Contact’s vision is a world where young people are empowered by creativity to become leaders in both the arts and their communities. Contact is a place where artistic experiments are explored, developed and completed. The unique building in Manchester houses a wide-ranging programme that brings together the best of new writing, music, dance, visual art, performance and spoken word alongside workshop sessions and opportunities for young people to get involved.Artistic Director of Contact (Manchester) since 2009, Baba Israel is a director, producer, theatre and hip hop artist. Raised in New York, his parents were core members of The Living Theatre, a world travelling political avant garde group. He is the co-founder of Playback NYC Theatre Company which aims to bring theatre to underrepresented communities. He is currently directing CountryBoy's Struggle, a solo show by Maxwell Golden which will be performed at the Pleasance 2 in Edinburgh in 2012. He is also co-directing CountryBoy's Struggle online with Albinomosquito which will transform the theatre show into an online series on the new Arts Council/BBC site thespace.org. He has worked internationally at the intersection of theatre, music, engagement, and digital media. He holds an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts and has performed with artists such as Outkast, The Roots, Afrika Bambaataa, and Bill Cosby.
