Photographer / Visual storyteller
KvK 30182322 / VAT NL001654162B78
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Education
- 2004
- Graduated with honours from the Academy of Arts Utrecht, Photographic Design.
- 1998
- Graduated from the University for Professional Education Utrecht, Social and Legal Services.
Biography

Rob Hornstra, born in 1975 in the Netherlands, is a Dutch photographer of predominantly long-term documentary projects, both at home and around the world. He has published several books of solo work, produced documentary series for a variety of international magazines, and taken part in numerous solo and group exhibitions in the Netherlands and abroad. In 2009, Hornstra and writer/filmmaker Arnold van Bruggen started The Sochi Project, culminating in the retrospective book An Atlas of War and Tourism in the Caucasus and an exhibition that toured Europe, America, India and Canada. He is the founder and former artistic director of FOTODOK – Space for Documentary Photography. Four times per year he runs a popular live talkshow about photo books in his home town Utrecht.
Publications
- 2021
- The Europeans - The Naval Base (Self-published)
- 2020
- The Europeans - The Former Capital (Self-published)
- 2017
- Man Next Door (Self-published)
- 2015
- An Atlas of War and Tourism in the Caucasus (Aperture, New York)
- 2013
- An Atlas of War and Tourism in the Caucasus (Aperture, New York)
- The Secret History of Khava Gaisanova (Self-published)
- 2012
- KIEV (Self-published)
- Life Here is Serious (Self-published)
- 2011
- Sochi Singers (Self-published)
- Safety First (Self-published)
- 2010
- One Day (Kehrer Verlag)
- Empty land, Promised land, Forbidden land (Self-published)
- On the Other Side of the Mountains (Self-published)
- 2009
- Sanatorium (Self-published)
- 101 Billionaires - Crisis Edition (Self-published)
- 2008
- 101 Billionaires (Self-published)
- 2006
- Roots of the Rúntur (Self-published)
- 2004
- Communism & Cowgirls (Self-published)
Awards
- 2021
- Zilveren Camera Storytelling Award
- 2014
- Dutch Doc Award
- Zilveren Camera Storytelling Award
- 2012
- Sony World Photography Award
- World Press Photo Award
- 2011
- Magnum Expression Award
- Zilveren Camera Storytelling Award
- 2010
- New York Photo Book Award
- 2007
- GD4ART International Competition
- 2004
- Dutch Photo Academy Award
Exhibitions
- 2020
- Breda Photo
- Kaunas Gallery (solo)
- 2018
- Centraal Museum, Utrecht (solo)
- 2017
- Rijksmuseum Twenthe, Enschede
- FotoForum, Bolzano (solo)
- 2016
- Cech Art Space, Minsk (solo)
- EFTI, Madrid (solo)
- National M.K.Ciurlionis Museum, Kaunas (solo)
- 2015
- Indira Ghandi National Art Gallery, New Delhi (festival)
- Klovićevi Dvori Gallery, Zagreb (festival)
- CFD, Barcelona (solo)
- 2014
- Center for Contemporary Art, Warsaw (solo)
- Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (group)
- Aperture Gallery, New York (solo)
- Contact Gallery, Toronto (solo)
- Noorderlicht Galerie, Groningen (solo)
- DePaul Art Museum, Chicago (solo)
- Fotohof, Salzburg (solo)
- 2013
- Huis Marseille, Amsterdam (solo)
- FoMu, Antwerp (solo)
- 2012
- Foto8, London (UK)
- 2011
- Third Floor Gallery, Cardiff (UK)
- Flatland Gallery, Utrecht
- Freelens Gallery, Hamburg (Germany)
- SiFest Savignano (Italy)
Workshops Do-It-Yourself Storytelling
- 2019
- Warsaw, Poland
- 2018
- Valencia, Utrecht
- 2017
- Bolzano, Luxembourg, Bristol
- 2016
- Minsk
- 2015
- New Delhi, Utrecht, Zagreb, Barcelona
- 2014
- Brighton, Cortona, Dublin, New York, Vienna
- 2013
- London, Toronto