When Martin Smith began sharing his band Delirious’ music in poverty-ravaged cities in Cambodia, India and Africa, he simply couldn’t forget all the troubling images he’d seen—and he didn’t want to. Wanting to use his musical gifts to make a tangible difference, Smith and his wife Anna founded CompassionArt, a way to create freedom from poverty through artistic endeavors.
Teaming up with his fellow artists during a retreat in last year in Perthshire, Scotland, Smith—along with Paul Baloche, Steven Curtis Chapman, Israel Houghton, Tim Hughes, Graham Kendrick, Andy Park, Matt Redman, Michael W. Smith, Darlene Zschech and Delirious bandmate Stu G.—penned the 14 songs now available on the CompassionArt album, where 100 percent of the proceeds will benefit those in need. Funds are going to the charities and projects listed here.
On the CompassionArt website, Martin Smith wrote: “I have seen first hand the plight of humanity. As a songwriter and a person with a microphone, I made a promise to try and do something about it. What better than to call on my friends and do something together. To be people that can make a change rather than just singing about it …
“With so many songwriters gathering, it felt like we needed a new structure to compliment and carry this dream. The usual way of doing things is for a publisher to own the songs and then distribute them to the writers. We felt like we needed a more radical approach to maximizing all the income from these songs as the intention of the writers is to give every cent away. … So CompassionArt was born, a charity dedicated to seeing works of art generate income for the poorest of the poor.”
A companion book, The Art of Compassion, offers further insight from the artists themselves on poverty, compassion and how we can make a different around the world. Now get a behind-the-scenes look at the events leading up to the release of the CompassionArt album by flipping through this photo gallery. And listen to the song “King of Wonders” from the album while you’re at it.
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