Sarah Elizabeth Borst is an internationally exhibited artist from Davidson, North Carolina working in the mediums of photography, film, installation, writing and performance art. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Photography from Savannah College of Art and Design, and is now a Master of Fine Arts Candidate in Experimental and Documentary Arts at Duke University with an expected graduation date of May 2017. In addition to her credits as an artist, she is the Curator for the Provost’s Hall Gallery at Duke University working under the Provost, Sally Kornbluth as well as Director of the Center for Documentary Studies Wesley Hogan. Sarah is an Editorial Assistant at Aint–Bad. For Sarah, art making is an approach to process, understand, explore and challenge questions about America and the social gallery we have oh, so carefully and comfortably constructed for ourselves.
This is Mine is a collective film project comprised of women’s stories of rape, sexual harassment, sexual abuse, body shaming, body policing and everything in-between.
You heard my story in the video above, and now I am asking you to share yours. No story is too big or too small, and the sharing of our experiences is NEVER self-involved, trivial or shallow. In fact, it is one of the most powerful tools that we have in combating the unconscious misogyny that surrounds the shaming and policing of our bodies.
While I mentioned that some women are choosing to share their stories about rape and sexual harassment, this project is also about what exists as the foundation of those experiences. The sneaky stuff like catcalling, dress codes and arbitrary rules made by men in power.
I will be using our stories to tell a larger collective story about sexual harassment, rape culture and the sexualized experience of being a woman in the modern world. If you want to be a part of this project, but are not ready to share your story you can send in a video saying these four words: I am a survivor. That’s it. Because even if we were victims in the past, that does not have to be our identity in the present or the future.
If you would like to submit your story anonymously, that is also an option. You can write your piece out, and have someone read it on video. Or, you can email me your written piece, and I will find someone to read it.
To submit your own story and become a part of this movement, please visit my website.