[100 Emerging Women Leaders] This art curator and gallerist is creating a platform for local and global artists

Vida Heydari was born and brought up in a creative family. Enrolled in an art school from a young age, she was already trying her hands at oil painting when she was just five. 

Time went by and throughout her teenage years, Heydari continued to practice her art, not knowing where it would eventually lead her. 

She recognised art to be her passion while she was stepping into her university life. 

Her passion for art, however, does not root in mainstream academia. Although she studied computer science and business, something or the other would always keep bringing her back to art. 

“But I was always around art, and this was why I took this to be my career, because while I was doing all that, I would constantly keep coming back to art,” she shares. 

Today, she is an art curator and gallerist with over 14 years of experience in global art space. Founded in 2020, VHC-Vida Heydari Contemporary is a contemporary art gallery. 

Over the years, Heydari has extensively traveled and experienced art first-hand with Canadian, Chinese, and Iranian contemporary artists, galleries, private and public collections.  

On her trips back to India, she would meet Indian artists, and there came her wish to work with them alongside the Canadian artists that she was working with at the time. 

She says, “The more I interacted with the artists, the more this desire became stronger, and that is where the whole journey of curation of art started.”

Her gallery currently partners with local and international artists by promoting their work. Adjoining the gallery is a restaurant that offers contemporary European cuisine, further enhancing the overall experience. 

From facing a lack of collectors, funds, and government support to the general bias toward modern artists and art, Heydari says that running an art gallery comes with its own set of challenges. 

When asked about her experience as a female in the art space, she reflects, “I feel we have to work a little bit harder to be taken seriously. If a woman is strong and a go-getter, her behavior is considered to be rude. I have had to deal with that a lot.”

“Whereas if a man is exhibiting the same qualities, it is considered to be a leadership skill. I have overcome [such biases] but I think it's a long road to take,” she adds.

Her advice to women leaders is to look past the gender-based attacks and not to take them personally. 

She says, “We have to realise that we are all fighting some cultural biases. It's not a reflection of their [women leaders’] capabilities or of what they are doing. So my advice is to stay strong and don't feel bad and guilty about it.”

Having faced prejudices and ill comments herself, Heydari shares that there were times when she felt she was at fault and considered changing her own behavior towards things. Did she grow out of it? Yes.

Today, she believes in being true to who you are and urges you to practice the same.