28 | MAY 19 • 2022 

L

ooking for the Light is 
an art exhibition and 
event series dedicated to 
the destigmatization of mental 
illness. In honor of Mental 
Health Awareness Month 
(May), the event’s mission 
is to confront the issue of 
mental illness in a celebratory, 
informational and inspiring 
way — eschewing the shame 
and promoting help options. 
 Events run through the end 
of the month and include art, 
counsel, education and fun, 
highlighting the unique spirit 
of artists and focusing on all 
aspects of mental health.
The event series is inspired 
by the memory and collected 
works of late Detroit artist 
and musician Michael Francis 
Miller and features Miller’s 
— and other local artists’ — 
works. The event takes place 
at Midtown’s Galerie Camille 
(4130 Cass Ave., Suite C).
“My brother was such 
a beautiful, talented soul, 

and his cruel disease really 
wreaked havoc. As an artist, 
Michael kept fighting the 
disease, and in a sense, kept 
fighting to paint,” says event 
creator Dan John Miller, 
brother of the late Michael 
Francis Miller. “We knew we 
needed to honor not only his 
artistry, but also his advocacy, 
so we decided to put together 
a show of his work, with the 
goal of taking away the shame 
and fear of mental illness. 
But the show really didn’t get 
going until I talked to our 
friend Gretchen, who grabbed 
the bull by the horns and…”
“When Dan John called to 
brainstorm ways to honor his 
brother and his artwork, we 
thought a gallery reception 
and event series would be 
an impactful way to get the 
community involved,” says 
co-creator Gretchen Gonzales 
Davidson. “Mental health 
impacts us all. We want to 
shift awareness to remove its 

stigma, bring light to useful 
resources and help people feel 
like they are not alone.”
Looking for the Light 
will feature different events, 
including a Michigan 
Humane Society panel 
focusing on the mental 
health benefits of pets on 
May 19, and a meaningful 
caregiver panel at BasBlue, 
presenting Dan John Miller 
and the much-honored Rabbi 
Daniel Syme, a beloved local 
religious leader and well-
known suicide prevention 
advocate on May 25. Both 
Miller and Syme (both 
named Daniel) lost brothers 
(both named Michael) to 
mental illness.
May 21, from 7-9 p.m. at 
Midtown’s Galerie Camill, 
it’s music night featuring 
Seedsmen to the World and 
Dan John Miller. Seedsmen to 
the World is a collaboration 
between the cascading 
soundscapes of Detroit’s 
Infinite River (Joey Mazzola, 
Gretchen Gonzales and 
Warren Defever) and folk 
troubadour Ethan Daniel 
Davidson, who will be 
celebrating their debut record 
release. 

For a list of all Looking for the Light 

events, visit https://galeriecamille.com/

upcoming-events.

Looking for the 
Light Event Series 

OUR COMMUNITY
Seedsmen to 
the World

Detroit arts leaders team up with Galerie 
Camille and local businesses for Mental 
Health Awareness Month.

JN STAFF CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The COVID pandemic took many 
things away from us but, in an effort 
to bring some normalcy back into 
our lives, Temple Kol Ami is bring-
ing back its popular Aces Chai event 
on Saturday, May 21, at 7:30 p.m. 
The high-energy casino night in 
the West Bloomfield synagogue’s 
Conrad Social Hall features craps, 
blackjack, roulette and poker, 
and the chips you win are later 
exchanged for raffle tickets that you 
put into boxes in front of items you 
want to try and win at the end of 
the evening. If you really want one 
particular item, put all of your tick-
ets into that one item’s box; if you 
want a chance to win multiple items, 
spread them out and put tickets in 
many boxes. You must be at least 21 
years old to attend.
In addition to the fun, food and 
casino games, a silent auction will 
once again have items available to 
bid on at the TKA page at this link: 
https://tka.cbo.io. Items up for auc-
tion include a week at a fabulous 
west Michigan vacation home, the 
opportunity for WDIV meteorologist 
and TKA past president Paul Gross 
to visit a classroom of your choice 
for a one-hour weather lesson, the 
opportunity to talk sports over lunch 
with 97.1 The Ticket’s Mike Stone 
and great seats at a Detroit Tigers 
game. The auction will open for 
bidding a few days prior to the event, 
and you don’t need to attend the 
event to participate in the auction.
Cost for the evening of fun is $60 
but, in keeping with past tradition, 
those ages 21-36 only pay their age! 
For more information, visit https://
tkolami.org or call (248) 661-
0040. Tickets can also be purchased 
online at https://tkolami.org/dona-
tions. 

Aces Chai 
Returns!

WIKIPEDIA

