Looking at life through prism of photobooks

Chandigarh, August 9

A second-year law student from Dehradun is on a mission to create new audiences for art by travelling on his jeep with a personal library of photobooks, exhibiting the collection to the people who are not exposed to such art forms. The exhibition called “The Kitab” is India’s first photobook festival showcasing a collection of over 400 photobooks from 70 countries. Themes of the books are streets, fashion, travel, death, revolutions, poverty and conflicts.

The first edition was held in March in Dehradun at eight venues, including the district jail, slums and schools for underprivileged.

Manik Katyal, founder of The Kitab, said: “Art is elitist in nature. I want to democratise it by exhibiting these photobooks and putting forward a narrative for people who have never entered a fancy gallery or a museum.”

“There is no selling aspect to this. I am not selling a book. This is about creating a space for marginalised sections so that they are exposed to the art,” he added. Next on itinerary for Manik are tier 2 cities like Jodhpur, Jaipur, Shimla and Bhopal. He said the art had commercialised and confined to limited spaces.“This festival is not about the number of people who attend to it. I have the luxury to decide my audiences,” he said. 

Manik was against the idea of collaborating with private players for exhibitions, saying: “I do not want to be limited by someone other’s  propaganda. There are strings attached to such initiatives.” — TNS