COLOURS OF LOVE TOUR 2026

The COLOURS OF LOVE TOUR is a motorcycle trip through nine countries from Germany to Pakistan. Along the way, I work with local people to create participatory urban art projects that transform neglected places into lively meeting spots and noticeably improve the energy of these locations.

I want to build cultural bridges, foster dialogue, and leave colorful traces behind. I share the journey on social media. In the end a documentary emerges about color, encounters, and the power of design.

The COLOURS OF LOVE TOUR is a motorcycle trip that will take me over 12,000 km by land from Germany through Southeast Europe, Turkey, Iran, and Afghanistan to Pakistan.
9 months – 9 countries – 9 projects

On my journey, I will create a participatory urban art project in each country – from large-scale wall designs and small interventions in urban spaces to workshops with schools and collaborations with local organizations.

I will set off on my BMW F650 GS Twin travel enduro. The aim is to actively involve people and work together to positively transform and revitalize public spaces, for example by artistically designing wall surfaces, squares, park benches, schoolyards, or playground equipment.

Time and again, I find that the work not only inspires those involved, but also touches passers-by: a smile, spontaneous thanks – small moments that make cultural participation and community tangible. This creates identification, builds cultural bridges, strengthens community, and generates positive energy that lingers in the spaces for a long time.

Schedule
Start: End of March 2026
Duration: approx. 9 months
Route: Germany – Austria – Hungary – Romania – Bulgaria – Turkey – Iran – Afghanistan – Pakistan (The route may be adjusted depending on the political situation.)

Through my work, I aim to build cultural bridges, promote dialogue and exchange, and create spaces for joint action. The target audience includes all people across cultures and generations in the countries I visit, as well as supporters of intercultural projects worldwide.

Key objectives are:
• Promoting dialogue, exchange, and networking between people and cultures
• Permanent enhancement of public spaces (urban & rural) through participatory social design projects
• Establishing a vibrant, intercultural network in at least 9 countries for follow-up projects
• Opening up scope for action for civil society and youth culture, and breaking down prejudices
• Strengthening personal commitment and self-efficacy
• Visibility and sustainable impact through documentation, film, social media, exhibitions, and lectures (nationally and internationally)

I am currently in intensive dialogue with various cultural partner institutions along my route in order to coordinate the locations, time frames, and conditions of the individual projects and to effectively coordinate the collaborations.

The idea for the tour arose from my many years of participatory artistic work in public spaces, as well as the intercultural experiences I had during my artist-in-residence stay at the National College of Arts in Lahore, Pakistan.

Among other things, I was personally inspired by the children's book Frederik, which tells the story of a mouse who collects colors and sunbeams to bring light and hope in dark times.

For my work, this means that urban art can enhance spaces, connect people, and make positive energy visible—an approach that begins with the design of one's own environment and radiates out to the community.

In times of global challenges, I see it as my responsibility as an artist and designer to have a positive impact on my environment from within my own sphere of influence and to inspire others to do the same.

With your support, I can bring more color and love into the world, and you can help me expand my sphere of influence!

The basic funding of €35,000 will enable the COLOURS OF LOVE TOUR to take place and cover all necessary basic travel, project, and security costs. This includes a very low daily budget (approx. €10) for food and simple accommodation, fuel, visa and border fees, international SIM cards, international health insurance including emergency repatriation, motorcycle insurance, and the “Carnet de Passage” (travel document for motorcycles) required for several countries. Individual spare parts, tools, and safety-related equipment for the motorcycle are also included. For social media documentation, I will largely use existing equipment and only add the bare essentials. The amount also includes consumables (brushes, rollers, tape, etc.) for the participatory art actions in each country, as well as a small buffer for unforeseen events.

Extended funding levels: Film documentation of the tour

If further funding levels are reached, the trip will be supplemented by a professional film documentary. Marc Daum, an experienced documentary filmmaker and motorcycle traveler from Cologne, has provided me with a detailed quote (approx. €70,000 gross) for a comprehensive film documentary of the trip.

This amount will allow him to visit me in all nine countries, film on location for three days in each country, and cover all associated costs: international flights, accommodation, motorcycle rental, drone use, and lighting, sound, and camera equipment.

The plan is to produce:

Nine mini-documentaries (approx. 3–4 minutes each) on the individual countries and art projects, as well as a final overall documentary about the entire journey, its encounters, and the artistic work.

Flexible implementation depending on the amount raised
If the entire film budget is not fully financed, the scope of filming will be adjusted accordingly: the filmmaker may then only be able to accompany me to two, three, five, or seven countries, for example. Each additional funding level will enable additional countries to be filmed, resulting in a more comprehensive audiovisual documentation of the project.

• Level 1: €35,000 – Start of the journey
• From €62,000, Marc Daum can also accompany me on my journey through three countries and film the resulting art projects.
• From €80,000, my journey will also be documented on film in 6 countries.
• From €125,000 – Full financing of the journey, including all 9 documentary visits

The total amount also includes all taxes and fees. Approximately 8% of the total amount goes toward Startnext fees. These cover the operation of the platform, technical infrastructure, security, and payment processing. These costs are necessary to ensure that projects like this can be reliably implemented and successfully financed, and are included in the overall target.

PATRICIA YASMINE GRAF – VISIONARY, ARTIST, AND DESIGNER FROM AACHEN
I am Patricia Yasmine Graf, a freelance artist and designer from Aachen and co-founder of the creative network designmetropole aachen. Shortly after graduating from the Academy of Fine Arts in Maastricht (NL), I founded my own label PYG® and have been working in an interdisciplinary manner ever since.

As a creative all-rounder, I work in a variety of contexts: from guerrilla actions and artistic performances to curatorial activities, unconventional social and interior design, inspiring keynote speeches, and leading creative workshops. I am particularly passionate about urban art, street art, and interventions in public spaces. With my participatory art projects, I encourage people to recognize their own self-efficacy. My network is based on shared love. Feeling people's enthusiasm for being part of something bigger moves my heart. Together, we shape transformation and change the energy of the space in which we move.

Supported by my large creative network, I also devote myself to repurposing vacant buildings. With a great deal of improvisational talent, creativity, muscle power, and love, we transform these places—often despite small budgets—into lively, sociocultural spaces for the community. The topics of cultural education, empowerment, and intercultural exchange between all participants are particularly close to my heart.

My artist-in-residence semester at the NCA – National College of Art in Lahore, Pakistan, deeply inspired and enriched me. It opened up new perspectives and further ignited my fascination with other cultures, exchange, and mutual learning. As an enthusiastic motorcyclist, I would like to combine my love of art and cultural exchange in the future. All of this comes together in the COLOURS OF LOVE TOUR 2026.

Click here to visit my: PYG® website