The quote in the headline is by Joseph Beuys (1921–1986), the German artist, teacher, and activist who expanded the definition of art by emphasizing the artist’s role in shaping political and cultural change. He contended that society itself is the artwork—that every action, whether political, social, or personal, contributes to “sculpting” and transforming the collective world.

Hrag Vartanian, editor-at-large and co-founder of Hyperallergic, notes that Zohran Mamdani’s ascent to NYC mayor is a powerful example of creativity, imagination, and collective action in politics. Mamdani’s campaign and victory, he says, embody artistic principles: believing in possibility, rejecting cynicism, and linking art, identity, and social change.

In this essay, Vartanian draws clear parallels between artistic creation and political transformation. Artists routinely make the “impossible” real, and in doing so, inspire others to believe in change.

Creativity and aspiration are antidotes to the status quo. They help communities imagine and reach for something better. Just ask Mamdani.

"I don’t think the fact that Mamdani was born to a prominent artist, filmmaker Mira Nair, is a coincidence. Or that he is married to illustrator and ceramicist Rama Duwaji. Art is often the theory of the impossible, a land to which those who dream of our collective freedom immigrate in order to live and breathe without the burden of what has come before. We recognize this space because we live in it daily."

"And we, all of us who dream and celebrate today, continue the tradition of linking art to liberation through the art communities we see and foster, while ignoring the noise of luxury commodification and its associated shills that seek to drive us away from their platinum sandboxes.

"Today, we woke up to see that dreams can happen, even as nightmares rage on further afield."

ESSAY: The Creative Essence of Zohran Mamdani’s Ascent

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