Photo credit: Orkideh Daroodi

Orkideh Daroodi is a gallerist of contemporary Iranian art. She founded O Gallery in Tehran in 2014 and has made it known as a hotbed for young and emerging talent, but also presents the work of leading established Iranian artists in all media in Iran and in international collaborations.

Can you tell our readers about your background?

Orkideh Daroodi, Founding Director of O Gallery, Tehran.

I was born in Tehran, Iran in 1982. I immigrated to the US with my family when I was thirteen years old.

I graduated from UC Davis California in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature.

As an undergraduate, I worked at a veterinary hospital; a job I continued after graduation due to my passion for animals, especially dogs.

After returning to Iran, I started working at Assar Art Gallery in Tehran for about four years, where my appreciation for art, especially contemporary Iranian art, grew significantly.

In 2014, I founded O Gallery. In the nearly ten years since its inception, the gallery has become a leading voice with a dynamic schedule of physical and online exhibitions.

O Gallery is known as an incubator for young and emerging talents, as well as presenting the works of leading established artists in all media from Tehran and other cities in Iran to the primary market, both locally and internationally.

I have also translated the books "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Gallerists but Were Afraid to Ask" and "Monir- Works on Paper" into Farsi, both published by Nazar Art Publication.

What inspired you to start your business?

When I worked at Assar, they worked with a limited roster of artists and most artist inquiries had to be ignored because there was not much room to take on new artists or work a lot with younger/ emerging artists. When I left Assar, I wanted to have a place that was more open to experimental, younger artists. And that's what I created. Since O opened, we have done more than 50 solo shows that were the artist's first solo. And it wasn't easy, financially it's hard to show unknown artists, but I'm sure that even if I could go back, I would have done the same thing.

Where is your business based?

O Gallery is located in central Tehran. 

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?
After I left Assar, I went back to the U.S. for about six months. I thought maybe it was time to go back, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized I wanted to do something in my home country and for my own people.

There were a lot of new galleries opening, but they all had different approaches and most wanted to work with more established artists. 

So during the six months I was back in the States, I traveled a lot.  I visited a lot of galleries and interned at a gallery in Chelsea, New York for two months. 

Upon my return, I started talking to the artists I knew from before for artist recommendations and started making studio visits in different cities in Iran while looking for a venue. 

I eventually found this three story building in central Tehran that I fell absolutely in love with. The building was a mess, however, and it took us almost four months to renovate but it turned out to be a really nice exhibition space.
From then on, I continued to do studio visits to build our roster of artists and a program that I thought would distinguish the gallery from what was already existing. 

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?

I would say word of mouth and social media. We've also been able to have long-term relationships with most of the artists we've worked with, and that's definitely been a plus.

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

I'd say financial challenges have been the hardest to overcome.  Of course we've had a difficult artist here and there, but those are the challenges I enjoy... financial challenges are another story.  Being a young gallery working with 90% young artists is difficult because a lot of collectors don't buy from first time artists; they want to wait until at least the second show (in most cases) and with no funding or support from any entities, you're pretty much on your own.  So whatever money we made over the years, I put right back into the business to cover expenses.

After 3 years, I had to give up our dream location and find a new one.  I was lucky enough to find a much better space, but the cost of major renovations again in the fourth year with the rising price of rent has been difficult because we have not been able to do some of the projects we wanted to do.

How do you stay focused?

By reminding myself of why I got into this business in the first place.  It was to support young artists and to do shows that I thought were important to do but not always financially feasible.  Basically, money has never been the priority, but at the end of the day, this is a business and we need to make money to be sustainable, so keeping that balance keeps me focused most of the time.

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

By having a strong program, being focused on my own dreams and not thinking much about what everyone else is doing.

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?

I'd say perseverance. For example, one of the focuses of the gallery is works on paper.  Paper wasn't very popular when I started the gallery, and the shows with works on paper didn't do so well in terms of sales in the early years, but over the years that has changed, and I'm happy to say that I think my gallery has played a very important role in making works on paper collectible and as valuable as other media.

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

Trying to control the overheads.  Financial worries can consume a lot of energy and keep you away from staying focused on things that you want to do.  

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?

There is an app that I discovered a few months back, it’s called Co-Star, it’s pretty fun.  But I also spend a good amount of time on instagram for work.
I have many many favorite books, one of the old timers is The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer but the most recent book I read which I enjoyed a lot too was The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.

It’s not my favorite per se but I use notes a lot on my phone. I also buy myself a Moleskine calendar every year.  I think I'd be totally lost without it.  I like the old-fashioned feeling of taking notes in a notebook as well and I like to keep physical archives.  I sometimes go back and leaf through old calendars to see my notes, my meetings and so on … It keeps me on my toes and I like it. 

Who is your business role model? Why?

I can’t say a role model for certain but Maria Goodman, Barbara Gladstone and Peggy Guggenheim all have inspirational attributes that I look up to.

How do you balance work and life?

Now that’s a difficult question. I still haven’t been able to do that but I’ve gotten much better at it post covid.

What’s your favorite way to decompress?

Taking a day off, reading and watching TV series.  To be honest though, it has been more of watching than reading lately.  Something else I am working on.

What do you have planned for the next six months?

I have planned out our exhibitions for the next six months but I will continue to do studio visits to find new talent while continuing to promote the work of our represented artists. I would also like to take a trip to a place I haven’t been yet.

How can our readers connect with you?

See our work at https://ogallery.net/. Email is the best way to get in contact with me: Orkideh@ogallery.net.