There’s a new work of art at the corner of Martin Luther King Drive and Lowe Street, but it might not look like what you’d expect.
An electrical box that sits at the intersection has become the canvas for a colorful painting honoring immigrants who stand at the same corner each morning, waiting for work.
“The backside of (the box) is telling the story of (the day laborers) working as landscapers, pretty much day to day life for them,” Duvian Montoya, the artist, said. “The front side is sort of them uniting after work, making sancocho, which is a classic Spanish dish that almost every country has their own version of, where it’s cooked in a large pot and it’s meat, potatoes ... like a big stew, and it’s on open fire and everybody chips in stirring the pot, drinking beers or drinking whatever and having a good time.
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“So it’s sort of a – hopefully it gives them a little bit of a reminder of home and hopefully they’re able to do that here as well.”
Montoya has painted several stationary items in Norwalk. He painted the South Norwalk Train Station that was completed last year, as well as another box in front of St. Mary Church at West Avenue and Chapel Street, and he is currently working on another mural on Wall Street as part of the Norwalk 2.0 revitalization project.
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Montoya, a 37-year-old Easton resident who was born and raised in Norwalk, said he still considers Norwalk his home.
His work is contracted by the city of Norwalk: he received $500 for the box at Martin Luther King Drive and Lowe Street, which took him about two days of work, he said.
“These boxes, I try to get it done within two days,” Montoya said.
Montoya added, though, that sometimes it’s a waiting game until he can get started painting.
“I was contracted two years ago to do this, but I wanted this box specifically,” Montoya said. “It took (Norwalk) a while to get ownership of this box because … the electrical company still had ownership so they asked me to wait, and here I am doing it now.”
He wanted the particular box because he already had an idea of what he wanted to paint.
“(I) decided to do this box in particular because of the place where it’s at with the immigrants, the day laborers that stand here on the corner waiting to be picked up,” Montoya said. “I wanted to pay a little homage to them and all the work they do.”Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
