The art of defeating fear

Nikos Papastergiadis says that it was two events of the fateful year of 2001 that drove him to write his latest book Cosmopolitanism and Culture.
"It's a book that was born in fury against the politics of fear that unfolded after the Tampa crisis and 9/11," Papastergiadis told Neos Kosmos, on the eve of its Australian launch in Melbourne this week.
"I was consumed by anger and indignation at that time, at the way politicians used those traumatic experiences to whip up hysteria."
Professor of Cultural Studies at the University of Melbourne, Papastergiadis has been described as the world's "foremost scholar and participant observer of the vibrant and much debated movement of art collectives and collaborations".
Cosmopolitanism and Culture delves into how repeated images of terrorists and refugees, dispersed from 2001 onwards through the media and political discourse resulted in the creation of 'ambient fears' in global society, and vitally, how contemporary artists around the world have sought to challenge and overcome those fears ever since.
"I came to the view that fear was being dispersed everywhere, it had become ambient, it was everywhere in our environment," says Papastergiadis, who having come to the conclusion that fear was saturating people's lives, wanted to know "how we could get out of this anxious and repressive environment."
His work, involving close liaisons with artists in Australia and overseas, suggested how the malaise might be treated.
"I was interested in how artists were responding to this phenomenon. Artists all over the world were creating hope and cultural dialogue," says Papastergiadis.
"The conclusion I've come to, is that we're moving to a more cosmopolitan world, and what the book explores is, what is the role of artists in creating the kind of positive cosmopolitan communities we need for the future."
Cosmopolitanism and Culture is published by Polity Press, Cambridge and available from Amazon, Readings and academic bookshops.