Who's behind it?
The Brightstar Collective was formed in 2008 by Neil Whitaker and Steve Gray. The idea for the collective came out of several discussions we had with friends regarding how we might use music and creativity to actively make a difference to people in need outside the 4 walls of a church building.
What we came up with was the idea of a collective: a group of similar-minded creative artists who would tour churches and community organisations performing contemporary music, alongside other art forms, with the aim of inspiring people to get involved with charitable causes.The music would be enhanced by thought-provoking, engaging, inspiring and challenging visual imagery which would link the themes of the songs with aspects of the work of a specific charitable cause we are promoting.As part of a presentation event, we would invite representatives of the charitable cause to give a talk about their particular charity, with a view to raising funds and encouraging voluntary involvement in practical ways by those present.
We believe that the combinational power of creativity to engage the emotions, and the spoken word to engage the mind, can result in people grasping the vision of the work of a specific charity, and help them find a way to practically play a part in making a better world.
The format, length and content of Brightstar Presentations will vary from one venue to another. We aim to tailor our presentations to best suit the needs of a particular church or organisation. All of our presentations have one thing in common: engaging people on an emotional and spiritual level through music and other art forms, and most importantly, to raise funds for, and awareness of, the particular cause we are promoting.
Presently the Collective are involved with a fantastic charity, set up by a good friend of ours, Ian Harvey, called the Congo Children Trust. For more information on the work of the Congo Children Trust, please visit their website on: www.congochildrentrust.org