The two-month long exhibition opens from March 29 with a decorated Bedford truck as a centre piece.

It will also be part of the Luton 2011 International Carnival on May 30 and Luton Mela on July 24.

The iconic truck has been painted and decorated in the colourful and fascinating Pakistani truck folk art tradition by a group of young people from Luton in Bedfordshire.

This project is a part of Eastern Exchanges a London 2012 Cultural Olympiad "Stories of the World" programme.

Finely and brightly decorated trucks are a tradition in Pakistan.

The decorated trucks display much of what the truck drivers are fond of and what is most important to them.

Pakistani truckers spend a significant proportion of their income on having their truck decorated, as it represents who they are and for much of the time it also serves as a home.

One of the most popular vehicles still in use in Pakistan is the Bedford truck, produced in Luton until the 1950s.

This was the time when the production line of Vauxhall in Luton was supported by immigrants from Pakistan and India and is the inspiration behind Truck Art.

The Truck Art project was selected because of the strong connection between Pakistan, Luton and the people who live there.

"The Truck Art project will be yet another tie to help strengthen the cultural relationship between the UK and Pakistan," said Karen Perkins, the Director of Museums for Luton Culture.

To develop their skills in painting and decorating the truck, the youth team was assisted by Rory Coxhill, a UK folk wagon artist, and Haider Ali, a Pakistani truck artist.

Rory spent three months in Pakistan as part of an artist exchange programme called Material Response and is now back in the UK with Pakistani truck artisan,

Haider Ali. Rory, Haider and the youth group are now getting to grips with transforming the Bedford truck and putting finishing touches to the exhibition.

The Truck Art youth team have also developed and curated the exhibition to compliment the truck.

To inspire and support the young people, Luton Culture has been supporting them in learning about exhibition development, researching folk art traditions and taking research trips to museums in London.

The Truck Art exhibition tells a story of their journey of discovering Pakistan's history and heritage, and also the story of the Bedford truck.

Jamie, a member of the youth team said about the project "Doing this project has helped me to understand how Pakistani truck art can be linked to Luton's local history with the use of the Bedford truck, this being an important part of our heritage." Ms. Perkins added:

"We hope by being a part of this project, the young people of Luton will gain an invaluable experience in working on a cultural project whilst participating in the festivities of the London 2012 Olympics.

We are also looking forward to seeing their work on a Bedford Truck that will portray Luton in its most current, diverse and creative way."