Artist uses animation to share the stories of strangers

(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — An artist is using colorful animations to tell, and shed light, on some dark stories.

“Everyone says ‘I don’t care if you turn this into an animation or not. I have never been able to talk about this before, and I am so happy that someone is going to read this story.’”

When she’s not busy pursuing her master’s degree at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Nitya Mehrotra is running her online platform, Stories by Strangers.

“People saw my ability to turn heavy topics into wonderful, light art. Because of this, I received an anonymous email one day with the subject line ‘would you be willing to tell my story?’”

She did, and the internet took notice.

“People started flooding my inbox with stories. Today, Stories by Strangers is essentially an online support community and a safe space for victims of sexual and mental abuse.”

It now includes more than 40,000 members from 20 different countries.

“We’re not only able to raise awareness, we’re able to connect people with actual help. We’ve connected over 100 people with therapists and resources for mental health, and we’ve also gotten more than 67 people pro bono legal help.”

Mehrotra says she often reflects on her own journey, and how far she’s come from her hometown of Delhi, India, which she says is one of the most unsafe places for women in the entire world.

“When I know that I am able to help other women like me who grew up in places where they didn’t have a chance to survive, it feels amazing.”

Mehrotra art can be viewed online and on social media at Stories by Strangers.

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