Vicky Roy’s life is an exemplary story of ‘rags to riches’ – from working as a rag picker in Delhi to becoming a globally renowned photographer. Vicky’s sessions are full of hope and motivation, that given the right opportunity we can all find our hidden talents and win the world.
Vicky’s chance rendezvous with photography occurred when the Salaam Baalak Trust, a Delhi-based NGO, conducted a photography workshop for street children. After running away from home, Vicky worked as a rag picker at the New Delhi Railway Station before being rehabilitated by the Salaam Baalak Trust.
He went on to study photography at the Triveni Kala Sangam and found a mentor in Anay Mann, the well-known portrait photographer. His first solo exhibition ‘Street Dreams’ – inspired by his time at the shelter – was held at the India Habitat Centre (New Delhi, India) with support from the British High Commission in 2007.
The subsequent year, he was selected by the US-based Maybach Foundation to photo document the reconstruction of the World Trade Center in New York. As part of the program, he undertook a course in documentary photography at the International Center for Photography in New York.
In 2016, Vicky was featured in the prestigious Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list. His recent solo show “This Scarred Land: New Mountainscape” was exhibited at Vadehra Art Gallery in New Delhi.
