New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani has chosen Diya Vij, a veteran of the city’s creative communities to lead its Department of Cultural Affairs, to ensure the Big Apple remains the cultural capital of the world.
Vij, 40, a vice president at Powerhouse Arts, the Brooklyn-based nonprofit organization, will be the first person of South Asian heritage to hold the position.
The department is the largest municipal funder of culture in the country, supporting 1,000 nonprofit cultural organizations and providing $245 million in funding in the last fiscal year.
Vij comes with a background in public and socially engaged art, especially in the mayor’s home borough of Queens. She has worked at the Queens Museum, the High Line and Creative Time in addition to Powerhouse Arts, where she began in November as director of curatorial and arts programs.
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“As Commissioner, Vij will deepen the City’s commitment to supporting art and culture and ensure New York City is not only a place where artists can afford to live, but where art is celebrated and sustained,” Mamdani’s office stated.
“I am proud to welcome Diya Vij as Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs. Diya is a visionary and deeply thoughtful leader who understands that art is not ornamental to this city — it is essential,” said Mamdani.
“She has worked to weave culture into the fabric of public life. This administration believes art is a public good, not a luxury reserved for the few,” he said. “Under her leadership, we will fight to keep New York a city where artists can afford to live and create — and where every New Yorker, in every borough, can experience the energy and inspiration that art makes possible.”
“This administration has renewed my belief that city government can be a site of real change — and that art and culture are essential to that project,” said Vij. “Too many artists have been forced out of the city they love — crushed by the cost-of-living crisis.
“As Commissioner, I will extend the Mayor’s affordability agenda to arts and culture. It is an honor to help build a city where artists, cultural workers, and New Yorkers across all five boroughs can do more than get by — they can live full, vibrant and curious lives.”
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Vij returns to the DCLA, where she previously worked on special projects under former Mayor Bill de Blasio. During her earlier tenure, she launched and co-directed the Public Artists in Residence (PAIR) program, which embeds artists within City agencies and integrates art into civic life.
More recently, Vij served as a curator at Creative Time, where she curated large-scale public art projects in partnership with State and City agencies, including the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the Parks Department and the Department of Transportation.
Her most recent curation, Chloë Bass’s “If you hear something, free something,” was created in partnership with the MTA and broadcast artwork over the subway public address system, transforming daily commutes into shared cultural experiences.
Over the past decade, Vij has held programming, curatorial and communications roles at major New York City Institutions. She has organized dozens of performances and public programs and developed a deep understanding of the city’s cultural ecosystem.