Following Zohran Mamdani‘s historic win as Mayor of New York City, the art world has weighed in, with many artists, curators, and critics based in the city—and even some situated in locales beyond New York—responding to his victory with hope and joy. A few others, meanwhile, questioned whether his leadership would positively impact the city’s art scene.
Siddartha Mitter, a New York–based critic who is on the team seeing through Koyo Kouoh’s vision for the 2026 Venice Biennale, said in an Instagram post that Mamdani’s win marked a “remarkable moment, when NYC proposes not only a grounded rebuttal to Trumpism but a beacon of civic renewal for the world at large.”
On her Instagram Story, artist Aria Dean posted an image of a New York Post cover that termed New York “The Red Apple” and featured an illustration of Mamdani holding a red hammer and sickle. Alongside the image, Dean added three smiling emojis with starry eyes.
Artists were central to Mamdani’s campaign before it went mainstream. As Artnet News previously reported, Mamdani was popular among the Downtown crowd in New York, with dealer Elyse Derosia co-hosting an event for him back in March ahead of the primary. Artnet reported that Martine Syms, Ser Serpas, Michael Stipe, and others were in attendance, and 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. I don’t really know why it took so long to beat the right wing allegations.”
As ARTnews previously reported, artists such as Sanya Kantarovsky, Tauba Auerbach, Salman Toor, Chloe Wise, and more donated to Mamdani’s campaign. On Tuesday, November 4, as results for Mamdani rolled in, Toor re-posted his 2007 portrait of a young Mamdani to his Instagram Story.
Referring to Mamdani’s repeated calls for equal rights for Palestinians and an end to Israel’s war in Gaza, Morgan Bassichis, an artist whose theatrical show Can I Be Frank? gained acclaim, wrote on Instagram, “The New York we cherish won. Now, we keep organizing, until we win it all, including a Free Palestine.”
Generally, institutions and galleries didn’t officially weigh in on Mamdani. The exception was El Museo del Barrio, which posted to its Instagram, “We look forward to working alongside you and your administration to champion the arts, amplify underrepresented voices, and ensure that culture remains at the heart of New York City’s future.”
One of the few institutional directors to opine on the matter was the Americas Society’s Aimé Iglesias Lukin, who wrote on Instagram while the polls were open that she was “expecting to celebrate NY as the best USA thing.” She wore a Mamdani sticker.
Also during the voting period, photographer Laurie Simmons praised the efforts of groups such as Gays for Mamdani and Moms for Mamdani, writing, “I could go on and on.”
Others took a more cautious tone. Jerry Saltz, a Pulitzer Prize–winning art critic, praised Mamdani on social media while also writing, “The great thing about voting for Mamdani will be that we can call him out if he does wrong.”
Not everyone was happy with a Democratic Socialist Mayor. Jerry Gogosian, a popular market-oriented Instagram account, put it bluntly: “Mamdani is bad for the art world. You guys complain now when you have to split the price of a painting 50-50 with your art dealer. Wait until you get those socialist taxes on top of it.” The post has gained more than 500 likes (as well as some debate in the comments section).
Although the election was a local one, it was still watched by people outside New York. Margot Norton, chief curator of the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive in California, wrote on Instagram that Mamdani was “the first mayoral candidate in NYC I’ve ever seen that has integrity, and a platform I can stand behind. This is the election where the power of the people can outweigh the people in power.”
On his Instagram Story, Silver Lion–winning artist Ali Cherri, who is based in Paris, wrote, “Congrats to my New Yorker friends.”
