Project Blue

Project Blue uses the power of art to fund heritage projects in Afghanistan. When the first artists painted on cave walls, there was no blue. Early people had no word for it in their sagas and myths. 9,000 years ago, the first true blue – ultramarine – was discovered in the mountains of northern Afghanistan, mined from lapis lazuli, and carried through history by Sumerians, Egyptians, and Renaissance painters. For millennia this extraordinary colour has captured imaginations and symbolised divine beauty. In the west it was used for the Madonna’s robes; in the east, to venerate the Buddha. Its rarity and cost once made it more precious than gold. In September 2025 Project Blue - supported by the Tavolozza Foundation - travelled to Sar-e- Sang, the remote Lapis mine in the high mountains of Badakhshan, Afghanistan. Using lapis from the mine we have created a paint that is being given to leading contemporary artists to produce new masterpieces which will be sold at auction. Proceeds from Project Blue will fund heritage projects in Afghanistan, bringing employment and hope to a new generation of young Afghans. Photographer Simon Buxton travelled with Project Blue to the lapis mine in Afghanistan. A selection of his photographs will be shown at the Jushin Kaikan building 8-18th October. Simon Buxton’s photographs capture the incredible beauty of Afghanistan and its inhabitants. Above all, they are an invitation to join this journey.