Join street photographer Erica Reade in celebrating her first book 'Beach Lovers,' published by Daylight books. Reade will discuss her 7-year documentation of couples at the beach, followed by a signing. A collection of prints from the series will be exhibited and available for purchase.

At a time in recent history when our connections have been tested from two years of separations and pandemic upheaval, Erica Reade's “Beach Lovers” photographs offer us a timely and timeless collection of photographs that speak to how important human connection is to our well-being and happiness. The photographs resonate well beyond the beach atmosphere of the image settings. The black and white photos capture love, intimacy and physical connections between couples at the beaches in New York, with a focus on the Rockaways, Fort Tilden and Coney Island. Expressions of love and sensuality are made visible in these nostalgic black and white photographs.

Reade has spent the last seven years photographing beach-goers, documenting loving gestures between couples. Some are tender, rubbing sunscreen on a partner's back; others lustful, a deep kiss in the water. They are a public display of affection between couples from diverse backgrounds, a claiming of public space for private communication and tenderness, against the backdrop of NYC’s uniquely gritty beaches.