NYC Mayor Mamdani Names Diya Vij Cultural Affairs Commissioner, First South Asian in the Role

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has appointed Diya Vij as Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs, making her the first person of South Asian descent to lead the nation's largest municipal arts funder.​

Vij, 40, most recently served as vice president of curatorial and arts programs at Powerhouse Arts, a Brooklyn-based nonprofit. She brings an extensive portfolio of New York cultural leadership, having held key roles at the Queens Museum, the High Line, and Creative Time, and previously served at the Department of Cultural Affairs itself from 2014 to 2019.

In her earlier stint at the department, Vij launched the celebrated Public Artists in Residence (PAIR) programme, which embeds working artists within city agencies to shape public policy through a creative lens.​

The appointment comes at a critical moment. The city faces a projected $5.4 billion budget deficit over the next two years, with cultural funding potentially cut by $30 million. Vij will report to Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su and will be tasked with implementing Mayor Mamdani's affordability agenda across the arts sector.

Mayor Mamdani praised Vij as "a visionary and deeply thoughtful leader," adding that "art is not ornamental to this city — it is essential."