Archive: Can the Arts Drive Social Change? With Idris Elba, Kwame Kwei-Armah and Yassmin Abdel-Magied

Hello and welcome to Intelligence Squared. I'm head of programming, Connor Boyle. Today we're revisiting a conversation from 2020 recorded in the wake of global Black Lives Matter protests and the murder of George Floyd. Actor Idris Elba and playwright Kwame Quai Arma. Joint broadcaster Yasmin Abdelmajid to discuss the arts, racism, representation, and the responsibility of all of us to drive meaningful change. Six years on, the questions they raised about power, equality, and accountability remain relevant as ever. Let's go to the episode now.

Thank you again, Intelligence Squared, for inviting me to chair this session. So In the midst of this current moment that we're living in, at the intersection of what one of our guests has called the triple threat of Covid nineteen, white supremacy and economic fragility, Where does art and culture fit in? Why is it important for the arts to engage with and then fundamentally transform, particularly in the response to the Black Lives Matter movement? The arts

A society creates tells a story of who we think we are and who we want to be. So to explore this today, we have two incredible trailblazers from the arts joining us. Firstly, we have Idris Elba. He's in A list Hollywood star, an actor, writer and producer, perhaps best known for his starring roles in The Wire and Luther, and for playing Nelson Mandela in the film Mandela. Long walk to freedom.

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