MANIK KATYAL | Cultural Entrepreneur | Criminal Lawyer

BORN IN 1989, DEHRADUN (INDIA), MANIK KATYAL HOLDS A DEGREE IN COMMERCE ALONG WITH BACHELORS IN LAW & IS PURSUING A DEGREE IN MASTERS IN CRIMINOLOGY.

KATYAL IS A CULTURAL ENTREPRENEUR WHO AT THE AGE OF 21, FOUNDED EMAHO MAGAZINE IN THE YEAR 2011, WHICH IS A DESTINATION FOR IN-DEPTH FEATURES FOREGROUND TODAY’S MOST INNOVATIVE PRACTITIONERS ACROSS PHOTOGRAPHY AND ART WORLD. KATYAL WAS NOMINATED FOR THE ‘CREATIVE ENTREPRENEUR OF 2012’ AWARD BY THE BRITISH COUNCIL INDIA.

IN HIS DECADE OLD CAREER, KATYAL HAS BEEN FEATURED MORE THAN 130 TIMES IN WORLD’S TOP PUBLICATIONS LIKE TIME, VOGUE ITALIA, LE MONDE, THE HINDU, BRITISH JOURNAL OF PHOTOGRAPHY AND MANY MORE. AFTER HAVING WORKED IN 27 COUNTRIES, KATYAL SET UP EMAHO FOUNDATION IN 2015 TO IDENTITY AND HIGHLIGHT MEANINGFUL PHOTOGRAPHY FROM ASIA. THE FOUNDATION IS RELENTLESSLY FORMULATING PROGRAMMES AND PLATFORMS FOR NEW AND ESTABLISHED PHOTOGRAPHERS FROM ALL OVER. KATYAL ALSO CO-FOUNDED ‘FOTOPAPER’ AND ‘JUST ANOTHER PHOTO FESTIVAL.

KATYAL HAS BEEN LEADING EDITORIAL PROJECTS FOR YEARS, DISCOVERING YOUNG TALENT AND HAS CURATED MANY MULTIMEDIA PROJECTS INCLUDING ‘KASHMIR’ IN THAILAND’, ‘LOK SABHA’ IN ITALY AND AN EXHIBITION ON EMERGING LATIN AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHERS AT GUIZHOU PHOTOGRAPHY FESTIVAL IN CHINA. KATYAL AS A GUEST CURATOR FOR THE THE THIRD EDITION OF THE FINNISH MAGAZINE ‘RAW VIEW’, PRESENTED SOME OF THE BEST EMERGING PHOTOGRAPHERS OF THE TIME LIKE DAISUKE YOKOTA, XIAOIAO XU, SARKER PROTICK AND PRASIIT STHAPIT.

KATYAL WAS INVITED BY FABRICA: A BENETTON GROUP’S COMMUNICATION RESEARCH CENTRE, TO GIVE A TALK AND TEACH A PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP IN TREVISO, ITALY ALONGSIDE SOME OF THE MOST RESPECTED CURATORS LIKE CHRISTIAN CAUJOLLE, ERIK KESSELS, JAMES WELLFORD, DEWI LEWIS AND MANY OTHERS.

IN THE YEAR 2017, KATYAL ALSO FOUNDED ‘THE KITAB’ – INDIA’S FIRST INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY FESTIVAL, WHICH IS PASSIONATE ABOUT BRINGING EXPERIMENTAL PHOTOGRAPHY AND INNOVATIVE BOOK-MAKING PRACTISES TO NEW AUDIENCES IN INDIA.

KATYAL HAS BEEN A NOMINATOR FOR WORLD’S SOME OF THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS INCLUDING DEUTCHE BORSE PHOTOGRAPHY FOUNDATION, BRITISH JOURNAL OF PHOTOGRAPHY, EUROPEAN PHOTOGRAPHY AND PARATAY EM FOCO.

THE CAPITALYST IS A PREMIUM EDITORIAL PLATFORM AT THE INTERSECTION OF CULTURE, COMMERCE AND AMBITION. CO-FOUNDED BY MANIK KATYAL, IT PROFILES THE ENTREPRENEURS, INVESTORS, DESIGNERS, ARTISTS AND TASTEMAKERS WHO ARE QUIETLY RESHAPING INDUSTRIES AND REDEFINING WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY.

THROUGH LONG-FORM INTERVIEWS AND DEEPLY REPORTED STORIES, THE CAPITALYST GOES BEYOND THE HEADLINE TO EXPLORE THE THINKING, THE TURNING POINTS AND THE PHILOSOPHY BEHIND THE PEOPLE BUILDING THINGS THAT MATTER. THE CONVERSATIONS RANGE FROM HERITAGE CRAFT HOUSES AND LUXURY FASHION FOUNDERS TO SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS, HOSPITALITY VISIONARIES AND TECHNOLOGY BUILDERS, UNITED BY ONE COMMON THREAD: A CONVICTION THAT WHAT YOU BUILD AND HOW YOU BUILD IT ARE INSEPARABLE.