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-19, 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 art a society creates tells a story of who we think we are

and who we want to be.

So to explore this today, 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 an 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.

He runs his own production company, Green Door Pictures, which champions a diversity of thought.

And he's been a DJ since his teens, collaborating with artists including Fat Boy Slim and Skepter, and has played Coachella.

In 2018 People magazine voted him

Sexiest Man Alive, as my mom would say,

Marsha Allah brother.

Quame Kui Awa is also with us today. I'm super excited to also welcome him,

artistic director of the Young Vic Theatre, and were it not for the pandemic,

his production of Hamlet, starring Cush Jumbo and Ruth Nager would currently be playing them.

Before joining the young Vic, he was the artistic director of the Baltimore Center Stage,

and his award-winning play Elmina's Kitchen transferred from the National to the Garrick Theatre in 2005.

His series of eight short films, Soon Gone, A Windrush Chronicle, was shown on BBC 4 in 2019.

So thank you both so much for joining us today.

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