An Adventure for Inspiration: Rediscovering the Creative Process Through the Grand Tour

Abstract

This is multi-part collaborative research project investigating the creative process through experiences and adventures associated with The Grand Tour, a 17th century European expedition that exposed young minds first-hand to culture, art, and music. We planned our travels in a parallel version of The Grand Tour so that we could study similar scholarly works of the liberal arts first-hand, with a modern perspective. The experience was primarily utilized as inspiration for creating artistic works, which culminated in a series of multimedia projects presented as an art exhibition. The artworks in the exhibition were derived from inspirations found in Rome, Florence, Paris, Berlin, and Salzburg. The inspiring works and experiences included, but are not limited to, fine art, graffiti art, music concerts, performances, monuments, sporting events, and people we met in our travels. This journey, from proposing the project and taking the tour, through post-production of the artistic works, has given us insight on the creative process as well as how to work towards creativity at all times.