Patti Smith's Polaroid Journey and New York Scene at Palazzo del Governatore

A solo exhibition of Patti Smith's Polaroid photography opened at Palazzo del Governatore in Parma, Italy, coinciding with her honorary degree in Classics and Modern Literature from the University of Parma on May 3, 2017, and the launch of her Grateful tour. The show, inspired by the 2015 MTrain project, features 120 images taken with a vintage Land 250 Polaroid, capturing friends, thinkers, and artists including Pier Paolo Pasolini, Arthur Rimbaud, Virginia Woolf, Carlo Mollino, Gabriele D'Annunzio, Herman Hesse, and Frida Kahlo. A dedicated Patti Smith Library offers a curated selection of films and literature (from Pinocchio to Sam Shepard, Cesare Pavese to Patrick Modiano) in the building's quietest room, alongside wall markings by Claudio Parmiggiani. The lower floor hosts a parallel group show, The NY Scene, focusing on 1970s–80s underground New York culture, featuring photographers such as Robert Mapplethorpe (with a photo, video, and Just Kids), Allen Ginsberg, Christopher Makos (capturing Andy Warhol at the Chelsea Hotel), Nan Goldin, paparazzo Ron Galella, and Gianfranco Gorgoni. The exhibition follows earlier iterations in New York (Eighteen Stations) and Stockholm (Higher Learning).