On November 14, students and community members alike gathered in Palazzi Community Center's Corridoio Fiorentino for the opening night of “Grand Tour Souvenirs - Notes From a Traveler,” an exhibit by Grace Lambert-Phillips.

Inspired by her love of travel, Lambert-Phillips uses the work in this exhibit to demonstrate how travel can act as a means to expose people to culture. She says that she hopes people viewing her photographs will take away, “something to think about on the next journey... to be ready to slow down, and to be paying attention.”

She explains that her photography seeks to capture the first “sense of awe and wonder” one experiences while traveling. Lambert-Phillips expertly captures picturesque scenes that represent Florence, portraying art, architecture, hidden corridors, and more. Her inspiring work evokes feelings of excitement toward the beauty of travel and new experiences.

In addition to her photography displays, her exhibit allows guests to interact with her work in untraditional ways, featuring a postcard writing station as well as a typewriter for guests to share “what travel means” to them. Lambert-Phillips emphasizes the importance of the traditional way of creating art.

Her work contains both digital and film photography, as she believes the effort involved with developing film adds meaning and a personal touch to her art. She says, “I love the way that you have to work, and how it’s harder to do something when I type on the typewriter. If I type something, it just feels more poetic.”

Students studying photography, curation, hospitality, journalism, and public relations all came together to gain experience in their fields and help the gallery exhibition run smoothly. Lambert-Phillips mentioned how excited she was to have the exhibition here at The American University of Florence, saying that the space was like a journey itself and that, “working with students is amazing, because [they] all really want to know everything, and you [students] seem to be ready and humble, wanting to absorb things.”

Grand Tour Souvenirs - Notes From a Traveler will be on display until December 04, 2024. Stop by the Palazzi Community Center, located at via Ricasoli, 21 to experience the exhibition through your own eyes.