One of the most beautiful examples of this peaceful coexistence is in the Nilgiri Hills, where about 150 elephants live side by side with 250,000 people, sharing the same landscape without conflict.

That very spirit inspired The Great Elephant Migration—a powerful, 5,000-mile art installation travelling across the US. The centrepiece? 100 life-sized elephant sculptures, all handcrafted by Indigenous artisans from the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve in southern India, including members of the Bettakurumba, Paniya, Kattunayakan, and Soliga tribes. What makes it even more incredible? These sculptures are made from lantana camara—an invasive weed that’s damaging ecosystems—turning a problem into something beautiful and meaningful.

Now, for the project’s final leg in Beverly Hills, these elephants are getting dressed up in spectacular, handcrafted ceremonial blankets as part of Wrapped in History, a global textile project curated by Vikram Goyal, designer, craft revivalist, and Patron of Elephant Family.

“Blankets are vessels of protection, identity, and story,” said Vikram Goyal, who also contributed a blanket to the project. “In this context, each one becomes a monumental gesture, a way of honouring the past while materially supporting a more compassionate, interdependent future.”

Goyal, celebrated for his repoussé metalwork and commitment to preserving Indian craft, brings his curatorial sensitivity to a collection that bridges memory, materiality, and meaning. A longtime leader in Indian craft revival, Goyal’s practice bridges heritage techniques and contemporary form. Known especially for his repoussé metalwork, he brings to Wrapped in History a curatorial sensibility shaped by decades of working closely with master artisans across. India. His work—often monumental in scale and deeply narrative in concept—has reimagined the possibilities of traditional craft in modern life. With this project, he extends that ethos into the realm of textiles, inviting collaborators from around the world to engage in a shared act of cultural memory and future-making.

Rooted in Indigenous traditions of gifting blankets to mark the end of a journey, the showcase features over 70 textiles by 55 designers, brands, and Indigenous communities. The Wrapped in History project brings together a stellar line-up of artists, designers, and Indigenous communities from around the world, each contributing their unique voice and aesthetic to this global celebration of craft and conservation. Participating designers include Akaaro, Amit Aggarwal, Anamika Khanna, Ashdeen, Bibhu Mohapatra, Boito, Chanakya School of Craft, Chantecaille, Collina Strada, D’ascoli, Dhaage, Dhruv Kapoor, Diane von Furstenberg, Emporio Sirenuse, Gaurang Shah, Heirloom Naga, Helena Bajaj, Jaipur Rugs, Johanna Ortiz, Kalyani Chawla, Kardo, Lovebirds, Markarian, Masaba Gupta, Namza Couture, N’Gai, Ozwald Boateng, Paiwand Studio, Pavitra Rajaram Designs, Peachoo Singh, Pero, Raghvendra Singh Rathore, Rajesh Pratap Singh, Ralph Lauren, Raw Mango, Re-Ceremonial, Rebecca Manners, Ritu Kumar, Sabyasachi, Saloni, Sutr Santati, The House of Angadi, Vikram Goyal Studio, and Weavers Studio.

Adding even more richness and authenticity to the project are the contributions from several Indigenous communities whose traditions and stories lie at the heart of this initiative. These include the Bettakurumba Tribe, Kattunayakan Tribe, Paniya Tribe, and Soliga Tribe from India, as well as the Maasai, Navajo Nation, Osage Nation, and Snoqualmie Tribe, whose voices bring a global, deeply rooted sense of storytelling to the woven and stitched narratives.

The blanket collection is inspired by Indigenous traditions of gifting blankets at the close of a project. They symbolise respect and completion and work as bed covers, wall hangings, throws and as celebratory blankets for your own elephant sculpture.  Curated with Vikram Goyal’s distinctive sensitivity to materiality and meaning, the project also serves a purpose beyond the symbolic. These blankets will be auctioned online, with 100% of proceeds directed toward more than 20 conservation NGOs worldwide, including Lion Guardians, INDIGENOUS LED, and The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing—advancing the cause of human-wildlife coexistence.

Over the past year, the Migration has crossed the U.S. in a visually striking procession, making stops in Newport, Rhode Island, New York City, Miami Beach, Florida, Houston, Texas, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and Blackfeet Nation in Western Montana’s Glacier Country, transforming urban spaces and Tribal lands while raising awareness—and millions in funding—for conservation work led by local communities.

The collection is to be auctioned on Artsy July 18 – August 1, 2025