Installation Audio Components: University Ave-State Highway 163 Below the Median Income

The installation contrasts Des Moines ranking as “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 of where they travel.

Introduction * 2:12 Nancy Mwirotsi: PI515 * 9:32 Richard Duncan: Community Legacy Matters The Center Street Story: An Urban Renewal Retrospective * 20:29 Tira: Broadlawns Medical Center * 35:05 Courtney Smith: RunDSM

Travel outside the space of your routine to reflect on:

When did you get to Des Moines?

Where are you going?

Who are you going to see?

Why are you going?

What will you do in Des Moines?

How will you move forward?

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.

2:12 Day 6: Nancy Mwirotsi

My guest for Day Six is Nancy Mwirotsi, the founder of PI515. The letters PI stand for Pursuit of Innovation. The mission of the organization is to challenge, inspire and teach technology skills to students with potential, empowering refugee and underserved youth to achieve success, garner influence, and gain stability in their families and communities. PI515 gives students a place to learn about coding, innovation and critical thinking. Thank you for joining me Nancy! What suburb of Des Moines do you live in?

Nancy: I live in Altoona.

Who do you live with?

Nancy: My daughter.

Are you their primary support?

Nancy: Yes

Finish the sentence: When I walk outside the place I live..

Nancy: I see hope. I see potential

Where did you grow up?

Nancy: I lived in Kenya. It’s actually very beautiful. We’re tropical, so there is no snow.

How old were you when you came to the United States?

Nancy: I think I was 17 or 18.

How were you able to come to the U.S.?

Nancy: I have family here, so I came because of that as well as going to school.

What was you first impression of coming to the U.S.?

Nancy: I flew through Chicago. I landed here wearing a raincoat. It was snowing in Chicago and all the planes were down. It was a really cold experience. I went to…my sister had a friend who picked me up, went through the subway to their place, and no gloves or anything. It was very cold. Of course, you know, after traveling for long you ask to shower, right? And I did shower. Not a good idea because of frostbite. That was my amazing experience (laughs)!

Were there cultural differences to get used to?

Nancy: Yea, quite a lot actually, and I think when you talk about cultural differences…those things chan