The Bright Foundation is delighted to announce that the Lights Camera Auction raised £418,125 to provide life-enhancing creative experiences for children and young people facing disadvantage in Hastings and the Southeast.

A live auction of over 60 iconic film/tv costumes hosted by Kerry Taylor Auctions, on 5 March included Mr Darcy’s infamous wet shirt from Pride & Prejudice (1995) which, including the buyers’ premium donated by the auctioneers, raised £25,000 and will on permanent display at the Bankfield Museum in Halifax, West Yorkshire. 

The highest bid was made for an original Christian Dior ball gown worn by Madonna in Evita (1996) which fetched £50,000 and Johnny Depp’s costume from Sleepy Hollow (1999) went under the hammer for £30,000. The costumes were donated by John Bright from the Cosprop archives.

To coincide with the live auction, an online sale which closed on 11 March, featured film and theatre related experiences, celebrity memorabilia, artworks, fine dining and hospitality. The lots were donated by celebrity Ambassadors and supporters of The Bright Foundation, including Johnny Depp who donated an original artwork which raised £16,250. The online sale was also supported by Hugh Bonneville who will host a behind the scenes set visit and lunch for four guests and Ralph Fiennes who donated two tickets to an upcoming theatre production with a meet & greet after the performance.

John Bright, who was awarded an Academy and BAFTA award in 1987 for Best Costume Design withJenny Beavan OBE for A Room With A View, launched The Bright Foundation in June 2022 with a vision that arts and creativity can shape happier and healthier children and enable young people to achieve their full potential.

“I am completely overwhelmed by the generosity of so many of the auction’s supporters to help The Bright Foundation to provide free access to visual and performance arts for children and young people facing disadvantage. Creativity plays such a vital role in a child’s development to ignite imaginations and nurture skills that are important in all aspects of everyday life in adulthood.

Proceeds from Lights Camera Auction will leave a lasting legacy by enabling children and young people to engage in creative activities, who might not otherwise have the chance to do so.” said Bright.

Working closely with local community groups, food banks, and schools with a high percentage of pupils on free school meals, the charity provides free access to events, exhibitions and workshops.

The auction’s proceeds will enable the Foundation to widen its reach in nurturing creativity for neurodiverse children who often struggle in mainstream education, young carers and looked after children. It will also fund the launch of our second venue, the Benbow Arts Space in St Leonards-on-Sea, which opens this May as a youth and community space. Funds will be used for the fit-out, film-making equipment and inaugural programme for young people.

Polly Risbridger CEO of the charity said. “We are blown away with how much has been raised through Lights Camera Auction and the profile we have received as a new charity. Hastings has the highest child poverty rate in the Southeast and these funds will provide a vital lifeline for so many children and young people to find joy in creativity and new ways to express their ideas and passions. Since opening our doors in June 2022, we have engaged over 5,000 people in our activities. Our BarnTheatre and Museum, which houses John Bright’s collection of antique toys and puppets alongside a 50 seat theatre, has captured children’s imaginations and provided lots of inspiration for their own artistic creations and performances. The Benbow Arts Space will include an exhibition around John Bright's collection of film and cinema memorabilia and will help inspire a new generation of young film-makers and storytellers.”

The Bright Foundation has developed the former Admiral Benbow pub in St Leonards-on-Sea into a vibrant new arts venue which will launch in May 2024 with an exhibition around film and cinema, workshops and events for the local community, as well as creative skills training and career advice for young people, aged 11 – 21 years.

“It is impossible to think of a more vital legacy from the charity auction of all those iconic costumes. They have been such a special part of the Cosprop archives for so many years. I am so pleased they will play help to play a part in nurturing creative skills for the designers and makers of the future.” said Bright.