"On Sunday, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani invited members of the public to meet with him, one on one, for three minutes at a time, in a sparely appointed room at the Museum of the Moving Image, in Astoria. His transition team titled the twelve-hour event "The Mayor Is Listening," in homage to "The Artist Is Present," the iconic work of performance art by Marina Abramović."
"The energy in the room was part D.M.V., part papal antechamber. (The sweet Adeni chai on offer as a refreshment surely didn't help all the nervous fidgeting.) A few participants were museum staffers and venders who had been invited to join in, but most had heard about the event on Instagram the day before, when Mamdani's team had posted a call for people to apply to attend."
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani held a twelve-hour public listening event titled "The Mayor Is Listening" at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, offering three-minute, one-on-one meetings. The event intentionally referenced Marina Abramović's performance "The Artist Is Present" while also recalling Mamdani's own public stunts and endurance displays. The room's atmosphere mixed DMV-style waiting with ceremonial formality, and refreshments like Adeni chai were served. Organizers promoted the event on Instagram and asked local unions and community groups to spread the word to broaden attendance. Attendees included museum staff, vendors, a biotech venture capitalist, his daughter, and his immigrant father.
Read at The New Yorker
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]