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Hyperallergic editor-in-chief Hakim Bishara’s “To Live Is to Believe” is a reflective editorial built around scenes from Halloween in Queens and Brooklyn, a photograph of a tightrope walker in postwar Cologne, and a line attributed to Marcel Duchamp. The source presents it as part of a weekly arts newsletter, not as a report of a newly announced event; it does not give a publication date for the editorial itself.
Hyperallergic editor-in-chief Hakim Bishara uses “To Live Is to Believe” to connect Halloween scenes in New York with an image of a tightrope walker above the ruins of postwar Cologne and a line attributed to Marcel Duchamp. The piece is a personal editorial included in the publication’s weekly arts newsletter, rather than a report announcing a new exhibition or institutional decision.
Bishara opens with a moment in Queens on Halloween: a woman in a red dress crosses the street carrying an axe marked with blood. A siren sounds in the distance, and Bishara says he reaches to lock his car before remembering the date. The scene captures how ordinary surroundings can briefly seem threatening before the holiday offers another explanation. It is presented as the editor’s recollection, not independently verified reporting about an incident.
The editorial then shifts to a dinner at Cabinet Magazine, where founder and editor-in-chief Sina Najafi shows guests a photograph of tightrope walker Margret Zimmermann. In the image, Zimmermann balances above the bombed-out ruins of the Haymarket in Cologne in 1946, while a crowd watches from below. Bishara describes her red lipstick and hair blown by what he calls a treacherous wind; the source does not identify the photograph’s photographer or provide further details about the performance.
Back in Brooklyn, Bishara describes a man wearing a jeweled crown asking for money and reflects on the blurred line between performance and everyday life. At Hyperallergic’s art-themed Halloween gathering at Oberon, nearly 200 members, readers, artists, supporters and guests attended, according to the newsletter. Artist and congressional candidate Claire Valdez served as a judge in the costume contest. Bishara says he had no costume but “perform[ed] all night,” before recalling a child dressed as Lady Liberty, holding a torch aloft as she walked with her mother.
Art, Performance and Everyday Belief
The editorial’s significance lies in its portrayal of art not only as an object in a gallery, but also as an act of attention: the way a person reads a street scene, an archival photograph, a costume or a public gesture. Bishara’s account moves between urban encounters and staged performance, asking readers to notice how quickly the meaning of an image can change with its setting.
The juxtaposition of a Halloween costume with Zimmermann’s tightrope walk above wartime destruction also places play beside historical danger. The newsletter does not claim that the scenes are equivalent. Rather, Bishara’s sequence makes uncertainty and vulnerability part of the reflection, while the child carrying a torch provides a quieter image of hope. For readers of an arts publication, the piece offers a first-person account of how art and performance can shape the interpretation of daily life.
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“To Live Is to Believe” appears alongside a collection of arts coverage and newsletter items, including a report remembering sculptor Ursula von Rydingsvard, interviews, reviews and updates on museum and art-world developments. The supplied material does not state when the editorial was published, so its position in the newsletter cannot establish a precise publication date.
The event listing says Hyperallergic held its annual art costume party on Wednesday, October 28, at Oberon in Brooklyn, drawing almost 200 people. The year is not specified in the supplied excerpt. Bishara’s references to Halloween and to the gathering provide the immediate setting for the reflection, but the source does not offer a broader account of the event or identify all of the costume contest’s winners.
““To live is to believe.””
— Hakim Bishara, Hyperallergic editor-in-chief
Publication and Image Details
The supplied source does not give the editorial’s publication date or year, and its reference to Wednesday, October 28 is not enough to establish either. It also does not identify the photographer behind the image of Margret Zimmermann, explain how the photograph came to be shown at the dinner, or provide further information about the tightrope performance.
The Duchamp wording is presented as a line seen in a video on Bishara’s phone, but the excerpt does not identify the video or provide a date or source for the statement. The scenes in Queens and Brooklyn are Bishara’s first-person recollections. The article does not report a police response, identify the people involved, or independently establish details beyond what the editor describes.
No Further Development Reported
The supplied material describes a completed newsletter editorial and Halloween gathering; it does not announce a follow-up, a future event tied to the essay, or another scheduled milestone. Readers seeking publication timing or additional information about the archival photograph would need to consult Hyperallergic’s original page or the relevant image records. Based on the source provided, there is no confirmed next step.
Key Questions
What is “To Live Is to Believe”?
It is a first-person editorial by Hakim Bishara, Hyperallergic’s editor-in-chief, reflecting on Halloween scenes, performance and belief.
What happened at Hyperallergic’s Halloween party?
The newsletter says nearly 200 people attended the art-themed gathering at Oberon in Brooklyn on Wednesday, October 28. Artist and congressional candidate Claire Valdez judged the costume contest.
Who was Margret Zimmermann?
In Bishara’s account, Zimmermann was the tightrope walker pictured above the ruins of Cologne’s Haymarket in 1946. The supplied source gives no further biography or photograph credit.
When was the editorial published?
The source excerpt does not state a publication date or year. It places the account around Halloween and mentions an October 28 party, but that does not establish when the editorial appeared.
Source: hyperallergic.com
