Money

One of my mantras is: traveling doesn't have to be expensive. When this challenge was first announced, some writers complained that it sounded like a thing for the jet-setting 1%. I'd like to show that it can be done with a budget that is in reach for any of us, at least in this rich Western part of the world.

I love hitchhiking (have hitchhiked hundreds of thousands of kilometers in 64 countries over the last 16 years) and I founded Hospitality Club 11 years ago (my motivation wasn't really to enable people to find free accommodation - it's a very nice side effect though, especially for young travelers from not-first-world-countries).
So of course I'll make good use of both on this challenge - hitchhike wherever possible and stay with "my" HC members around the world.

Leaves us with the flights. I don't have any frequent flier miles (simply didn't fly much in the last decade), so I'm gonna have to pay for all flights. And with the limited time available and the crazy locations of the galleries (can't really hitchhike to Los Angeles or Hong Kong) it's gonna be hard to find good deals on flights. Still, I hope to get all flights for about 1000€.
Update: see blog post with overview of all costs.

Ecologically speaking, I can't convince myself that flying around the world for a Hirst print is a sensible thing to do, so I'm probably gonna buy climate certificates for the flights I'll be taking. My first calculations show that this is gonna clock in at around 500€.

Also, I think I'm gonna sell the print. Nobody (probably not even Damien Hirst) knows what it's gonna look like, and how much it's really gonna be worth. Still, if you really really want your own Damien Hirst, make me an offer - either now (buying the "cat in the sack" as we say in Germany), or later when I received it and had a bit of time to marvel at it. If it's feasible at all I'll bring the print to you and thus end this project with a nice photo of both of us with the print when I hand it over. And maybe the trip will be free after all :-)

Finally, if you like this crazy idea, are entertained and want to support my little project - send me some money (Paypal: veit@hospitalityclub.org, other bank account info on request) and I might whip up a little supporters page here. And of course you'll get a nice photo of me, the Hirst print, "dedicated personally to you".