Arnold van Bruggen

Photographer Rob Hornstra and writer Arnold van Bruggen began working together in 2007 to tell the story of Sochi, Russia, site of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. Practicing "slow journalism," they returned repeatedly to the region, establishing a solid engagement with this small yet incredibly complicated place before it found itself in the glare of international media attention. Hornstra's approach combines documentary storytelling with contemporary portraiture, found photography and other elements collected over the course of their travels. The Sochi Project was first released via installments in book form and online, each focusing on a particular facet of the story. It was then published in 2014 as a hardcover volume bringing together the highlights and key elements of this effort. The Sochi Project is now available in a smaller, more affordably priced edition.

Rob Hornstra and Arnold Van Bruggen have been working together since 2009 to tell the story of Sochi, Russia--site of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. They have returned repeatedly to this region as committed practitioners of “slow journalism,” establishing a solid foundation of research on and engagement with this small yet incredibly complicated place before it finds itself in the glare of international media attention. As Van Bruggen writes, “Never before have the Olympic Games been held in a region that contrasts more strongly with the glamour of the event than Sochi.” Hornstra’s approach combines documentary storytelling with contemporary portraiture, found photographs and other visual elements collected during their travels. Since the beginning of the authors’ collaboration, The Sochi Project has been released via installments in book form and online. The highlights are brought together for the first time in this volume.