Next month, join esteemed photographers and Untapped Cities contributors James and Karla Murray for free photography and oral history workshops in partnership with the Neighborhood Preservation Center (232 East 11th Street). Entitled Capturing the Faces and Voices of Manhattan’s Neighborhood Storefronts, the workshops will take place on April 16th and 23rd, and will highlight the impact and cultural significance of locally owned and operated businesses.

Since the 1990s, the Murrays have explored the streets of New York and noticed that certain blocks have dramatically changed over the years. In their bestselling series Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York and Store Front II – A History Preserved: The Disappearing Face of New York, they document the often overlooked mom-and-pop shops, bodegas, and corner stores that add to the vitality of the city, as well as the effects of urbanization and modernization that have often caused these family-operated businesses to disappear.

As an extension of their books, the workshops will document the cultural significance of these businesses, utilizing photography as a tool for public awareness and advocacy. Not only will visitors have a chance to participate in these immersive photo workshops, but they will also learn how to record oral histories with shop owners.

Image courtesy James and Karla Murray

Following the classes, participants will have their work displayed from August 1st to October 1st, 2018 at The Little Underground Gallery at the Jefferson Market Library in Greenwich Village. The sessions are free, but advanced registration is required via Eventbrite.

Next, check out James and Karla Murray’s photos of Ellis Island’s Abandoned Hospital Complex and the Life-Size Tribute to Lost Mom-and-Pop Shops Coming to Seward Park.