Hidden Under the Mattress
My goal for my art installation is to educate women on financial literacy. A community of vulnerability for those who are not educated financially are women who are stuck in abusive living situations because they are financially dependent on their partner. The specific community whose being represented through my public art intervention is survivors of domestic violence who feared escaping their situation because of financial instability. This is a vulnerable community because it takes 7 attempts on average for someone to leave a partner in situations of domestic violence partially because of financial dependence and lack of help and resources outside of their partner (VPFW 2019). So, if there were more universally accessible financial literacy programs for women that would make it easier to cultivate one’s own financial independence before even being involved in an abusive relationship. The impact of financial instability also impacts future generations for the woman’s family if she has children. In New Brunswick in particular, there is a high population of immigrants who don’t have family near them that they can turn to if they find themselves in a dangerous situation physically and financially, so they have to create a stable financial foundation for their children.
I spoke to Barry Sherman- a finance expert who worked on Wall Street for 40 years and teaches financial literacy. He acknowledged that wealth does not indicate happiness, but does allow for financial freedom and opportunity. He emphasized that one of the most important financial tips for the average person is to understand saving. “Time is one of the most important elements in saving taking into account compounding [interest]. If a person were to save $25.00 a month for 30 years a person would save $9,000 but if this would earn 7% [interest] compounded monthly they would earn $21,499.27 for a total value of $30,499.27, if they invested an addition 10 years so saved just $25.00 per month for 40 years the numbers would be $12,000 + $53,620.33 for a total of $65,620.33. Budgeting and Saving is the beginning in this process. Once a person understands how even saving less than $1.00 a day can have a larger impact for their future, then there are many additional steps to understand such as what is a stock, bond, etc.” Sherman kindly sent me some key saving and budgeting facts that I would like to share through this installation. Some examples are the differences between short term, medium-term, and long-term saving goals. Short-term financial goals are things that are achievable within one to three years, like paying off credit card bills. Medium term saving goals take around 5 years to achieve, like paying off student loans. An example of a long term goal would be saving to retire.
To test these facts in my own life and build them into relevance for my project, I surveyed a group of 15 women my age, 19–20 years old, from the Mason Gross School of the Arts-Department of Dance about their knowledge of saving. I first asked if they had a savings plan for short term goals. Six out of fifteen of them said yes. I then asked if they had a savings plan for long term goals. Five out of fifteen of them said yes. I asked if any of them had investments. One out of fifteen said yes and that they control them herself, four out of fifteen said yes but someone else controls them, the rest were either unsure or did not have investments. This short survey showed that financial literacy is not a primary concern among young women.
The art installation I want to create is a sculpture made of tin and scrap metal in the shape of 30 mattresses stacked sloppily on top of one another outside of the main entrance of the Mexican Consulate located at 390 George Street. I want to use scrap metal so it looks rugged. I want the Mexican Consulate to be my location because it ties in the immigration aspect of my community of vulnerability. The mattress idea comes from the idea that people often joke about hiding money under their mattress, but realistically, that’s an insecure place to do so. It plays off of the idea that financial stability is “hidden” from these women who can’t escape violent relationships because they are financially dependent on their partner. Realistically a mattress is an unstable place to keep money which is representative of financial instability- if someone doesn’t have the autonomy to open a bank account because of possible constraints with a partner or immigration status. Like how money is not protected under a mattress, these women aren’t protected if they do not have a safe place to sleep. On the mattresses I want there to be facts about finances that can help someone start building themselves financially from the ground up written in the color purple as that is the color representative of survivors of domestic abuse. The facts would continue up to about 5 feet up the sculpture. From there, I want there to be fake enlarged dollar bills hanging from between the mattresses to represent the idea that there is money hidden, but it cannot be touched.
My audience will be immigrants in the New Brunswick community who may be struggling to get on their feet financially and don’t have many resources to do so. The individuals who go to the Mexican Consulate are trying to get on their feet from financial hardship, so presenting these facts through the art installation to them will be beneficial to help them grow financially in New Brunswick. I want the art piece to raise awareness to the city of New Brunswick in general as this area is popular for many people to pass through for corporate work as well.
My change agent would be Town Clock Community Development Corporation because they use the Housing First Model through creating the idea that housing is needed for survivors of domestic violence who have escaped their situation to rebuild their lives and create a financial foundation for themselves and future generations to build on. Another possible change agent could be Jewish Women International as they have the ability to educate survivors and enact policy that can protect women from being financially abused. Some public engagement opportunities I’d like to host through the development of the project would begin with reaching out to Town Clock Community Development Corporation to learn if there is a better way I can reach or help survivors of domestic violence who I am trying to reach through this project. I would like to engage with the Mexican Consulate to learn more about how they help Mexican immigrants. I would also like to host an event at the Ocean First Bank that recently opened in New Brunswick to educate the community about financial literacy.
Because art has a way of drawing people’s attention, this sculptural installation outside of the Mexican Consulate will draw people’s attention to the importance of financial literacy and create awareness for this issue.
