Book Talk: Great Bars of New York City

JAMES T. AND KARLA L. MURRAY, FEATURED WRITERS

James T. and Karla L. Murray are husband-and-wife architectural and interior photographers and videographers based in New York City. Since 1997, they have focused their lens on the streetscape through portraits of store fronts and shop owners, seeking to capture the spirit, energy, and cultural diversity of individual neighborhoods through their work.

James and Karla’s critically acclaimed books include Great Bars of New York City: 30 of Manhattan’s Favorite Storied Drinking Establishments, Store Front NYC: Photographs of the City’s Independent Shops, Past and Present, Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York, New York Nights, Store Front II:A History Preserved, and Broken Windows: Graffiti NYC. Their work has been widely exhibited around the world, including in solo exhibitions at the Brooklyn Historical Society, Clic Gallery, and the Storefront Project Gallery in New York City, and Fotogalerie im Blauen Haus in Munich, as well as group shows at the New-York Historical Society and the Museum of Neon Art in Glendale, California. Their photographs are included in the permanent collections of major institutions including the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage in Washington, DC, the New York Public Library, and NYU Langone Medical Center.

Their photography has appeared in numerous publications including the New York Times, the London Telegraph, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, New York magazine, and the New Yorker. James and Karla were awarded the 2015 Regina Kellerman Award by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP) in recognition of their significant contribution to the quality of life in Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo. In 2017–2020, they were awarded Creative Engagement Manhattan Arts Grants by the New York State Council on the Arts and administered by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. They received the prestigious Art in the Parks: UNIQLO Park Expressions Grant in 2018 for their public art installation, Mom-and-Pops of the L.E.S.

James and Karla live in the East Village of Manhattan with their rescue dog, Hudson. Their work can be viewed at jamesandkarlamurray.com, and on their Instagram and YouTube accounts @jamesandkarla.

ALI GITLOW, MODERATOR

Ali Gitlow is Senior Commissioning Editor at Prestel Publishing, where she works on books focused on pop culture, art, design, fashion, photography, and more. Her projects have covered topics ranging from nightclub design, nail art, and drag queen-themed cocktails to Japanese kawaii culture, British subcultural style, and cannabis. She’s also the author of Tooth Gem Style. She lives in Brooklyn.

Event Venue

Housing Works Bookstore Cafe, 126 Crosby Street, New York, United States