In this exhibit featuring the commissioned work of the late photographer Tony Velez, the great diversity of the residents of the town of Norwalk, Connecticut, can be witnessed.

The community of Norwalk is characterized by its ability to absorb newcomers in far greater numbers than the surrounding towns. Inhabited for two centuries by “New England Yankees,” its homogeneity gave way to diversity, beginning in the 19th century as immigrants from Northern Europe made Norwalk their home.

In the 20th century, new arrivals, via the Great Migration from the Southern states to the North, contributed to Norwalk’s increasing diversification, along with new residents in later years from Europe and Latin America.