Installation Audio Component: First Avenue Below the Median Income

Hello, my name is Lesley Payne. Welcome to Below the Median Income.

The land on which we gather is the traditional lands of: Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma, Meskwaki Nation: Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa, and the Sioux People. We pay our respect to elders both past and present.

Below the Median Income was inspired by two quotes: “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with,” from entrepreneur, author, and motivational speaker Jim Rohn; and on March 12, 2018, Director Joshua V. Barr Esq. of the Des Moines Civil and Human Rights Commission said, “We have seventy-five percent of students experiencing some form of poverty in Des Moines Public Schools, so what can we do to improve that outlook? Research has shown that if a person remains in an impoverished condition up through their adolescent years they are more likely to remain in that position as they become older and become adults.”

These quotes and the information related to them evolved into an art installation of visual and audio components to place the visitor outside the space they routinely travel. The audio components are interview recordings obtained from people involved with public or non-profit organizations. The interviews tell the visitor about where that person routinely travels. The installation contrasts Des Moines ranking as a “Best in Nation” place to live, “Iowa nice” reputation of being overly friendly and go out of our way to help fellow citizens, and the visitors’ personal story.

2:11 Day 7: Leah

My guest for Day Seven is Leah. She participated in Movement515, a program offered to students in Des Moines Public Schools. Students and mentors attempt to slow down the world and investigate themselves. They work toward becoming change agents, shedding light on the impact human emotion and connection brings to the global community. Movement515 is an urban arts community where, twice a week, students and mentors come together to create spoken word poetry. Thank you for joining me Leah. What neighborhood of Des Moines do you live in?

Leah: I live in the Drake neighborhood

Who do you live with?

Leah: I live with my partner, Joseph, and my little sister.

Are you the primary financial support for your little sister?

Leah: Yes

Do you want to say how old she is?

Leah: Yea, she is 12.

When did she come to live with you?

Leah: I moved back this summer around June after my lease went out in Iowa City, She spent some of the summer with me, but she was having some, like, issues at her school back in Fort Dodge, where my mother lives. It just seemed like a better idea. There is more integrated care and resources in Des Moines Public Schools, like Orchard Place, is woven into the classroom setting at Callahan and it just seemed like a really good fit for her, and she moved in with me in September.

Des Moines Public Schools has so many resources.

Leah: Yea (laughs) so many more resources than other places.

Finish the sentence: When I step outside the place I live I see…..

Leah: Trees lining the street, the center part of the street has flowers, it’s like a divided street, lots of residential neighborhoods, lots of old houses everywhere.

You were born and raised in Des Moines. Which Des Moines Public Schools did you attend?

Leah: I went to Pleasant Hill Elementary, Hiatt Middle School, and North High School.

What is your Monday-Friday schedule like?

Leah: I was hired back by Des Moines Public Schools. I work 9 to 5 pm. Every week, I come into Central Campus, that’s where my office is at. I work all day and on Tuesdays and Thursdays I do workshops in the afternoons at middle schools, and then on Wednesday I help with the district wide workshop at the (Des Moines) Social Club for the high schoolers.

Describe a typical weekend

Leah: I think that we spend a lot of time together as a family, a lot of board games, a lot of Monopoly, a lot of movies. We watch a lot o