Fran Dwight
Artist Statement
I have been taking photographs for over 50 years. In 1968 I picked up my mom’s Brownie camera and I never looked back. Life can be tricky for us introverts and the camera gave me refuge while at the same time creating a bridge between me and my fellow humans.
During my years at KVCC (75-78) I took all the photo and graphic design classes I could find, and later on to WMU and the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, where I eventually taught classes in the dying art of color negative printing. For much of the early years I was a single mom, with a dark room in my bathroom.
My craft has never been more rewarding than during the INSIDE/OUT PROJECT: WE ARE EDISON, completed in 2017 in the Edison Neighborhood of Kalamazoo. A retelling of this story will be on exhibit with the Kalamazoo Valley Museum December ’25 – January ’26.
In 2025 I was awarded the Guillermo Martinez MEMOism Award for my advocacy work with the Latin and Black communities.
In December 2025 I am receiving a Community Arts Award from the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo.
Venues
