New York City Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani Names Arts and Culture Transition Committee

New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, who decisively beat back independent candidate Andrew Cuomo in the election to lead the city earlier this month, has named an arts and culture transition committee. The 28-member group includes curators, art dealers, journalists, and arts and nonprofit administrators. It ranges from Elizabeth Alexander, the president of the Mellon Foundation, which sits on an endowment of $7.7 billion, to Hannah Traore, who launched a 3,000-square-foot gallery on the Lower East Side not four years ago.

Familiar names on the committee include Kimberly Drew, curatorial director at global megagallery Pace; Ruba Katrib, chief curator and director of curatorial affairs at MoMA PS1; Legacy Russell, executive director and chief curator at the Kitchen; and Gonzalo Casals, a former commissioner of cultural affairs for New York City. Mamdani gained support from some in the arts community during his campaign. As Artnet News reported, Mamdani was popular among the downtown crowd, with dealer Elyse Derosia cohosting a fundraising event for him ahead of the primary.

Artists and creators like Martine Syms, Ser Serpas, and Michael Stipe showed up, per Artnet, which quoted Dean as saying, “I think his platform resonates because most people ‘downtown’ are feeling the squeeze of a New York City unconcerned with its working class.” Many in the art world rejoiced when Mamdani trounced Cuomo. New York Times contributor Siddhartha Mitter, artist Laurie Simmons, critic Jerry Saltz, and even El Museo del Barrio raised their voices in celebration on social media.

The full transition committee follows below. Hiba Abid, New York Public Library Elizabeth Alexander, Mellon Foundation Suroosh Alvi, Vice Jessica Baker, Vodoor Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden Alexis Bittar, Jewelry Designer Rocky Bucano, Hip Hop Museum Gonzalo Casals, Culture & Arts Policy Institute Carolyn Concepcion, ARTNOIR Colm Dillane, KidSuper Kimberly Drew, Pace Gallery Atiba Edwards, Brooklyn Children s Museum Kamilah Forbes, Apollo Theatre Lisa Gold, Asian American Arts Alliance Jenna Hamed, curator and book maker Kemi Ilesanmi, KG1 Wes Jackson, BRIC Ruba Katrib, MoMA PS1 Coco Killingsworth, Cultural Institutions Group Mino Lora, The Peoples Theatre Patricia McGregor, NY Theatre Workshop Lydia Pilcher, Cine Mosaic Victoria Rogers, Leadership Strategist Hal Rosenbluth, Kaufman Astoria Studios Legacy Russell, the Kitchen Kenny Savoca, IATSE 161 Hannah Traore, Hannah Traore Gallery Diya Vij, Powerhouse Arts Dennis Walcott, Queens Library