On a slushy and snow-banked sidewalk on Gansevoort Street in Lower Manhattan Tuesday night, flocks of young artists, writers and musicians crammed into the Whitney Museum of American Art for its winter fund-raising party, a cornerstone of the downtown social calendar.
They loosened up with margaritas before hitting the floor, where a D.J. blasted hits by Shakira and Donna Summer. As they grooved and shimmied away, some dancers spotted the 28-year-old first lady of New York City, Rama Duwaji, who recently took residence in Gracie Mansion with her husband Zohran Mamdani, who was elected mayor nearly three months ago.
Ms. Duwaji, who avoided the spotlight during her husband’s campaign and grants few interviews, had slipped into the party discreetly, opting not to be photographed on the red carpet, which saw appearances from celebrities like Martha Stewart, the Dare and Ego Nwodim. Wearing a leopard-print jacket and black boots, Ms. Duwaji nursed a beverage as she hung out with a small band of friends. She turned away from photographers but warmly greeted young New Yorkers who approached her, as a security detail kept watch.
For Ms. Duwaji, an illustrator of Syrian descent known for her pen-and-ink portraits that focus on Middle Eastern life and diasporic experience, the Whitney’s Art Party, as the fund-raiser is called, was one of her first notable public appearances of the new year. But for those who spotted her in the crowds, it was a moment to appreciate the significance of having an artist in Gracie Mansion. The last mayor to leave a legacy as a serious patron to the arts was the philanthropic billionaire Michael R. Bloomberg, well over a decade ago.
“We have an artist first lady now,” Dan Mahboubian Rosen, a comedian, said. “I think she could be an ambassador for the arts, someone who supports beyond just the buzzy Broadway shows, bringing attention to small galleries and museums.”
As the party grew rowdy, servers pushed through crowds carrying trays of mac and cheese croquettes and baby baja fish tacos as they wended past actors, designers and models.
“I keep hearing people say they’ve seen her, but I want to see her,” Camille Sojit Pejcha, a sex and culture journalist, said. “To me, it’s interesting she’s kind of private. Not sharing everything about yourself is a dying art now.”
Hanging out by the busy stairwell, as people roamed the museum’s galleries with drinks in hand, were the writer Nicolaia Rips and her mother, the sculptor Sheila Berger. As longtime residents of the Chelsea Hotel, one of the city’s fabled downtown bohemian landmarks, they said they appreciated how the Whitney’s fund-raiser focused on benefiting emerging artists.
“As two people who’ve lived in an incubator of creativity like the Chelsea Hotel, a place that once fostered young artists, it’s great to see the Whitney valuing young artists and fostering relationships with them early in their careers.”
“There’s no such thing as having too many artists in New York,” said Ms. Berger.
As midnight neared, the Dare prepared to take the stage for his D.J. set. Dressed in his signature black suit, someone asked him how he felt getting to perform to a crowd that included the city’s new first lady.
“Honestly, I kind of just wonder how she feels,” he said. “Because I think this must all feel pretty crazy to her.”
Alex Vadukul is a features writer for the Styles section of The Times, specializing in stories about New York City.
The post Rama Duwaji Joins New Yorkers at an Art Party appeared first on New York Times.
