Earlier this week, New York City mayoral primary echoed nationwide. From New York to Los Angeles, I have heard progressive conversations with Democrats about what NYC’s major races mean for our country’s future. Will Zohran Mamdani, a young left-wing rookie, beat former New York governor and suspected gender pest Andrew Cuomo? The stunning political analyst has led to rumors that it was Mamdani who won the primary race, leading to rumors that Cuomo had been completely eliminated. Following her husband’s victory on Election Day, Rama Duwazi posted on Instagram that she “maybe I couldn’t be proud of.”
The 27-year-old Duwazi, ethnically Syrian, was born in Houston, Texas, but was not a major national presence for most of the Mamdani campaign. However, it is clear through her artwork that she is also an activist. During her career as an artist and illustrator, she has worked with New Yorker, Apple, Spotify, The Washington Post, BBC, Vice, and London’s Tate Modern Museum. “Using the portrayal and movements, Rama examines the nuances of sisterhood and joint experience.”
In an interview with Shadow Mag and Hannah Robatan and Isabella Pierce, she talked about how her identity is tied to her art. She said, “My sense of identity is constantly evolving and accompanied by it is my art. The content of my work is always greatly influenced by the different stages of my life, the people I meet, what I am learning, and what I have experienced or experienced.”
Her work is “not essentially Syrian or Emirati,” but she says her culture still influences it “in a major way.” Duwaji told Shado: “I began to explore the theme of nostalgia and what it symbolizes as Arab. I went through some clichés and as I explored various visual motifs I definitely turned to self-derivationism, but ultimately led to my work today.”
Today, Duwazi is known for her artistic activities. “I always quote Nina Simone. “As far as I’m concerned, the duty of an artist is to reflect the times,” she told Menna Shanab of Yung.
“I believe everyone is responsible for opposing fraud,” she added. “And art has the ability to spread it. I don’t think anyone has to do political work, but art is political in nature, funded and shared.
Check out some of her works below!
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