Student Nitya Mehrotra’s Animations Give a Voice to Victims
The otherworldly characters in Nitya Mehrotra’s animated shorts have horns and single eyes. Their stories play out in bright, contrasting colors. Posted to the Instagram account Stories by Strangers to her more than 40,000 followers, the short videos lean toward the surreal, but the subject matter is very real—the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) graduate student uses her platform to offer a voice to victims of sexual and mental abuse.
“Animation felt like something so surreal and abstract that allowed me to talk about difficult themes,” Mehrotra said. “I did not want it to be in-your-face and painful. I wanted to use very vibrant and beautiful pink and purple colors.”
These shorts are part of the Stories by Strangers project, a website which allows people to submit stories of abuse anonymously. So far, Mehrotra has received more than 20,000 submissions from 40 countries. She’s turned 36 of those into ethereal and introspective animation shorts—and she plans to keep going. Through the project, she wants to build more than her artistic portfolio. She wants to create a community for survivors.
Mehrotra’s shorts usually focus on a central character to explore a deeper subject. In a recent post, an alien-like creature is depicted shedding their skin with the overlaid text, “1 more year before you’ll have skin that he never touched.” The description of the post contains an anonymous user-submitted story that coincides with the animation.
Since its launch in 2020, Stories by Strangers has gained significant traction, being featured in the Chicago Tribune, WBBM Radio, and Indian news outlet Homegrown. “This single project evolved into something much bigger. Now, it’s kind of like a huge community and a safe space for survivors of sexual and mental abuse,” Mehrotra shared. In addition to the animations themselves, the comment sections on these shorts have become a space where fans share their own experiences, support, and resources.
While pursuing her masters of fine art at SAIC, Mehrotra is inspired by her personal experiences growing up in Delhi, India. “The first time that I heard about assault, I was under 10 years old. It’s a daily topic in your existence. Everywhere you exist, it’s around you,” Mehrotra said. “You constantly have to think about protecting yourself, even if you’re not a woman.”
One of the project’s goals is to raise awareness of the global sexual abuse epidemic. With submissions coming from London to Seoul, sharing stories from all over the world shows that abusive encounters happen everywhere. “You don’t need to be part of the victimhood to recognize that there’s a problem,” Mehrotra said. “Why disregard a crime just because it hasn’t happened to you?”
From a young age, capturing the struggle of everyday life resonated with Mehrotra, who began studying painting and gradually transitioned to film. Initially focused on documentaries, Mehrotra explored self-reflection through her work. “That’s how I found my love for documentaries, by just trying to learn more about myself and my family,” she said. “I’ve always filmed my family quite a lot.” Her undergraduate thesis film, How I Survived Death, takes a deep look at familial ties and bonds. The film went on to be a semi-finalist at Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival.
At SAIC, Mehrotra is appreciative of the community and resources at her disposal. “I have a very global community where I’ve encountered all sorts of artistic backgrounds and communities. But I have never felt this much care for my work by an artistic community the way I have at SAIC,” Mehrotra said. “People have truly invested effort and gone out of their way to just help me. It’s been so fulfilling to see that people care this much.”
Looking to the future, Mehrotra aims to expand Stories by Strangers beyond its current reach. Passionate about making an impact and amplifying the voices of those who are often unheard, she plans to open a production house to cover more of the stories already submitted. “We can produce even longer films about these stories and get them even more global recognition,” Mehrotra said. “So that they can get the care and attention that they truly deserve—because there are so many stories.”
