Stories by Strangers: Creative Agency for Abuse Victims with Nitya Mehrotra

I AM MY Passion Project

Activist art can have a revolutionary impact on our culture, inspiring social change. This type of work can provide important conversations that have the power to bring awareness to injustices in our society. The types of artwork created can be done in a variety of media including painting, poetry, music, dance and even animation and film. Some artists that might come to mind are the musician Nina Simone who wrote and performed the song, “strange fruit” (shining a light on the horrors of racism in the American South) or the Guerilla Girls (a group of anonymous artists) who created the poster art that poses the question, “Do women have to be naked to get into the Met. Museum.” and lists the statistics from 1989 that say, “less than 5% of the artists in the Modern Art sections are women, but 85% of the nudes are female.” But, there are also a number of contemporary artists that are following in these footsteps and using their work as a platform to raise awareness, provoke discussion, and support healing. This week, it just so happens that I get to interview a contemporary, empathetic, insightful, and talented artist on I Am My Passion Project. Nitya Mehrotra is an activist artist whose work is helping to make the world a better place.

Nitya is a passionate Documentary filmmaker, Community leader, and Animator. Born and raised in India, she has been determined to create safe spaces to acknowledge trauma through her work and strives to execute a long-lasting vision of communal support. This ideology is the core of a growing community of survivors she founded called Stories by Strangers which aims to facilitate educational conversations.

Nitya is the recipient of the Best Cinematographer award at the Shawna Shea Festival, three Best Photojournalism awards from the Illinois College Press Association in Chicago, the Women in Media full scholarship at the Met Film School in Berlin, and the New Artists Full Scholarship at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She also received the Award of Excellence at the Rhode Island School of Design. Her short films have gone to Oscar-qualifying festivals like Flicker’s Rhode Island International Film Festival, along with the Shawna Shea Film Festival, and the Pune Short Film Festival. Her directorial work includes companies like the Indian Premier League, Jouska Films, and Vatika Dabur.​

Nitya is currently working on getting her Master's in Film and Animation at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

You can connect with Nitya on IG:

https://www.instagram.com/stories.by.strangers/