We had the good fortune of connecting with Roya Khadjavi and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Roya, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I had worked in the fashion business for about 20 years before I took a break. My children were very young and My travel schedule took me away from home too often. I resigned as VP of sales and marketing for Yves saint Laurent ready to wear in North America and started volunteering works first on the board of my daughter’s school and later in art and education.I have served on many Museum committees promoting the art of Iran through exhibitions at the Guggenheim and Asia society. I co- funded the Institute of International education’s Iran Opportunities Fund and served as the co-president of New York Based Non Profit Art in General. For my efforts in advancing ,supporting and promoting international education, I have been honored with the Women’s Global Leadership Award by the Institute of International education and an Order of Academic Palms (Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Academiques) by the French Minister of education. As a patron of the arts and a collector, It seemed natural to me to reinvent myself in this field. I travelled to Iran after 30 years and there I found a vibrant art scene and decided to dedicate my time and energy to representing the under represented artists of Iran, who had little representations in the US due to sanctions and isolations. I borrowed $5000 from my personal account, created an LLC and started searching for talented artists in Iran and in the Diaspora. I did my first exhibition in NY in 2014 with 27 artists who has all been born after the revolution and had done all their schooling in Iran and had never left the country.
It was the start of a new career, and for the past 8 years I have been dedicated promoting the works of young artists from Irn through gallery exhibitions, International Art Fairs and museum acquisitions and exhibitions

What should our readers know about your business?
My business is a LLC company. I am the president and work with one assistant and many free lance people. This is the only way to keep a small business profitable and operational. You need to control the costs.I work from home and rent my gallery spaces when I have exhibitions and participate in art fairs, in Europe and the US which are very expensive . Having ran a big business during my career in fashion, I had learned how to plan a business, how to promote a business ,when to step away from things that don’t work and when to take risks. It is not easy and it takes a few years for one to build a reputation.
The art business is a very hard and competitive business and it is important not to loose focus and find a niche that makes you more exclusive and in demand.
I want the world to know that you can start a new career and reinvent yourself at an older age when most companies don’t want you. However create your own business need vision, hard work, good communication skills, and honesty.
The most important lesson I learned along the way is that no matter how well you plan, and how hard you work, there will always be elements that are out of your control that can impact the outcome. One must not loose his/her courage and stamina. One must keep going by keeping a positive attitude and learning from his/her mistake.
What keeps me apart from others is the fact that I am not greedy and because I work with young artists, I am not just their agent. I have become their mentor and to some like family.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Well I am in the arts, so I would suggest visiting galleries in Chelsea, Museum exhibitions and the theatre. I also love to show them areas such as the meat packing district, Soho, and the West village filled with great restaurants and shops. Brooklyn is really fun for young people and has much to offer too.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to give the shout out to two groups: my loving and supportive family who instilled important values such as drive, hard work, honesty and responsibility in me from childhood on, and my talented artists who trust my judgement and work so hard to be recognized. I learn so much from this generation of artists who are 20 to 30 yers younger than me. we have a very close and respectful relationship and i am honored to work with them.

Website: www.royakhadjaviprojects.com

Instagram: Roya Khadjavi projects

Facebook: Roya Khadjavi

Other: Vimeo

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