Perhaps it was all the policy talk. Or the pink lanyards round our necks. But by the time the closing speeches came round at State of the Arts 2012, the Lowry audience seemed fidgety and frustrated.
Then in walked Baba Israel, artistic director of Manchester's Contact theatre, flanked by two more performance poets – Martin Stannage, aka Visceral, and Saquib Chowdhury, aka Lyricalligraphy – to offer a poetic response to the day's discussions and, in their own words, a 'call to action'.
Breath of fresh air doesn't quite quote cover it. While best witnessed live, we wanted to share the performance with you as an eloquent summary of the day (that, and for Israel's Kirsty Wark rhyme).
As Visceral riffed: "If experimental isn't the opposite of accessible and excellence isn't the opposite of participation, then that's why young people who sweat over debt and limited funds have no limit to their imagination."
Watch video highlights of the conference, catch up on conversation in our social media round-up and share your thoughts on what the sector needs to do next in the comments below.
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