Rama Duwaji: Redefining Art, Activism & Influence

rama-duwaji-Zohran-Mamdani-wife — Source: ANGELA WEISS / Getty

Rama Duwaji might be stepping into the national spotlight as New York City’s youngest first lady, but she’s been quietly shaping culture through her art long before her husband, Zohran Mamdani, became mayor. Meet Rama Duwaji inside.

The 28-year-old Syrian American artist, animator, and ceramicist has carved a creative lane that’s both deeply personal and politically resonant, centering the stories of Middle Eastern women and amplifying the Palestinian experience through her work.

According to CNN, Rama Duwaji’s approach to public life has been refreshingly nontraditional. While she’s often skipped the high-profile campaign trail, she played an integral role behind the scenes. As she advised on social media strategy, she helped shape the design for Mamdani’s campaign branding, which featured a bold visual identity rooted in New York City’s color palette, including Metrocard yellow and Mets blue. Her quiet influence mirrors her artistic philosophy: using design to tell powerful, human stories.

Born in Houston and raised between Texas and Dubai, Rama Duwaji earned her BFA in Communication Arts from Virginia Commonwealth University and her MFA in Illustration as Visual Essay from the School of Visual Arts in New York. As WWD reports, her growing body of work has been featured in Vogue, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, BBC, and Tate Modern. Through portraiture, animation, and ceramics, she explores themes of sisterhood, identity, and cultural resilience.

In her own words, Duwaji creates art “for people who care about the things I care about,” including mental health, representation, and liberation. Her Instagram, which boasts over 180,000 followers, is filled with expressive illustrations of women, glimpses of her workshops, and reflections on the intersections of craft and care. One of her most celebrated projects for Vogue highlighted New York’s garment workers and the unseen labor behind the fashion industry.

Duwaji’s personal style is understated, intentional, and effortlessly cool. She embodies her artistic ethos. On Election Day, she wore a sheer black top, black jorts and knee-length boots to cast her ballot, proving that simplicity can still make a statement.

As she steps into Gracie Mansion, Duwaji represents a new kind of cultural figure. Grounded in her activism, unapologetically creative, and deeply connected to her roots, Rama Duwaji exemplifies a generation of women who use art as a form of advocacy and identity as a means of power. The newly elected New York Mayor, as her husband, is just the cherry on top.