Meet The Nominators

Amal Allana is an Indian theatre director, scenic designer and costume designer and she was the Chairperson of National School of Drama, India's premier institute of Theatre training. She also runs the Dramatic Art and Design Academy (DADA), New Delhi, with her husband Nissar Allana, which they co-founded in 2000. As a theatre director, she has directed over 55 plays in Hindi, including notable plays like, Aadhe Adhure, Khamosh, Adalat Jari, 'Die Panne' , Ashadh Ka Ek Din, Mahabhoj Tughlaq and Hayavadana many of which are known to have set trends in Indian theatre.

Anu Menda is a pioneer, innovator, and a change-maker. RMZ Foundation the not-for-profit organization founded by her contributes to the socio-economic development and upliftment of the communities, which it serves and operates in. She has been instrumental in aggregating partnerships with business, government and philanthropic communities. At the same time, she has creatively explored mechanisms whereby the Foundation can use its influence to engage the private and the public sectors to achieve sustainable impetus even after initial grant-making is withdrawn.

I have a business of coal and coke in Gujarat and have been collecting art across various mediums for the past 17 years. The collection is strong on certain aspects of life and issues that matter to me most without any geographical boundaries, we try and collect across mediums, nations and fluidly to let this be fun and hope to share it with people as much as possible and make our lives meaningful by living around these artworks.

Carishma Mehta grew up in New York City and now lives in New Delhi. She is the founder of The Green Bean Farm - a small scale farm that specialised in growing seasonal vegetables and citrus with love and without the use of harmful chemicals and pesticides.

Jaya Jaitly graduated from Smith College, USA. She has an intimate knowledge of the craft traditions of the country having worked in the field for over 40 years. She is considered a leader and expert in this field. She founded an association of crafts people called the Dastkari Haat Samiti, which enables traditional workers to gain confidence in the marketplace through many innovative strategies. She regularly guides crafts people in design, organization and marketing all over India and organizes major exhibitions promoting India’s arts, crafts and culture in India and abroad in which craftspeople are an intrinsic part. She is the creator of the concept of Dilli Haat and saw to its establishment in Delhi.

Jyotindra Jain is an Indian art and cultural historian and museologist. A scholar on folk and ritual arts of India, he was the Director of the National Crafts Museum, New Delhi, Member Secretary and Professor (Cultural Archives), at Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), New Delhi, and also Professor at the School of Arts and Aesthetics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. He has published a number of books on Indian folk art, including, Ganga Devi: Tradition and Expression in Mithila Painting.

Kapil Chopra is the President of The Oberoi Group and is responsible for all The Oberoi and Trident Hotels in India. In 2010, he established Bestcollegeart.com, an online art gallery, to give young artists an online marketplace to put up their work and sell directly to buyers. He is also the publisher of a bright and hip online art and lifestyle magazine and TV channel, The Wall. Art District XIII, is his most recent endeveour in Delhi's Lado Sarai. “At Art District XIII, it was a culmination of our passion for art as we strive to balance the gallerist, the artist and the collectors so that no one got shortchanged”, said Mr Chopra.

Kiran Nadar is a trustee of the Shiv Nadar Foundation and Chairperson, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art. She is also an acclaimed international bridge player, a philanthropist and an avid art collector. She is a key driver behind demystifying art to the common man through the KNMA, a philanthropic initiative in art. Kiran lives in Delhi, India with her husband Shiv Nadar, Founder, HCL and Chairman, Shiv Nadar Foundation. She has been acknowledged as a ‘hero of philanthropy’ by Forbes Asia Magazine in 2010 for launching India’s first philanthropic private museum.

Laila Tyabji is Chairperson and founder member of Dastkar, an NGO working with Crafts and Craftspeople all over India. Tyabji’s work with artisans over the last 30 years includes the Chikan workers of SEWA Lucknow, Lambani tribals in Karnataka, Ari, mirror-work and Kantha craftswomen in Kashmir, Kutch and Bengal. Previous to Dastkar, Laila studied art in Baroda and Japan, and worked as a freelance designer in textiles, graphics, interiors and the theatre. She was awarded the Padma Shri for her work in craft and development in 2012, and is also the recipient of the Aid To Artisans, New York, and the NIFT Lifetime Achievement Award among others.

Lillete Dubey is a well known film, television and stage actress as well as a theatre director. She has been the artistic director of her own Theatre Company, The Primetime Theatre Company, for over 25 years and her theatrical work has travelled the globe. Over the span of nearly 40 years, Lillete has played the lead in over 60 theatre productions ranging from Shakespeare, Greek Tragedy, Brecht, Musical Comedies, to Contemporary Drama and Absurd Theatre.

