Today we’d like to introduce you to Samantha Dallett.
Hi Samantha, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for sharing your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
I am originally from New Jersey but came to North Florida in 2013 for college. I transferred twice, moved around Florida, and landed back in Jacksonville in 2017. I began working at the Jax Beach Bars when I returned to Jacksonville. At first, I was a cocktail waitress, then soon after, I became security. As I juggled the nightlife with my many other jobs – a bridal stylist, swim instructor, babysitter, and more – I graduated from the University of North Florida with a Bachelor’s in Painting/Drawing/Printmaking. After graduation, I taught elementary Art classes in Yulee and Callahan Elementary Schools and created a virtual art camp for students during Covid 2020. Professionally, my resume was growing. I was applying for jobs, submitting my art to galleries and literary magazines, and quickly jumped into freelance modeling. I was creating new pieces and taking steps to ensure “success” in my life. At the same time, I was also struggling. By 2021, the list of sexual assaults and abuse I experienced at the hands of people I knew had grown substantially. I was drowning in codependencies, toxic behaviors, unhealthy relationships, and addictions. It took years of bad decisions and traumatic experiences before I realized what I wanted to gain. That spring, I was lucky enough to meet, befriend, and work alongside local photographer Brian Fry, a fellow survivor of sexual violence and an activist here in Jacksonville. That September, I found sobriety, and I met my current girlfriend in December. These amazing individuals stepped into my life and unconditionally supported my efforts to change. I had to walk away from many comfortable things and unlearn all the negative habits, hobbies, and thoughts that had limited me for years prior.
Now, a decade after moving to Florida, I am the proud co-founder of The Every 68 Seconds Project (IG @every68secondsproject) – which is a nonprofit supporting survivors of sexual assault and sexual violence by promoting awareness, educating the public, and combatting rape culture in America. The project came to life in the fall of 2021 when Brian and I realized the experiences we shared and the drive we both had to make a change in the normalization of rape culture.
Along with the nonprofit, I have continued my work as a model and stylist (IG @sd.Kristine). The brand I am creating within SD Kristine will bring many of my current forms of expression to light – where I can bridge the gap in my personal and professional life – merging modeling, styling, creative directing, illustration/design, project management, and more of my skills.
In addition to building a platform for survivors, a brand for myself, and continuing my artistry (IG @samanthakristineart), I am also taking steps towards starting my own business and continuing this freelance and entrepreneurial work. Sam’s KARE (IG @sams.kare) is my most recent endeavor, offering child care services. Sam’s KARE – where every child is met with kindness, attitude, respect, and enthusiasm – is my way of legitimizing the odd jobs and babysitting gigs I had continuously embraced.
These projects, jobs, and aspirations of mine all work and flow together as I try to balance the needs of each one. Most of my work continues simultaneously, and though my plate is full, I enjoy every bite I take. Each small effort furthers the next. I am looking forward to and excited for what comes next.
Would it have been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been a smooth ride. Like many, life has thrown multiple obstacles and challenges at me – though I truly believe that we only go through what we need to prepare us for what’s next. With that mindset, accepting what happened to me is sometimes easier. It allows me to make sense of the trauma instead of letting the trauma identify me. In my life, I have experienced many hardships. My parents divorced when I was young, and this instantly threw my family unit into a spiral. For years after, my mom, sister, and I struggled financially. We danced on the poverty line. Renting, working, paying bills, moving – this routine continued throughout elementary, middle, and high school. My first job came at age 11; we were homeless my junior year, and before my 21st birthday, I had already moved over 20 times.
In my senior year of high school, my first boyfriend sexually assaulted me. By the fall of 2013, I was assaulted for the second time. This caused me to quit the Women’s Crew team at Jacksonville University, and I began drinking heavily to numb the shame and guilt I felt. I left JU after sophomore year but still carried the weight of my experiences. It affected the relationships and connections I made, my outlook on love and sex, and drastically affected how I viewed myself.
Returning to Jacksonville in 2017, I remember telling myself, “Things would be different, and I would be better.” But, I still didn’t understand the role I was playing in the cycle of abuse I was exposed to. Since then, I have experienced homelessness twice more; I have been unemployed, a drug addict, an alcoholic, and a victim of multiple rapes. I have been broke, I have been scammed out of four thousand dollars, I have been evicted, depressed, and withdrawn. I lost most of my belongings and 10 years’ worth of my art collection to black mold in a crappy storage facility. I have been drugged at the beach bars on several occasions. I have lost loved ones, and I have been lost myself – though I have survived.
