The Big Elephant Auction 2026
2026 marks the 10th anniversary of Sketch for Survival, and to celebrate, we’re hosting a special one-off auction dedicated entirely to elephants – the species that first inspired the initiative.
The Big Elephant Auction will take place on Sunday 26 April 2026, honouring the number 26 at the heart of Sketch for Survival’s original message. All profits will support our Campaign Fund.
Elephant Postcards – Call for Entries
As part of our anniversary celebrations, we are inviting artists of all backgrounds to submit original A5 postcard artworks inspired by elephants.
Each postcard may be small in scale, but we hope its impact will be anything but.
This special postcard collection echoes the original heartbeat of Sketch for Survival: the 26-minute sketches created in response to the shocking statistic that an African elephant was being lost to poaching every 26 minutes on average. It also reflects our commitment to making art accessible and affordable.
A decade on, this project honours the thousands of artists who have donated their time and talent to Sketch for Survival. Together, these miniature artworks form a powerful collective statement for elephant conservation.
A minimum of 100 postcards will be selected for inclusion in the Spring auction, with additional pieces added depending on submissions. The starting bid for an A5 postcard will be £50.
Submission deadline: 28 February 2026
Format: A5 (portrait or landscape), unframed
Theme: Elephant-inspired — species, behaviour, landscapes, symbolism, culture; all interpretations and mediums welcome.
If you are an artist interested in supporting the Big Elephant Auction, please see below for further information and how to enter.
Artwork: Jan Hargood; Roland Brass – Sketch for Survival
Other Elephant-Inspired Lots
Alongside the postcard collection, the Big Elephant Auction will feature a small number of additional elephant-themed artworks and special lots, including original pieces generously donated by artists, photographers and supporters, as well as books and a curated selection of items celebrating a decade of Sketch for Survival.
All lots will help raise vital funds for our Campaign Fund.
If you have something you would like us to consider for the Big Elephant Auction, please do get in touch at info@realworldconservation.org.uk
Thank you.
Image: Peter Chadwick, Focus for Survival
THE BIG ELEPHANT AUCTION
Elephant Inspired Postcards – Submission Guidelines
Anyone can enter.
Open to all ages including children.
You can live anywhere in the world.
The competition is open to professional, amateur, hobby and student artists.
It is free to enter.
We can accept up to 2 entries per person.
Please note:
There are no prizes or awards attached to this fundraiser. The Spring Auction is intentionally simple – a straightforward fundraising initiative taking place in Spring 2026.
Participation is encouraged purely as a way to be part of something collective, to have fun and celebrate 10 years of Sketch for Survival. You’ll be helping to raise awareness and funds for elephant conservation. Thank you.
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Artwork must be A5 size (the size of a large postcard). Artwork can be portrait or landscape orientation.
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Traditionally postcards are card so this is the preferred medium, however, you are welcome to create your elephant inspired piece on card, pastelmat, paper, elephant dung paper, or any other flat, two-dimensional surface, as long as it conforms to the A5 size requirement described here. It should not be any larger or smaller. A5 is 148mm x 210 mm. Postcards will not be mounted or framed.
- We do have a small selection of blank A5 sized postcards we can send out second class post to artists based in the UK (on request). Please email info@realworldconservation.org.uk if you would like one.
The Spring Auction celebrates 10 years of Sketch for Survival. It seems fitting, 10 years on, to hold an entirely elephant themed fundraising auction as a tribute to the origins of Sketch for Survival.
Background
Sketch for Survival began in 2016/17, when artists were invited to spend just 26 minutes on a sketch to highlight a shocking reality – that, on average, an elephant in Africa was being lost to poaching every 26 minutes. Funds raised through those early auctions supported targeted elephant conservation projects across Africa.
While poaching remains a serious threat today, elephants now face increasing pressure from human–wildlife conflict and climate change, particularly due to their reliance on water. Alongside our continued work in Africa, we also support several elephant conservation projects in Asia.
The Big Elephant Auction offers a moment to reflect on what has changed over the past decade, and, importantly, to take positive action for the future.
For this reason, all postcard-sized artworks should be elephant inspired. What that means is intentionally open to interpretation. Your artwork might feature a literal elephant, or something more symbolic, abstract or creative.
We hope to see plenty of elephants -savannah, forest and Asian – but above all, we encourage you to let your imagination run wild.
We can’t wait to see what you create.
No. It is up to you how long you take.
We don’t yet know how many postcard entries we’ll receive, but we aim to select at least 100 postcards for the Spring Auction on 26 April 2026.
There is a chance we will display the postcards as well as promoting the auction online. Postcards will not be mounted or framed.
The primary aim of The Big Elephant Auction is to raise awareness. However, we also hope to raise some funds. All selected A5 postcards will carry a starting bid of £50 in our online auction (concludes 26 April 2026).
If your postcard isn’t included in the online auction, it will still play an important role in raising awareness about elephants and the challenges they face.
Profits from this initiative will help to support practical, positive solutions for people and wildlife.
Create your elephant inspired postcard and send it to Explorers Against Extinction, Lower Farm Barns, Lessingham Road, Happisburgh, Norfolk NR12 0QQ , UK by 28 February 2026.
Remember to sign your artwork somewhere on the front or the back and to complete a submission form so we know who you are!
DETAILS
There are 3 main steps to entering, detailed below.
Submissions open 4 December and close 28 February 2026.
1.ARTWORK
Complete your elephant inspired A5 postcard artwork (148 x 210 mm) – pay special attention to SIZE & SUBJECT
Take a photo of your entry.
Rename the photo with your name. This is VERY IMPORTANT!
2.SUBMISSION FORM
Click the ENTER link on this page between December and February – this will open a short submission form.
Follow the instructions on the submission form and complete all the fields.
Press ENTER to send us your form.
3.SHIP YOUR POSTCARD TO US
Send your postcard to Explorers Against Extinction, Lower Farm Barns, Lessingham Road, Happisburgh, Norfolk, NR12 0QQ UK
Entries should arrive by 28 February 2026.
Size
All postcard artworks must be original and A5 size (148 × 210 mm). Unfortunately, we’re unable to include works that fall outside this format.
We can accept up to 2 entries per person.
Subject
Artwork should feature an elephant or be elephant-inspired.
It must be original (not a print).
Please sign the front of your postcard.
There are no special instructions for the back of your postcard – if you would like to write a short message, please do.
Medium
Card preferred but any flat, two-dimensional surface is welcome. You’re free to work on paper, pastelmat, elephant dung paper, card or any other 2D base, as long as the finished artwork is A5 size.
Style
The Big Elephant Auction celebrates the spirit of Sketch for Survival and how it began. It is up to you how long you spend creating your postcard for the Big Elephant Auction, but with a starting bid of £50 and a modest postcard format, we actively encourage sketches, looser styles and spontaneous responses, rather than highly detailed or highly finished works more suited to the Autumn Sketch for Survival competition.
Selection
We will assemble a selection panel in March to help us choose postcards for the Big Elephant Auction.
Spirit
Above all, have fun! Feel free to share your work online – we will also share entries as they arrive @explorersagainstextinction
Remember the aims of the initiative: to raise awareness about elephants, and raise funds through the sale of elephant postcards and other special lots.
Send
When you have completed your postcard(s) please ship to Explorers Against Extinction, Big Elephant Auction, Lower Farm Barns, Lessingham Rd, Happisburgh, Norfolk NR12 0QQ UK