A traveling exhibit featuring photos and stories of Americans living in poverty is now on display in Iowa. Michael Nye of San Antonio, Texas created the exhibit which features black and white photos of the homeless and others living in hunger. He combined each individual’s picture with an audio recording.
“I ended up spending four-and-a-half years traveling around the country, meeting people, recording their stories and making images,” Nye told Radio Iowa. “I think the only goal I has was telling the truth. I had no agenda.” The exhibit, titled “About Hunger & Resilience,” is now located at the Food Bank of Iowa in Des Moines – as the organization is celebrating 30 years of serving needy Iowans.
Nye says compiling the pictures and audio changed his life. He hopes Iowans who visit the exhibit will be inspired and moved to donate money or time to those who’ve fallen on hard times. “Hunger is not political. It’s not about being a Democrat or Republican, at all,” Nye said. “I think everyone agrees that politics is about the way we treat each other. So, I think there’s a commonality with this complicated issue of hunger.”
Nye said he found the reasons Americans end up hungry can stem from mental illness, drug or alcohol addiction, job loss, childhood neglect or natural disasters – to name a few. “So, it’s not just people being lazy or people being stupid,” Nye said. The exhibit will be on display at the Food Bank of Iowa through August 22.
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