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Blue Sky Days in the Pulitzer Center’s 20/20 at the Photoville Festival
Blue Sky Days
in the 20/20 Pulitzer Center group exhibition
at the Photoville festival
16 – 30 May, 2026
Brooklyn Bridge Park
1 Water St
Brooklyn, NY 11201
USA
About the exhibition
For 20 years, the Pulitzer Center has supported hundreds of photographers spanning all continents and photographic approaches. This exhibition selects the best of those images that still hold relevance today. Individually, the images capture singular moments in time. Together, they form a visual archive of a changing world and remind us that human-centered imagery does more than record events: It creates connection, deepens understanding, and continues to resonate long after the cameras are put away.
About Blue Sky Days
In October 2012, a drone strike in northeast Pakistan killed a 67-year-old woman picking okra outside her house. At a briefing held in 2013 in Washington, DC, the woman’s 13-year-old grandson, Zubair Rehman, spoke to a group of five lawmakers. “I no longer love blue skies,” said Rehman, who was injured by shrapnel in the attack. “In fact, I now prefer gray skies. The drones do not fly when the skies are gray.”
With my camera attached to a small drone, I travelled across America to photograph the very sorts of gatherings that have become habitual targets for foreign air strikes—weddings, funerals, groups of people praying or exercising. I also flew my camera over settings in which drones are used to less lethal effect, such as prisons, oil fields, and the U.S.-Mexico border. The images captured from the drone’s perspective engage with the changing nature of surveillance, personal privacy, and war.
Trente-six vues de Notre-Dame exhibition at the Photaumnales festival in Beauvais
Trente-six vues de Notre-Dame
at the Photaumnales festival
Open from 20 September 20 to 31 December 2025
La cathédrale de Beauvais
8 Rue Philippe de Beaumanoir
60000 Beauvais
France
About Thirty-Six Views of Notre Dame
Icon, architectural feat, religious sanctuary, subject and muse, Notre-Dame de Paris embodies multiple meanings. Since the invention of photography in 1839, photographers have continued to photograph it, until the dramatic fire of April 15, 2019. Tomas Van Houtryve began photographing Notre-Dame cathedral in 2009, first informally, then as part of a commission to follow the restoration work after the fire of 2019. Choosing to work with a 19th century wooden camera and the wet collodion process, Van Houtryve seeks parallels with the previous restoration of Notre-Dame in the mid-19th century, carried out by the architect Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc. Inspired by the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji by Katsushika Hokusai, Van Houtryve revisits the Parisian icon in unique and unexpected situations. Using a range of old and new techniques, he questions and reinterprets the visual representation of the Paris monument.
Thirty-Six Views of Notre Dame, solo exhibition at the National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo
Thirty-Six Views of Notre Dame, solo exhibition
Open from September 18, 2025
National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Zelenih beretki 8
Sarajevo 71000
Bosnia & Herzegovina
In partnership with The VII Foundation, the solo show presents the work of photographer Tomas van Houtryve, based on his book Thirty-Six Views of Notre Dame (Radius Books, 2024). For more than a decade, van Houtryve photographed the Notre Dame Cathedral of Paris, initially as a part of everyday city life and subsequently as a witness to its near-destruction and subsequent rebirth after the blaze in April 2019. The show weaves together the story of the fire, documenting the building’s original, damaged, and rebuilt state.
From a garret window overlooking the cathedral to the tip of a crane above the reconstruction site, van Houtryve’s lens captured key moments of the rebuilding. He worked with both modern tools, including drone cameras, and historic techniques, including a 19th-century wooden camera, revealing the Paris icon in a visual language both old and new.
Notre Dame is not merely a church. For over 800 years, it has been the epicenter of French life, accommodating coronations, revolutions, wars, and tens of millions of tourists from around the world. It has been ravaged, looted, rebuilt, and redefined time and again. This exhibition offers the chance to stand and consider what places like Notre Dame are to us, how they connect generations, and why it’s worth saving them, not just the stone and glass but also the stories that we continue to tell.
Thirty-Six Views of Notre Dame is a reflection on the human desire to build with care and intention for future generations. In these images, van Houtryve invites us to not only look at a building but also to examine the manner in which history is present and active through the spaces that we choose to save.
The exhibition is organized by The VII Foundation in collaboration with the French Institute in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the French Embassy and supported by UNESCO, the European Union, and the Government of Switzerland.
In memory of Paul Lowe – fundraising challenge ride in Bosnia
In October 2024, my friend, mentor, and colleague, Dr. Paul Lowe, was killed in Los Angeles. I will be riding 360 km by bicycle through Bosnia in September to raise money in his name. Paul was an award-winning photojournalist, educator, and coach who helped shape a global community of visual storytellers. From Sarajevo to Kigali, from Gaza to Grozny, Paul… read more.
TV interviews about photographing Notre Dame on France 24, CNN, TV5 Monde and ABC
Linked to the grand re-opening of the Notre Dame cathedral of Paris, I was invited for multiple television interviews to speak about photographing the reconstruction over four years and my new book, 36 Views of Notre Dame. The appearance included: • One-on-one English interview on France 24 with Stuart Norval (9m12s) • One-on-one English interview on CNN (4m51s)… read more.
