Life & Work with Dionna Bright of Charlotte, North Carolina

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dionna Bright.

Hi Dionna, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
When I was a kid my dad gave me a camera. At the time, I did not realize how monumental this moment would be. I grew up on land that I roamed and explored as a kid, spending my time putting on eclectic outfits, going outside and pretending like I was on an episode of America’s Next Top Model with my sister. These are among my favorite childhood memories. Sometimes, when I think about life two decades later, I do not know if I could have imagined who I would become, simultaneously, when I reflect on the joys of childhood I am reminded that I am now simply in a decade of returning to who I have always been.

My name is Dionna Bright and I am a self-portrait artist. My medium is photography, a childhood joy that I have returned to and refined into a practice. I re-discovered this joy of engaging in self-portraiture during the pandemic. Like so many people, I found myself sitting with a lot of stillness and uncertainty, and photography became my way to process it all. At first, it was just me, my camera, and the light moving through my home, or my backyard as a landscape. It was a way to feel stay grounded when the world paused. Over time, it became a ritual, an opportunity for connection, a practice. I fell in love with the intention of setting up a frame, stepping into it, and allowing myself to be seen in whatever season I was in.

At the heart of my work are themes of memory, vulnerability, authenticity, resistance and resilience. I incorporate symbolic materials such as fabric, relics, knickknacks, foraged artifacts and vivid colors as tools of transformation. Much of what I create is informed by lived experience and the individual and collective memories that we carry in our bodies. Of self expression. My self-portraits are spaces where I can hold and express softness and strength at the same time, where symbolism and archival elements tell stories that I do not always have words for. It is a practice that allows me to cope and share the fullness of my experience as a black woman with the world around me. The more honest I allow myself to be, the more the work resonates with others, and their own self journey. This connection continues to guide where I am headed today.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not been a completely smooth road. Quite the opposite of anything linear. I have realized that the journey is what makes the work and life, most meaningful. My biggest challenge has honestly been the vulnerability of it all. Self-portraiture feels like shadow work sometimes. I am not just directing a shoot, I am stepping into emotions and memories that are sometimes really tender to hold. Or I am embodying a new feeling that I have not always known how to hold or even articulate. There are images I have made that realize deep intimacy for me, tied to introspective or transitional seasons of life. Or ones that were so whimsical and playful, I want to embody them a little while longer before sharing. There are some that I keep close to my chest. Creating them can feel both healing and exposing. Sometimes I share, knowing that my heart is on display, available for eyes to perceive, critique and judge.

As a self-taught artist, I have also had moments of running into barriers that I did not even know existed until I bumped right into them. Navigating the art world, learning technical skills through trial and error, figuring out how to position myself, maintaining and sustaining my lifestyle… all of that has come with its own learning curves. Every challenge has stretched me, deepened my voice, and reminded me why I started in the first place.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I use photography as a means of self-exploration, navigating the layered realms of memory, vulnerability, authenticity, resistance and resilience. Through self-portraiture, I reclaim personal history and reshape the narrative of self, by incorporating symbolic materials such as fabric, relics, knickknacks, foraged artifacts and vivid colors as tools of transformation. Whether created in the studio, at home, or within nature, my self-portraits become meditative acts, revealing the complexity of human experience and the tensions between light and darkness, strength and fragility, past and present.

My practice is deeply rooted in memory, identity, and the intangible moments that bridge time. By layering photography with elements such as cyanotype, an alternative photographic process, vessels, and the imagery of home, I explore the fluidity of selfhood and the evolving nature of personal and collective histories. There is an archival quality to my work, reinforcing its connection to preservation, history, and the passage of time. My work embraces resilience and introspection, honoring the raw, unapologetic parts of self that resist containment while holding space for quiet grace and transformation. Through my art, I aim to create a dialogue between self-reflection and the universal human experience, an invitation to see beyond the surface, embrace complexity, and recognize the beauty in the layers of our own stories.

If I am known for anything, I hope it is the emotional depth and sincerity in my art work. I allow space for nuance, for strength, for moments that feel both fragile and grounded. What sets my work apart is that it is lived and embodied. It is not about performance. It is about presence and honoring the full range of who I am both being and becoming. Among my proud accomplishments, last year, I traveled abroad for the first time to participate in an artist residency at Château d’Orquevaux in France, alongside 22 artists from around the world. Spending a month between Paris and the French countryside expanded my understanding of what is possible, both creatively and as an individual. Without a roadmap for what that experience would look like, I had to trust myself in new ways, solo traveling in a foreign landscape. I was affirmed both of my independence and my desire to continue growing beyond familiarity. I welcome future international opportunities that allow my work to exist in conversation with global communities and diverse creative spaces. In my heart, I am most proud of my authenticity and ability to continue showing up for myself and my wildest dreams.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I think about risk in a very personal way because the life that I am building already feels like one. When I quit my corporate job in 2022 to pursue self employment full time, I knew it would stretch me, but I did not fully understand how much. There were financial realities, emotional pressures, and unexpected challenges that you simply cannot plan for until you are in them. I had moments of doubt and moments of deep trust existing side by side. Choosing to believe that my art could sustain me, and that I could sustain myself, was one of the biggest leaps that I have ever taken. Many artists can probably relate to the fact that sometimes family members or people on the outside do not understand. Despite that, the life that I get to live is mine and I will absolutely bet on me every time by pursuing my wildest dreams.

My philosophy around risk is rooted in the understanding that I only have one life to live. The dreams that I carry require faith. There are parts of the outcome I will never be able to control, but I can control where I place myself and how fully I commit. For me, risk is less about being fearless and more about being willing. Willing to try, willing to grow, willing to pivot, willing to trust that the life I envision is worth stepping toward even when the path is unclear. In many ways, choosing this as my career is the ongoing risk, and also the ongoing reward.

Pricing:

• – I have prints for sell ranging from $15 to $1,000

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.dionnabright.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dionna_bright/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dionnabrightphotography
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dionnabright
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@dionnabright
• Other: https://dionnabright.darkroom.com/

Image Credits
All images are captured by Dionna Bright.