Maharaj Krishna Raina, popularly known as M.K. Raina, is one of India's best-known theatre actors and directors. M. K. Raina graduated from National School of Drama in 1970 with Best Actor award. Since 1972, he has been freelance theater worker and film person, working all over India in many languages and with many traditional forms.

His work in the field of Image Consultancy is considered state-of-the-art and he numbers many clients in this country as well as overseas in his portfolio. His work regularly appears in national newspapers and magazines, and he appeared on the cover of India Today as one of India's most influential Style Entrepreneurs. He is a consultant in the field of garment design as well, and he often designs specialized collections for various clients. His Public Relations network is considered to be one of the best in this country.

Preeti Ambani is the president of Harmony Foundation. The foundation provides a platform for emerging artists in the subcontinent, creates infrastructure for budding artists and sculptors, and builds bridges of understanding with cultures and artistic perspectives across regions and continents.

A prominent business woman and one of the most revered personalities in the hospitality industry, Priya Paul, is the creative powerhouse behind country's leading collection of contemporary luxury boutique hotels – The Park. She has been working in the industry for more than 25 years and has worked hard to create experiences that are different, extraordinary and inexplicable. She has been awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour, for her services to Trade & Industry by the President of India. For the fifth consecutive year, Fortune India magazine in 2015 listed Priya Paul as one of the ‘50 Most Powerful Business Women in India’.

Rajeeb Samdani is the Co-Founder and a Trustee of the Samdani Art Foundation and is the Managing Director of Golden Harvest Group, one of the leading diversified conglomerates in Bangladesh. Rajeeb is an ardent collector of contemporary art and began collecting with his wife Nadia Samdani, with whom he founded the Samdani Art Foundation in 2011. Mr. Samdani is the Co-Chair and a founding committee member of Tate’s South Asian Acquisitions Committee, a member of Tate's International Council, Art Dubai’s Advisory Council, and Alserkal Avenue’s Programming Committee. Most recently, he has been named as one of the founding members of Harvard University’s, South Asia Institute Art Council, and awarded the Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award 2017.

Sohail Hashmi, founding trustee of SAHMAT, is a writer, documentary film maker and history buff. He conducts heritage walks in Delhi, writes on Delhi and on issues connected with Culture, education and communalism.

Sriram Aylur is an internationally acclaimed chef and prominent advocate of the best of Indian cuisine in the international arena. For over 16 years, he has been associated with London restaurant Quilon, the only Southern Indian restaurant in the world to have a Michelin star rating. The Gateway Hotel in Bangalore where he created the multi-award-winning restaurant Karavalli, often featured among the World's Best Restaurants. He has consistently used the best techniques and ingredients to cater to the real need of his clients, without comprising on the foundation of Indian cuisine. He now also directs Operations at Bombay Brasserie, another acclaimed London based restaurant as well.

Sunil began his career in India’s foremost advertising agencies. During his tenure as Creative Director at O&M, Sunil created and launched several major marketing initiatives, including Incredible India. As Executive Creative Director of W+K India, Sunil helped build some of India’s strongest and best-loved brands. In September 2015, Sunil moved to a Directorial role at W+K in order to start a new venture – Motherland JV. Further, Sunil is a Founder Trustee of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, a festival of international contemporary art, which made its debut in 2012-13 in Kochi, Kerala.

Vikram Goyal is one of India's leading product and interior designers and the creative head behind internationally-renowned design atelier Viya Home. He grew up in New Delhi; studied development economics at Princeton University. In 2001, he co-founded Kama Ayurveda, the global wellness brand, and two years later, Viya Home. Vikram is the recipient of multiple AD50 awards (conferred on the country's best in architecture and design) and the Elle Decor Designer of the Year Award and has been recognized for his efforts at celebrating “Made in India” and Indian craftsmanship and design, globally.

Yamini was appointed as Specialist and Head of South Asian Modern and Contemporary Art at Christie’s in June 2005. Yamini joined Sotheby’s in 2012 after a 14-year career at Christie’s where she helped to establish the Indian art department in New York in 1998. As the prior Head of South Asian Modern and Contemporary Art sales at Christie’s, she has overseen the consignments and sales of numerous record works as well as the highest sale totals ever to be achieved in the field (September 2006, $17.8 million; June 2010, £12.5 million). She has also expanded the number of contemporary artists included into auctions working with the region’s best known art galleries, collectors and curators. She comes with a wealth of experience bringing access and knowledge of the market to the field.