Rama Duwaji: New York's First Lady Makes an Impression on New York City with Her Art

Rama Duwaji is known for being Zohran Mamdani’s wife, the future first lady of New York City, but her career began first as a professional artist. Her art pieces explore topics like her Syrian heritage and womanhood.

Duwaji shares her art, which depicts social and political commentary, on an active Instagram account ("TIME"). She takes her job as an artist seriously and aims to promote causes meaningful to her, such as the the Palestinian conflict.

When asked about an un-named drawing on Duwaji's website, Marigold Brett-Major ’27, an Advanced Drawing and Painting student, shared, “The first thing about this piece that stood out to me was the use of shading to create an eerie tone.”

Brett-Major continued, “I find it really captivating how Duwaji paired a loving gesture, such as a hand caressing the person's cheek, with a dark aura surrounding the figure.”

She added, “The figure seems tired or exhausted because of the sharing Duwaji used."

Brett-Major wondered “why the artist did not want to depict the second figure and instead just chose to illustrate their hand.”

Upper school Art teacher Monica Campbell added, “I feel like the artist is addressing the relationship between women of different generations, and the relationship is either supportive or disconnected, but I don't know which...The image itself is mysterious and prompts curiosity in the viewer.”

She wondered about “the woman’s expression...[and] the relationship between the woman and the person whose disembodied hand is touching her face.”

Many in New York City and the rest of the world are excited to see how her new role could influence her art, or, regardless, where her art will go in the

future.