Global Fear

The cultural anthropologist Julian Warner takes the ideas presented in “The Administration of Fear” by philosopher Paul Virilio as the starting point and central theme of an artistic conference on the global, pervasive phenomenon of fear. In times of military conflicts and terrorism, economic crises and climate catastrophes, flight, displacement, migration and not least of all, the global Covid-19 pandemic, fear can neither be localised nor isolated. It is a phenomenon that has permeated and impacted every segment of society.

At the interface of performance art, science and discourse, Warner plans to stage a “convention of fear” in three acts in the center of Munich and at the Muffathalle. In the “Parliament of Fear”, critical philosophers and theorists such as Bini Adamczak, Klaus Theweleit, Timnut Gebru and Dolkun Isa will meet with international artists and artists’ collectives, e.g. Slavs and Tatars, Heba Y. Amin, and some members of The Notwist. Together they will collect and address the various facets of global fear in lectures, discussions and performances and reveal the mechanisms behind its instrumentalisation and how it shapes emotional policymaking. In the second part of the project, a parade through downtown Munich (Parade of Fear) will bring the Bavarian Refugee Council, the feminist fraternity Molestia and other civic organisations and protagonists together with artists in a “Coalition of Fear”. The climax and conclusion of the three-day conference will be the ceremonial burning of the collected fears via a five-metre-tall “Wicker Man” on top of the Olympiaberg by the artist and musician Anna McCarthy.

Artistic director: Julian Warner
Project participants in “Parliament of Fear”: Bini Adamczak, Heba Y. Amin, Chto Delat, Slavs and Tatars and others
Project participants “Parade of Safety/March of Fear” and “Wicker Man”: Bavarian Refugee Council, Chicks* on Speed, Der Plan, Burschenschaft Molestia, Anna McCarthy and others

Artistic conference/performance/parade Muffathalle Munich and other public venues, Munich: 22 Oct. – 6 Nov. 2021