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" When I was growing up, my parents would apologize when we didn't have enough money for something. I'd always tell them that it was O.K. and that I had learned to work hard because of them. "

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" I started out taking photos of my friends on, like, disposable cameras, and I documented my younger sister and her friends all through high school. "

Petra Collins

Sister

Friends

High School

" The selfie is a powerful tool, but it can also be dangerous, and I am fascinated with the process of it because there is a level of self-monitoring. "

" I grew up on Facebook; it's a different realm I live in. For some people, this is inauthentic, but for me, it's all I know. "

Petra Collins

Live

Some People

" I'm used to being told by society that I must regulate my body to fit the norm. I'm used to the fact that images of unaltered women are seen as unacceptable. "

" I always had this feeling, what I wanted to do. I was trying to work out myself, my frustrations, my body. I couldn't really pinpoint. I started taking photos of my sister and her friends. I was 15, exploring what it meant to be a 15-year-old girl. "

" I approach beauty the same way I approach clothing - I think people should do whatever to themselves to make them feel more comfortable in their skin. "

" Just being with a group of girls and experiencing sadness together - it's a pretty powerful thing. "

" I didn't see spaces where female artists could exist and exhibit their work. So I created a platform for this - one that allowed our works to be seen, but to also weave a community of women that could lean on and work with one another. "

" When I was 16, I created this online platform for female artists. I messaged women who I loved; that's how I got work and connected with people. You don't need to plead for entry into a system that doesn't want you anyway. "

" I'm definitely a Sagittarius. I'm such a fire sign. "

" Women's emotions are constantly labeled. Any slight deviation from 'pleasantness,' and we are labeled as hysterical. When we are angry, sad, depressed, or manic, we are immediately seen as unfeminine or ugly or weak. "

" I think it's important for not just me but women of color, trans women, and people who are marginalized to be telling stories of themselves. It's important for us to be behind the lens. "

Petra Collins

Think

Lens

" As much as I preach self-love, it's so hard for me to love myself. It's really hard, and it's just about building a good network of people and, in this case, a good network of artists. Trying to live your ideals as best as you can. "

" I post all the time anyway. It's part of who I am. There's me IRL. There's me URL. That's just my life. Plus, I love it. It's amazing to connect with so many people. "

" If your story is being told by someone who doesn't really know it, it's not going to come out accurate. A lot of it has to do with context. Whoever's behind the camera or pen or whatever. "

" Curating, in the modern sense, is something I gravitate to. Taking different ideas from a bunch of different places and putting them into one place or space, a story that makes sense or a new idea. Everything is remixed and taken from other things to make something new. "

" I was depressed at a very young age - mental illness runs in my family, especially on the female side. "

" As a young woman, I was disturbed by the fact that there was no imagery that truly expressed the experience of a young woman and the challenges and turbulence we go through. All we had were teenage magazines like 'Cosmopolitan,' which are very one-sided and show an objectified view of women. "

Petra Collins

Challenges

Woman

" I'm obviously a white woman with privilege. I want to make sure I always collaborate with people who aren't like me so we can create a work that isn't one dimensional. "

Petra Collins

People

Create

" When you see stories about women that aren't being told by women, it can make you feel like you don't exist. "

Petra Collins

Women

Feel

" I think the gender norms of emotion are horrendous. Being masculine means showing zero emotions, but having the choice to be angry or depressed. Being female means you are one dimensional - if you show more than that, you are a psycho, hysterical, or historically, a witch. "

Petra Collins

You

Angry

" With social media and all the new technology, there's just more interfaces around and reminders to constantly be working on our body. "

" I think being collaborative is definitely more natural for people who are minorities in any sense - so people who aren't, like, white male artists - because we don't have the privilege to create art and work alone, usually. "

" Being taken seriously as a young woman is the biggest hurdle as I grow older. "

" I consider myself endlessly lucky to have access to the Internet and technology. Through it, I've found myself and have been able to join a new discourse of females, young and old, who strive to change the way we look and treat ourselves. "

" If I have extra money, I always love to support my friends who're making art. "

" Live what you support online; do things. "

" Putting your work out there is scary! "

" I was very depressed at a young age and felt like I didn't have agency towards that. Being 'female' meant I couldn't be that - I couldn't be angry, loud, sullen. Being sad meant I was weak. "

Petra Collins

Age

Angry

" I came to New York with no money and just one suitcase. I had my family's emotional support, but they weren't able to help me financially. "