New York City will get the first lady again from January 1st, after six years. Rama Duvadzhi, wife of the newly elected mayor Zohrana Mamdania, will be younger than all its predecessors. However, this is far from the only reason why her stay in Gracie Mansion, the official residence of the mayor of New York, will be interesting.
Apart from the fact that, as Mamdani himself admits, she greatly contributed to his electoral success (not only in a moral, but also in a practical sense), the emergence of Rama Duvaji as the first lady of New York could be of great importance for the city itself, and that on several levels.
Election 2025 NYC MayorElection Day / Photo: AP Photo/Olga Fedorova
Who is Rama Duvadzi?
Rama Duvaji was born in 1997 in Houston, the daughter of immigrants from Syria. She spent part of her childhood in Dubai, before returning to the USA to study.
Rama Duwaji/ InstagramRama Duwaji/ Instagram
In 2019, she received her bachelor's degree in fine arts at the Commonwealth University in Virginia, and two years later she moved to New York, where she earned her master's degree at the School of Visual Arts.
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Although she was born in Texas, she describes herself as an "illustrator from Damascus".
"My art is a reflection of what is happening around me"
Duvadži is known for her illustrations, animations and works in ceramics. He likes to work in black and white the most, and "exhibits" his works on social networks.
In his works, he often deals with political and social topics through Middle Eastern motifs. She is a big critic of "American imperialism", the Israeli war in Gaza and the US refugee policy, which coincides with her husband's policy.
During her career, she collaborated with the magazine "New Yorker", "Washington Post", The Cut, BBC, Apple, Spotify and the Tate Modern Museum.
"My art is a reflection of what's happening around me. Considering how many people are silenced by fear, the only thing I can do is talk about what's happening in the US, Palestine and Syria, as much as I can," she said in an interview.
To the first lady through a dating app
She met Zohran Mamdani through the dating application "Hinge" at the end of last year, and they got married in February of this year.
"So there's still hope for those dating apps," Mamdani once said with a smile.
Rama_08Lovers: Zohran Mamdani and Rama Duvadzi / Photo: X
In his victory speech on Tuesday, the new mayor expressed special gratitude to his wife:
"Rami, vital (Arabic for "my life"), there is no one I would rather be with at this moment, and at every moment."
Yellow, orange and blue
Duvaji helped Mamdani in the campaign. The entire visual identity with which Mamdani appeared before the voters was designed by his wife. The now recognizable font in yellow, orange and blue was created by her.
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Her skillful handling of social networks and the large audience at her disposal were also of great help. So her belonging to Generation Z in this case is not just trivia, but, it turns out, has practical value.
Her identity is that of New York
Mamdani and Duvaji did not appear together in public often during the campaign, unlike his opponents who insisted on joint appearances with their spouses.
APTOPIX Election 2025 Mayor New YorkPhoto: AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura
However, this happened on the night of the announcement of victory in the elections. The fashion editor in the "New York Times" described her styling as "a combination of revolution and continuity", which is in line "not only with her identity, but also with the identity of the city".
The daughter of immigrants from the Middle East, a member of the upcoming generation Z, a politically engaged artist, a voice of the marginalized and a critic of the system - these are all fragments of the mentioned identity, from which the most important city in the world, no matter how hard it tries, will never be able to escape.
