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Hyperallergic editor-in-chief Hakim Bishara’s “To Live Is to Believe” is a reflective account published alongside coverage of the publication’s annual art-themed Halloween party in Brooklyn. The source says almost 200 guests attended the October 28 gathering; Bishara’s essay links the costumes and street scenes he encountered with a video quotation attributed to Marcel Duchamp.
Hyperallergic editor-in-chief Hakim Bishara reflected on belief, performance, and public life in “To Live Is to Believe,” a short essay published with the outlet’s coverage of its annual art-themed Halloween party in Brooklyn. The source reports that almost 200 guests attended the gathering at Oberon on Wednesday evening, October 28, where elaborate costumes turned the event into a celebration of art and performance.
Bishara’s essay moves between scenes from New York and an image from postwar Germany. He recalls seeing a woman in a red dress carrying an axe on a Queens street, then realizing that it was Halloween. Later, at a dinner hosted by Cabinet Magazine, editor and founder Sina Najafi showed a photograph of tightrope walker Margret Zimmermann balancing above the bombed-out ruins of Cologne’s Haymarket in 1946. The report describes Zimmermann wearing red lipstick as wind blew through her hair and a crowd watched below.
The essay also describes a Brooklyn encounter with a man wearing a bejeweled crown who asked for money, and a little girl dressed as Lady Liberty, carrying a torch as she crossed the street with her mother. Bishara writes that he had no costume but “perform[ed] all night,” and quotes a video on his phone screen attributing the words “To live is to believe” to Marcel Duchamp. The source presents the line as a quotation in the essay; it does not provide further information about the video or its provenance.
Hyperallergic’s accompanying party report says the event drew readers, members, artists, supporters, and friends to Oberon in Brooklyn. Costumes included a Dutch still life, a character called “Beast Jesus,” figures associated with Francisco Goya, and two references to performance artists Marina Abramović and Ulay. Artist and organizer Claire Valdez, who the source identifies as running for Congress, attended and judged the costume contest.
Costumes Turned the Party Into Performance
The report connects a neighborhood Halloween gathering to a wider question running through Bishara’s essay: how people perform identity and make meaning in public. The party’s costumes were not simply decorations. The examples named by Hyperallergic drew on art history, religious imagery, and performance art, inviting guests to embody references rather than merely discuss them. That gave the event a distinctly art-focused character.
Bishara’s street observations broaden that idea beyond the party. The axe-carrying woman initially appears alarming, but Halloween changes how he reads the scene. The crowned man asking for money prompts a reflection on the blurred boundary between performance and everyday life. These are the writer’s impressions, not reported findings about the people he saw. Together with the child carrying a torch, they frame the essay as a personal account of how costume, belief, and ordinary encounters can overlap.
For readers, the development is a modest but specific cultural report: an arts publication used its annual gathering to bring its community together, then paired event coverage with an editor’s reflection on the city around it. The essay offers an individual perspective rather than a broader claim about New York or Halloween. Its value lies in documenting how an art-minded audience used costumes and public performance as a way to engage with familiar cultural images.
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A Halloween Gathering in Brooklyn
The source identifies the event as Hyperallergic’s annual art costume party, held at Oberon in Brooklyn on Wednesday evening, October 28. It says almost 200 people attended, including members, readers, artists, supporters, and their friends. The article does not specify the year in the supplied text, so the date should be understood as reported rather than assigned a year here.
The party coverage appears within a weekly newsletter that also lists other arts stories, including reporting on sculptor Ursula von Rydingsvard, interviews with poet Layli Long Soldier and artist Paul Pfeiffer, and news about museums and exhibitions. Those items are newsletter contents, not part of the Halloween event itself. The main report pairs the costume-party recap with Bishara’s first-person essay, which shifts from the gathering to scenes observed around Queens and Brooklyn.
““To live is to believe.””
— Hakim Bishara, Hyperallergic editor-in-chief
Details the Report Leaves Open
The supplied source does not state the year of the October 28 party or the publication date of Bishara’s essay. It reports attendance as almost 200, without describing how that figure was counted. It also does not identify who organized the event beyond describing it as Hyperallergic’s annual party, or provide further details about the contest, its winners, or the guests’ costumes beyond selected examples.
The Duchamp wording is attributed within Bishara’s essay to a video on his phone, but the source does not cite where the video came from or establish the quotation’s origin. The street encounters are personal observations by the writer; the report offers no independent verification or additional details about the people described. No broader conclusions about the city or its residents are established by the piece.
No Further Event Plans Reported
The supplied material does not announce another party, a follow-up event, or a next reporting milestone tied to the essay. Hyperallergic’s report documents the gathering after it took place, while Bishara’s piece records his reflections on that evening and the surrounding streets. Any future party dates or related programming remain unannounced in the source.
Readers seeking further information about the event can look to Hyperallergic’s original party coverage and newsletter, but the supplied report does not indicate that additional details are forthcoming. For now, the confirmed account is limited to the October 28 gathering, the reported attendance, selected costumes, and Bishara’s personal essay.
Key Questions
What is “To Live Is to Believe”?
It is a short first-person essay by Hakim Bishara, Hyperallergic’s editor-in-chief, published alongside coverage of the outlet’s art-themed Halloween party. It reflects on performance and belief through scenes in Queens and Brooklyn.
When and where was the Halloween party?
The report says it took place on Wednesday evening, October 28, at Oberon in Brooklyn. The supplied source does not state the year.
How many people attended?
Hyperallergic’s report says almost 200 people attended, including members, readers, artists, supporters, and friends. It does not describe how attendance was measured.
Who judged the costume contest?
Claire Valdez, identified in the source as an artist and organizer running for Congress, attended and served as a judge. The supplied report does not name the contest winners.
Is the Duchamp quotation independently verified in the report?
No. Bishara says the words appeared in a video on his phone and attributes them to Marcel Duchamp, but the report provides no source or further information about the video.
Source: hyperallergic.com
