"The feline residents of New York City's corner delis and convenience stores have long been beloved community icons, inspiring everything from popular Instagram and Tiktok accounts to children's books and magazine covers. Now, the bodega cat is at the forefront of Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani's mayoral campaign thanks to a sticker contest aimed at boosting voter registration. Hundreds of artists submitted designs to Mamdani's 36-hour " I Registered to Vote for Zohran " sticker contest."
"On Monday, September 29, Mamdani announced the winner on Instagram: a glowing red, blue, and gold watercolor illustration depicting a bodega storefront, created by arts educator and freelance illustrator Nishan Patel. Lounging window-side, a pink furry feline is bathed in the warm glow of the small business's interior, a tender homage to the neighborhood delis and its workers that make NYC the unique home that it is."
Bodega cats in New York City's corner delis and convenience stores serve as beloved community icons and inspired a voter-registration sticker contest for Zohran Mamdani's mayoral campaign. Hundreds of artists submitted designs during the 36-hour " I Registered to Vote for Zohran " contest, focusing on quintessential NYC imagery while thousands of users voted online. Arts educator Nishan Patel won with a glowing red, blue, and gold watercolor of a bodega storefront featuring a pink window-side cat. The sticker will be distributed at campaign events in October, earned praise on social media, and appeared in a voter-registration video parodying Mean Girls. The contest coincided with a narrowing mayoral field after Eric Adams withdrew a third-party bid.
Read at Hyperallergic
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