Thirty-Six Views of Notre Dame exhibition, artist talk and book launch in Paris
Exhibition extended through 8 February 2025
Opening reception Thursday, 31 October from 6pm to 8pm
Galerie Miranda
21 rue du Château d’Eau
75010 Paris
France
Tel: +33 1 40 38 36 53
Gallery hours
Tuesday – Friday: 2 – 7pm
Saturday: noon – 7pm
Tomas Van Houtryve + Ellen Carey – Black and white, topographies
The duo exhibition features black-and-white prints by Tomas Van Houtryve of the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, from his series Thirty-Six Views of Notre Dame. Van Houtryve’s documentary photographs are made with different techniques, both contemporary and 19th century, and are presented in dialogue with rare black-and-white works by Ellen Carey (1952, American) from her early series of darkroom experiments Dings & Shadows and Photogenic Drawing. Her abstract, sculptural silver gelatin photograms echo with van Houtryve’s contemporary practice with historical photographic processes.
More events:
Book signing at Paris Photo
Saturday, 9 Nov. at 2pm
Radius Books booth
Grand Palais
Paris, 75008
Artist Talk
Thursday 21 Nov. at 7pm
Columbia Global Centre – Paris
Reid Hall
4 Rue de Chevreuse
75006 Paris, France
About Thirty-Six Views of Notre Dame
Icon, architectural feat, religious sanctuary, subject and muse, Notre-Dame de Paris embodies multiple meanings. Since the invention of photography in 1839, photographers have continued to photograph it, until the dramatic fire of April 15, 2019. Tomas Van Houtryve began photographing Notre-Dame cathedral in 2009, first informally, then as part of a commission to follow the restoration work after the fire of 2019. Choosing to work with a 19th century wooden camera and the wet collodion process, Van Houtryve seeks parallels with the previous restoration of Notre-Dame in the mid-19th century, carried out by the architect Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc. Inspired by the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji by Katsushika Hokusai, Van Houtryve revisits the Parisian icon in unique and unexpected situations. Using a range of old and new techniques, he questions and reinterprets the visual representation of the Paris monument.
“Tomas van Houtryve manages to portray the historical, architectural, spiritual, artistic and human greatness that Notre Dame represents.”
-Pauline Vermare, Thirty-Six Views of Notre Dame, Radius Books, 2024
Artist Talk in Paris at The Institute for Ideas and Imagination – Terrifying Sublime: Synthetic Alpine Landscapes
Artist talk, Terrifying Sublime: Synthetic Alpine Landscapes
Thursday, 3 October, 2023 at 19:00
Reid Hall
Columbia Global Centers
4 rue de Chevreuse
Paris, 75006
France
I will be presenting my work-in-progress, Terrifying Sublime: Synthetic Alpine Landscapes, at Columbia University’s Institute for Ideas and Imagination in Paris. The project explores the reversal of our power relationship with nature since the notion of the sublime became a prominent concept in art and philosophy. Using photography, video, and archival material, I am examining how an array of forces pitted against the natural world are altering iconic landscapes beyond the point of recognition. The project is primarily funded by an Explorer’s Grant from the National Geographic Society in partnership with The VII Foundation. Seats are limited and registration is required.
Publication: La renaissance de la Seine
National Geographic Magazine published my story about the Seine River in the August 2024 issue. Between 2022 and 2024, I traced the Seine River from the source to the Sea. Accompanying the photos in the magazine is the text by Mary Winston Nicklin. You can read an online excerpt of the article in French or English. … read more.
MONUMENTAL exhibition at Les Rencontres d’Arles
MONUMENTAL: The Dome of the Rock by Ziyah Gafić and Notre-Dame de Paris by Tomas van Houtryve, duo exhibition at Les Rencontres de la photographie, Arles.
July 1 to September 29, 2024
The VII Foundation
The Alexandra Boulat Campus
49 Quai de la Roquette
13200 Arles, France
Production & Curation: Yonola Viguerie / Gary Knight / James B. Wellford
MONUMENTAL is an exhibition that fosters discussions on faith, national identity, power politics, social cohesion, colonization, division, and political violence through the symbolism of two of the world’s most important and iconic religious buildings: The Dome of the Rock, in Jerusalem, and Notre-Dame de Paris.
Tomas van Houtryve and Ziyah Gafić had unprecedented access to these iconic religious structures between 2019 and 2023.
The Dome of the Rock was completed in 691 and is the world’s oldest surviving example of Islamic architecture. Today, it is a political lightning rod between Israel, the Palestinians, and the Muslim world.
Since its completion in 1260, Notre Dame has been the stage for grand political statements and expressions of divine-human authority. The cathedral has a presence in French cultural and political life that reaches far beyond faith and exceeds that of any other architectural structure in the country.
In parallel to the exhibition are the following talks:
• Talk with Tomas van Houtryve & Gary Knight
hosted by Leica Camera AG
Tuesday, July 2, 2024 17:00 – 18:00 CEST
Hotel Jules César Arles – MGallery
9 Boulevard des Lices
13200 Arles, France
• Symposium: Monumental Photography: Investigating Representations of Colonialism and Nationalism with Dr. David Campbell, Jonathan Long, Dr. Sary Zananiri, Ziyah Gafic & Tomas van Houtryve
Friday, July 5th, 2024, at 15:00 CET
The VII Foundation
The Alexandra Boulat Campus
49 Quai de la Roquette
13200 Arles, France