Class of 2015: Freshman speaks up for se...

Class of 2015: Freshman speaks up for se...

Bryan Smith/Bryan Smith for New York Daily N

Grace Brown, a freshman at School of Visual Arts, wants to help give sex-abuse victims a voice.

As a photography major with a passion for helping victims of sexual abuse, Grace Brown lives two different lives.

When the School of Visual Arts student isnt traveling aroud the country promoting her two ongoing photo-essay projects, shes just tryin g to be a college freshman.

Ive always been surrounded by survivors of sexual abuse. I think they found me a person to trust, says Brown, who grew up in East Long Meadow, Mass., with plans to become a sexual-abuse counselor.

But when an aunt gave her a Nikon D90 camera, the plan took an unexpected turn.

As a way to keep in touch with a cousin in Michigan, Brown, 19, started photographing herself every day as part of the Internet phenomenon Project 365.

Within a few months, she realized it was something I wanted and needed to do, and decided to pursue photography as a career.

Brown wanted to be in New York City, where everything happens and was drawn to SVA for its noted photography program.

I went through a little bit of guilt with that, says Brown, like I wasnt doing something as meaningful as sexual abuse.

In October, after a friend told her she had been sexually abused, Brown came with Project Unbreakable, her series of photos capturing sexual-assault victims holding signs with quotes from their attackers.

I think its really important that people remember that the shame is not put on them and that theyre allowed to have a voice and they should have a voice, she says. What happened to them didnt ruin them and it didnt break them.

Brown has since photographed about 40 people and set up a Tumblr where victims can submit their own photos. Shes also raised over $ 6,000 through her IndieGoGo site, which helps take her project nationwide.

Since establishing the Project Unthinkables website six months ago, Brown has received nearly 700 submissions. Shes also been booked to speak at three universities in honor of Sexual Awareness Month and will be having an exhibit of her work at Massachusetts Institute of Technology on April 26.

In the future, she hopes to bring professional psychologists and therapists into the project to help her answer the hundreds of message s she receives and also to accompany her on photo shoots.

Shes also just begun a project entitled 50 Extraordinary Women in which she photographs and writes about women who have changed her life.

Needless to say, her life has changed since leaving home. Her dad now proudly posts links to her work on his Facebook.

But Brown says going to school with such creative people only encourages her to do more. Currently, shes snapping things that make her happy for a class project, to balance the other work that Im doing.

While she admits to feeling torn between school and her hobbies, Brown says she has no regrets about the path shes forged since leaving home.

I think it would definitely be different if I didnt have these projects going on, she says. Id definitely have a simpler experience in college, but I was ready to take in all the inspiration I can get.