The Starry Night Collective officially began its mission in April 2003, at a Wisconsin farmhouse, where Dan Pzrybylski gathered 40 friends and family members and asked them to join him in his mission of bringing a well-rounded arts experience to every child, every day. The response was enthusiastic. Board members were elected, by-laws ratified, and “Trimbelle Futures for Children”—the organization’s original name—was born.

Fundraising efforts were quickly launched and featured a benefit concert headlined by Soul Asylum in downtown Minneapolis. Then, with the help of some generous donors and the work of an all-volunteer board of directors and teachers at the Futures/CHOICE school outside Rochester, MN, Trimbelle Futures for Children funded and implemented its first Arts Experience in February 2004.

The organization grew and in 2005 the name changed to “The Starry Night Collective,” evoking the famous painting The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh, perhaps the world's best-known E/BD artist. The tactile, swirling motion of the artist's brush reveal an inner storm that has been calmed and given voice and order through the medium, and provides a perfect analogy for our work.