This September, Hidden Stars will arrive in Washington Square Park. On four consecutive Saturdays, internationally recognized artist David Drebin will launch a public performance unlike anything New Yorkers have seen from him before.
Drebin’s artworks are collected worldwide, celebrated for their cinematic scale and emotional power. With Hidden Stars, he moves beyond the frame and into live performance, staging encounters not in galleries but in the open air of the city.
The idea is disarmingly simple: a stage is set in the park, and anyone passing by can step forward. There are no auditions, no casting, and no rehearsals. Whoever chooses to participate becomes part of the unfolding work.
“This isn’t about celebrities or polished personas,” Drebin explains. “It’s about the people we overlook every day. My role is to see them in the moment and give them space to be recognized.”
For a city defined by reinvention, Hidden Stars feels both inevitable and unexpected. Washington Square Park has long been a magnet for performance and public expression, but Drebin’s project shifts the focus from spectacle to presence. It’s performance art in its rawest form—unscripted, unpredictable, and dependent entirely on who chooses to step into the light.
Each Saturday will take on its own character. Some participants may share stories, others may stand silently, and some may surprise themselves with what they reveal. The unpredictability is not a risk but the essence of the work.
Promotion for Hidden Stars mirrors the energy of a prizefight. Posters and stencils will appear across Manhattan, while Drebin’s social media feeds offer cryptic teasers and countdowns. The campaign is designed less to explain than to provoke curiosity, drawing New Yorkers into the park to see for themselves.
For Drebin, the project represents a shift in how his art lives in the world. His photographs have always suggested narratives larger than the frame—scenes filled with drama, longing, and possibility. With Hidden Stars, he is staging those moments in real time, without the safety of editing or the permanence of print.
“Photography freezes in an instant,” Drebin says. “This is alive. It disappears as quickly as it happens, but that’s exactly what makes it unforgettable.”
In the heart of Manhattan, where chance encounters can feel like destiny, Hidden Stars positions itself as one of the most intriguing cultural experiments of the year. It isn’t a gallery opening, a concert, or a scripted play. It’s a challenge—to step forward, to be seen, to recognize the extraordinary in the ordinary.
This September, in Washington Square Park, the hidden stars of New York will be given a stage.
Written in partnership with Tom White
