The Reckoning: Kwame Kwei-Armah and Idris Elba on the Arts and Black Lives Matter

Intelligence Squared

Arts, News, Society & Culture, News Commentary

4.2 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 26 June 2020

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A great reckoning is taking place in the wake of the brutal killing of George Floyd and the protests that followed his death. Companies and organisations are looking afresh at how they can do a better job of combatting institutional bias and racism. Employees are increasingly speaking out about their experiences and calling for change. In this special event this Thursday June 25, Intelligence Squared brought together two leading voices from the arts, Kwame Kwei-Armah, artistic director of the Young Vic, and Idris Elba, star of The Wire and Luther, to discuss what should happen and is likely to happen in the world of culture as we move forward. Given all the promises made and broken over the years, will things be different this time? Will there be deep structural change so that we see more Black and Brown people – not just on the stage or screen – but in positions of real power and decision-making? And once lessons have been learned, what do people actually need to do? ------------------------------ Intelligence Squared+. The world's best speakers. Your questions. £4.99 per month. Intelligence Squared+ will bring you live, interactive events every week on our new online platform. Just like at our real-life events, you’ll be able to put your questions to our speakers, vote in live polls and interact with other members of the audience. Your subscription will give you access to multiple events featuring the world’s top thinkers and opinion formers, including Thomas Piketty, Margaret Atwood, Clive Woodward, Thomas Friedman, Meera Syal and Paloma Faith. For a full list of Intelligence Squared+ events and to subscribe, click here: https://bit.ly/2yfYIfm Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Thank you again Intelligence Squared for inviting me to chair this session.
0:04.0	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-19, white supremacy, and economic fragility,
0:15.0	where does art and culture fit in?
0:18.0	Why is it important for the arts to engage with and then fundamentally transform,
0:23.1	particularly in the response to the Black Lives Matter movement.
0:26.0	The art a society creates tells a story of who we think we are
0:30.5	and who we want to be.
0:32.4	So to explore this today, we want to be. So to explore this today we have two incredible trailblazers
0:35.9	from the arts joining us. Firstly we have Idris Elba. He's an A-list
0:41.3	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.
0:51.0	He runs his own production company, Green Door Pictures, which champions a diversity of thought.
0:56.7	And he's been a DJ since his teens, collaborating with artists including Fat Boy Slim and Skepter, and has played Coachella.
1:04.0	In 2018 People magazine voted him
1:06.6	Sexiest Man Alive, as my mom would say,
1:09.1	Marsha Allah brother.
1:11.2	Quame Kui Awa is also with us today. I'm super excited to also welcome him,
1:16.7	artistic director of the Young Vic Theatre, and were it not for the pandemic,
1:20.3	his production of Hamlet, starring Cush Jumbo and Ruth Nager would currently be playing them.
1:26.0	Before joining the young Vic, he was the artistic director of the Baltimore Center Stage,
1:30.0	and his award-winning play Elmina's Kitchen transferred from the National to the Garrick Theatre in 2005.
1:37.0	His series of eight short films, Soon Gone, A Windrush Chronicle, was shown on BBC 4 in 2019.
1:45.0	So thank you both so much for joining us today.
	...

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