Hakim Bishara, editor-in-chief of Hyperallergic, woke up at 6am to drop his son René at kindergarten. Then he went to the New York Film Festival to watch Between Worlds, the Edward Said documentary. The film made him cry. A lot. He wrote about the whole day in a column titled “Between Worlds,” a personal account that mixes family grief, political outrage, and quiet wonder at a found book and a sparrow eating from the trash.
The Morning Routine
Bishara starts the day with his son. He wakes up early, showers quickly, checks emails, and gulps an espresso before driving René to kindergarten at 7:15am. As he turns on the car, René asks a simple question: “What’s the point of all this?” The previous morning, the two had talked about death. Bishara did a poor job explaining why his father — his grandpa — is no longer around and where he might be right now.
Fortune Cookies at the ISCP
The next stop is the ISCP (International Studio & Curatorial Program) in Brooklyn, where Hyperallergic hosts a member event. Staff hands out drinks and fortune cookies. Bishara eats four of them because he is not pleased with any of the fortunes. One cookie reads: “Who gives should never remember. Who receives must never forget.” That fortune sticks with him. It is a reminder of obligation, of debt, of the burden of gratitude. It fits the day’s mood of frustration and unease.
Rain, Michael Jackson, and a Slavery Claim
In the pouring rain, Bishara hides in a Gen Z spot in Bushwick playing an entire Michael Jackson album. A man speaking into a laptop screen explains that Islam abolished slavery in the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century. Days later, the Milwaukee Art Museum returns two jars to the descendants of Dave the Potter, a Black American artist who was enslaved for most of his life in the 19th century. The two stories are not connected in the column, but they sit side by side in memory. One is a historical claim about abolition. The other is a restitution story about returning artifacts to a family. Both touch on the theme of inheritance — what we owe each other, what we pass down.
The Subway Screener
On the way to the screening, Bishara sees a guy on the subway wearing a T-shirt that spells out the word “coexistence” with symbols from all the big religions. The shirt is standing in his way, and it irritates him. The T-shirt is a symbol of shared ground. Bishara finds it annoying precisely because it is so polite, so willing to meet halfway. The irritation is a small moment, but it captures a larger tension in the column: the distance between what people say and what they actually mean.
Crying Through Between Worlds
The screening of Between Worlds is the centerpiece of the day. Bishara cries and cries and cries during the film. The crying is not explained. It is simply there, a physical response to something he saw on screen. The film deals with Edward Said’s life and legacy. Bishara’s tears suggest the personal weight of the subject, the way it resonated with his own sense of loss and displacement.
A Found Book, a Sparrow, and Shoes
After the screening, Bishara finds a Carl Jung book on the sidewalk. He considers taking it for a moment, then tosses it away. A man in a leather jacket over a bunny costume stares at him like he is the strange one. Bishara looks away and sees a sparrow eating from the trash. These final images are small, almost absurd. They are also deeply human.
The Hermès Store
The day ends on Berry Street, where Bishara pauses in front of the new Hermès store. He sees a shiny pair of shoes branded with his initial in the window display. He stays there for a while, images flashing in his head as he gazes at his reflection. He sees Jerusalem, Haifa, and Nazareth. He sees New York, and he sees René’s face.
What the Column Says About Art
The column is a mix of personal anecdote and cultural reportage. It touches on several art-world stories:
| Story | Location | Theme |
|---|---|---|
| Between Worlds screening | New York Film Festival | Edward Said, identity |
| Dave the Potter jars | Milwaukee Art Museum | Slavery, heritage |
| ISCP event | Brooklyn | Hyperallergic membership |
| Michael Jackson spot | Bushwick | Music, history, abolition |
| Hermès store | Berry Street | Luxury, identity |
Each story is small on its own. Taken together, they form a portrait of a day spent thinking about what matters.
A Life Without Fame
The column also points to a separate piece about Kenzi Shiokava, a man who lived a life in art without acclaim, celebrity, or money. The piece, written by Lori Waxman, models what a life in art can amount to without those trappings. Shiokava’s story offers a different path than Bishara’s. It shows that success is not the only way to live an artistic life.
The Tarotscope for Fall
Hyperallergic’s Art Tarotscope for the Fall Equinox asks what we must embrace as the autumn leaves change color and the nights get a little crisper, a little darker. The question is open-ended, but it suggests a season of transition and acceptance. The tarotscope is a light piece, a seasonal reading rather than a serious analysis. It sits alongside the column as part of the same issue, offering a mood rather than a fact.
The Cost of Caring for Pets
Another piece in the issue, “How Are Artists Affording Pet Care?”, deals with the rising cost of caring for animals. Artists and culture workers weigh in on $1,600 dental bills and $16,000 emergency procedures. The pet-care story is a reminder of the practical pressures facing creative people. It is a contrast to the lofty questions raised by the column, showing that even the most thoughtful minds deal with everyday costs.
The Overlooked Black Architect
The column closes with a reference to an overlooked Black architect. The exact architect is not named in the excerpt, but the phrase signals a broader theme of forgotten figures in design history. The reference is a call for attention, a plea to remember the people whose work shaped cities without ever being celebrated. It is a fitting end to a day that kept returning to what is important.
A Day of Questions
The column is a record of a single day. It moves from a son’s question about death to a fortune about obligation to a man in a bunny costume to a sparrow eating from the trash. Each image is a fragment of meaning. The day’s events are simply described, leaving the reader to feel the weight of them. That is the point. Bishara is not trying to solve anything. He is trying to hold it. The column is a reminder that meaning is found in the small moments, the missed fortune cookies, the spilled coffee, the stranger’s stare. It is found in the way a shoe catches the eye or a bird feeds on waste. And it is found in the silence after a question is asked and never fully answered.
Source material: “Between Worlds,” Hyperallergic.
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