Exchanging Art for Travel with June Li

Each month as part of our Purposeful Traveler series, we feature inspiring people in our Travel Massive community from around the world who are empowering changing in travel. This month we meet June Li, one of our San Francisco chapter members as she backpacked 3 months across the world to exchange art for travel.   

Meet June Li, founder of See the World: Traveled with Art Exchange Project.

“Travel. As much as you can. As far as you can. As long as you can. Life is not meant to be lived in one place.” – 2015

June Li spent 3 months backpacking across Asia, Europe and South America with one focus. June would exchange her talent in art for food, accommodations and transportation.

“I set the budget at $50 per day, taking all the photos for this show on my phone,” said June.

It is her intention to prove that all you need is a desire to travel in order to actually go out and do it. Travel doesn’t always cost money, it is just the way you decide to travel that will make that final impact.

June says, “I hope to encourage others to step out of the system and their security, to experience the world anew and to bring a different consciousness to light.  Traveling resets our minds and changes our perspectives. Traveling is not optional, it’s the prerequisite for a life worth living.”

The Value Exchange Project

This was the purpose of June’s trip, this trip was what she called the Value Exchange Project.

“Could I circumnavigate the globe eschewing the need for a large budget?  Could I replace cash as currency with skills, could I create a more human and connected experience?”

These are all common questions that a traveler might wonder, but with a little motivation we can move mountains.

“I exchanged my art skills for food, home stay and museum tickets.  There are countless rejections, I took these challenges to grow stronger.  However, the ones who accepted me were so loving and became a part of this unforgettable experience.”

Project One: Art Lessons to an RV Traveling Family 

To serve the purpose of showing all the Travel Massive readers that it is possible, June shares two projects with us. The first project was interacting with a couple June had met along the way who had been traveling for seven years in a camper van with their three children.

The children ages 6, 10 and 12 were home schooled through the use of internet and educational experiences. June used her art skills to teach these children artistic lessons in exchange for their sofa bed.

Accommodations = Success

Project Two: A Ride in Punta Natunas, South America 

As June explains her second project, she acknowledges that during these experiences, it was more than just an exchange, but a story and relationship.

“I was cold and starving in the middle of nowhere.  I’d been walking for 4 hours and was lost. It was like a spark in the darkness when this sweet family stopped their 4×4 on the shoulder of the road. They invited me to their home, fed me a hot homemade meal and sent me on my way the next morning.”

Though no money was exchanged during June’s second project, the sharing of her art pieces and humble communication is what helped her along the way.

Transportation = Success

“There are many stories like these on the road.  We can easily pay for anything by cash. However, we won’t experience these beautiful human connections and we won’t have stories to tell our grandchildren in front of the fireplace when we grown old.”

Learn more about June Li’s project through video:

Purposeful Traveler is a series that profiles inspiring people or projects making a purposeful change to the way we travel. You can connect with June Li on Travel Massive. If you know of a Purposeful Traveler who should be featured, email us.