Sadly, my story is not uncommon. Unfortunately, many of my experiences are shared by many other individuals. Because of the many hardships, I learned to forgive and have patience, and I remember that we are not the things that happen to us. I am so much more than what I’ve experienced.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
It’s hard to say what I am most known for, though I have seen much success with my art and other forms of expression. My works have been displayed at Art + Politics: large-scale prints in 2018 and 2019 at UNF in the Fine Arts Senior Exhibition. By the end of 2019, some pieces and four testimonies were published in the art and literary magazine Porter Gulch Review. At the beginning of Covid 2020, I was commissioned to paint a new mural inside Yulee Elementary School titled “Reach for the Stars.” In March 2021, my piece, “A Stained Disassociation,” was published in a digital collection with the Niche Art Collective. That year I also displayed “Together, We Stand,” which was 4 acrylic paintings on 36-inch x 48-inch canvas, and “What Men Fear Most: The Normalization of Rape Culture,” a 4 plate intaglio series at Surviving to Thriving, hosted by the Women’s Center of Jacksonville.
Most recently, I have been primarily focused and extremely proud of the work done with the Every 68 Seconds Project. It started as “art activism” and has grown into a small non-profit dedicated to supporting and empowering survivors of sexual violence, increasing public awareness, and ending rape culture. Every 68 seconds in the US, a woman or man is sexually assaulted. Rape culture, my many experiences, and those of others drove me to make conceptual artwork, which still drives my work with the project.
One of the ways the project empowers survivors is through participation in the Survivor Portraits series. These are impactful black-and-white portraits of survivors photographed with body writing that includes things said to them by their attacker or someone they disclosed to. These highlight our demeaning, painful, and victim-blaming experiences as sexual assault and sexual violence survivors. The portraits are displayed at local exhibitions, Every 68 Seconds Magazine, and social media platforms to spread awareness.
For survivors who aren’t local to Jacksonville, FL, we accept written testimonies of survivors and encourage all to participate in Reflections. Reflections are an opportunity for survivors to submit their photographs. This effort is to include and work with survivors outside of Jacksonville, building a more diverse representation of Sexual Assault Survivors – a community comprised of all genders, sexual orientations, ethnicities, occupations, and, in fact, nearly every subgroup of our society. We also sell select sexual assault awareness merchandise to help spread the word and fund our efforts.
The project has seen great success since our debut in April of 2022. We have displayed work twice at Surviving to Thriving, an annual art show for survivors by survivors. Kay Huggins has also interviewed the project with Raindrop Corner Podcast, Martha Lluch with Little Raging Warrior Project, and Choobie Jiroux with No Filters, No Fears Studios. In addition to being invited to speak at both the 2022 and 2023 Proclamation for Sexual Assault Awareness at City Hall in downtown Jax, I was also asked to speak at Unmasking the Voiceless, which was a ball thrown by the Fleet and Family Support Center, the NAS Jacksonville Chief Petty Officers Association. Amazingly, the project has benefited over 100 survivors and helped them share their truths, and is continuing to support and encourage more to come forward.
With SD. Kristine, I have enjoyed many parts of modeling, and as I push my boundaries and develop my skills, I see more opportunities aligning. Since the beginning, I have shot with many local photographers, walked in a fashion show, been published in magazines, and have found inspiration to work and style other models. I have shot high fashion and editorial shoots and modeled at the University of North Florida for their figure drawing classes. I have the fantastic opportunity to work with talent throughout Florida and Ohio, and I plan to continue expanding my presence in the industry.
What changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
The common thread throughout my work is human connection and physical interactions. It’s about creating safe environments for children, survivors, and models. My work dramatically revolves around how I impact others and represent myself and my many fields. Since Covid 2020, many individuals have been pushed into alternative forms of employment and collectively have adapted to a new and greater demand of constant entertainment – with entertainment often comes new forms of advertisement and advancement opportunities. More so than ever before, we live in a world where self-promotion and consistent posting is a requirement for advancement in any industry. We will have even more supporting technology for the wave of entrepreneurial and freelance work since the pandemic.
It will continue to be an adjustment for creative and connected individuals like myself who thrive on face-to-face communication and direct marketing. As the world’s overall influence by media and technology grows, there will continue to be a surplus of content creators, freelance models, entrepreneurs, small business owners, and more, benefiting from their abilities to connect with larger audiences.
Pricing:
- Free – participation in the Survivor Series with the Every 68 Seconds Project
- Free – participation in Reflections and testimony submission to the Every 68 Seconds Project
- Set Rates available for babysitting and nannying with Sam’s Kare
- Set Rates available for modeling with SD. Kristine
- Set Rates available for work as MAU/Stylist with SD. Kristine
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/everythingsd
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/sam_dallett
Image Credits
Painting is my own work – A Stained Disassociation | acrylic on canvas Photography by Brian Fry Photography by Tomei
