ON OUR RADAR | HAPPENINGS | CABANA MAGAZINE
“My dad started moulding my view of the world from an early age. He always thought out of the box, his ideas were so original." Brand director Ayesha Shand, daughter of the late writer and conservationist, Mark Shand, talks to Sophie Goodwin about her creative approach to philanthropy and building on her father's legacy.
BY SOPHIE GOODWIN | HAPPENINGS | 1 AUGUST 2024
Brand Director and philanthropist Ayesha Shand, pictured with Ben Goldsmith at an event for her late father Mark Shand's charity, The Elephant Family.
Ayesha Shand's journey to philanthropy started with her father, the explorer, author and conservationist, Mark Shand. “One night he had a dream about an elephant. In the dream he was told to go and find one; so he did,” Ayesha tells Cabana. Her father embarked on an epic 600-mile journey across India, astride an elephant named Tara.
He would go on to write books about his experiences, such as Travels on my Elephant and Queen of the Elephants. “He fell instantly in love with the animals and their environment. He was terrified by the thought of them going extinct."
Mark, who was the brother of Her Majesty Queen Camilla, subsequently co-founded The Elephant Family in 2002, which is still thriving today. This philanthropic set-up acquires corridors of land to allow elephants to migrate and coexist with human beings, while, at the same time, protecting all forms of Asian wildlife.
Ayesha has built upon her father’s legacy in a most admirable and original way, furthering his unique sense of creative fundraising and fusing it with modern day methods. “My dad started moulding my view of the world from an early age. He disrupted the traditional fundraising methods, and was a spokesperson for culture at the time. Mark always thought out of the box, his ideas were so original, seemingly impossible, like interrupting traffic in front of the Frick Collection to draw attention to the plight of these wonderful creatures.”
Left to Right: Ayesha Shand @ Jessica Imhoff; Mark Shand with his elephant, Tara; Fabergé eggs decorated in aid of The Elephant Family
Then there was the infamous Fabergé Big Egg Hunt in New York in 2014, under his direction, which morphed into a huge public art and charity event. Nearly 300 artists and designers, including Julian Schnabel, Zaha Hadid, Jeff Koons, Marc Quinn, Tracey Emin, Ralph Lauren and Carolina Herrera decorated three-foot-high fiberglass eggs by Fabergé, placed throughout NYC in the weeks preceding Easter.
Ayesha has continued her father's modus operandi since his sudden death in April 2014. Following in his footsteps, she organised an exhibition of 100 phallic sculptures cast in jesmonite from the collection of lingams Mark left her, asking young British artists to decorate them. A private view and wildly successful auction followed, titled ‘Mark Shand’s Adventures and his Cabinet of Curiosities.’
She is not locked in the past, however, embracing causes close to her heart while furthering her father’s passions. Willing to tackle uncomfortable and unfashionable causes, Ayesha is bravely breaking taboos by discussing her own vulnerabilities on a public platform, and launching extraordinarily creative campaigns.
Alongside acting as Patron of The Elephant Family, her pioneering work focuses on female and mental health. She is an advocate for endometriosis - a drastically under researched pain condition, which typically remains undiagnosed for seven to ten years - and an ambassador for the Cycle, which strives to improve gender equality through the provision of water, sanitation and menstrual education programmes.
Creative conservation: a herd of elephants installed outside Buckingham Palace @ The Elephant Family
Citing Barbara Kruger’s timeless work, Untitled (Your Body is a Battleground), she asks, ‘How do you break this stigma and make women want to participate on social media and beyond?’ De-stigmatising mental health is a key driver too. "As a society we cloak mental illness in shame and in doing so, we prevent those who suffer from getting the help they need," she says. As early diagnosis is key, she is particularly passionate about addressing mental health disorders in young people, backing up her work with hard evidence to illustrate the importance of her global call to action.
The statistics are sobering. According to the Centre for Youth Mental Health - a New York-based organisation she works with - the suicide rate for 15 to 19 year olds increased by 76% between 2000 and 2017, while one fifth of young people present with clinical symptoms of depression and anxiety post pandemic.
Like her father, Ayesha is an innovator and believes in change. However, she notes the social climate is "completely different to my father’s day". "We have seen a rise in the power of the individual. The force of social media and the creation of the influencers means they have incredible power to challenge the existing news feed, to help draw attention to important matters and drive fundraising. There are so many more ways to present physical experiences online. Of course there are many downsides to these technologies, but it’s an amazing way to reach people."
Ayesha understands the zeitgeist. "Beyond the more important work on the ground (research, treatment etc), events are critical, celebrities help break stigmas and are able to reach today’s youth in unprecedented ways." Eileen Kelly, host of the podcast Going Mental, has shone a light on personality disorders, for example, while a track by US hip hop artist, Logic, featuring the number of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline as its title, led to a 30% rise in calls to the helpline.
Brand partnerships have really come into play too, with leading fashion companies helping to make mental and female health 'cool' by leading on these issues and making them feel relevant and important to young people. "Celebrities and musicians have a new power, and if we tap into this, we all have a new power too."
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