Artist Profile: Dan Watts
Published January 1, 2017 by Nicole Webb
Dan Watts
b. 1949
Dan Watts is an accomplished and celebrated Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Grand Valley State University alumni photographer. Combining his passions for photography and anthropology, Watts has traveled to over 30 countries for corporate, magazine, and personal projects. He has spent much of his career in Asia, Europe, Africa, and Latin America, documenting his experiences through his photography.
One of his largest commissioned projects took him around the world to the various sister cities of Grand Rapids, where he documented the landscapes, architecture, people, and culture of each location. In 2006, these photographs were featured in the Grand Rapids JW Marriott hotel. His work resulted in over 16,000 photographs, the largest single collection of sister cities photography in the world.
Dan Watts, Going Fishing at Dawn, photograph, 2008, 2008.186.1b.
Dan Watts, Basilica Di Santa Chiara, Assisi, photograph, 1996, 2003.330.1.
Dan Watts, Sunday Vendors on the Plaza, photograph, 2008, 2008.169.1.